Nov. 23, 2004
New Mexico Head Coach Jeremy Fishbein:
Q: When I talked to you the other day you said you guys wanted to start a run, you wanted to go deep in this tournament. The first one is now in the bag.
Coach: “This is the place to start. We started out a little rough. We had a ten-day layoff and I think it showed a little bit in the beginning of the game. Once we got in our rhythm, especially in the second half, I thought we really took it to them.”
Q: Talk about the last 20 minutes because you completely dominated them.
Coach: “The things we talked about going into this game, we started applying a little bit more and just got our confidence about us, got into our rhythm and just really took it to them. There is no question about it, the guys just got hungry for goals. It was 1-1 and we were taking quite a few chances just waiting for that second one to go. Once that second goal went in the net, it just took off from there.”
Q: Talk about the crowd support tonight. It had to be really gratifying to see all those people up in the stands.
Coach: “It was great. There was a great crowd. It has just been tremendous. Ever since I have been here at UNM, the support from the Albuquerque community and University has been phenomenal. That is a big part of our success. We felt confident in our guys tonight. We haven’t lost at home all year. We took it to them in the second half – we were not going to lose that game tonight.”
New Mexico senior Patrick Grange:
“We’re very excited. The crowd was behind us the whole match, we fed off of it, and it worked out in the end. We’ve been a second half team all year, and we came through with some key goals late in the half.
“Going to Virginia will definitely be a big test. They’re one of the top teams in the country, but we can play with anybody. We’re looking forward to going in there and playing our game.”
New Mexico junior Jeff Rowland:
“We were real shaky at first. We were real anxious to get out there and start playing. In the first 20 minutes, in the one of the biggest game of our lives, we were all a bit nervous. But once they scored, we knew we were going to fight back and win. We think we’re one of the best teams in the country, and we’re out to prove it.”
Portland Head Coach Bill Irwin:
“Once they got the second goal, we started putting people forward, so you’re either going to lose it 3-1 or tie it at 2. When we moved people forward, they capitalized on it. The flurry at the end was really effective for them. In the first half, we kept possession well and had an early lead.
“I thought our team gave everything they had tonight. They worked their tail off for 90 minutes, and when you do that, regardless of the altitude, you’re going to get tired. We didn’t sub a lot tonight, we never do. I wasn’t going to change anything, though. You want to stick with the 11 that started it.
“I was happy in the first few minutes when we were up 1-0. Unfortunately, we gave up a goal soon after that. I think if we went in at halftime up 1-0, it would have been a totally different game, but that’s the game of soccer.
“Any team is tough at this point. On any given day, any team can beat anybody. Tonight, New Mexico scored the goals that mattered.”
Portland senior Paul Robinson:
“In the second half, we didn’t get keep possession as much as we would have liked. We were really working hard in the back, and we started to get tired when there was only three of us back there at the end. In the first half we stayed with them and I thought we were the better team, but they caught up to us in the second half.”