New England Soccer Today

Post-Game Uncut: Alex Morgan

NEST video correspondent Carl Setterlund brings you to the pitch for Alex Morgan’s post-game interview following the 4-1 U.S. Women’s National Team win over South Korea at Gillette Stadium on Saturday. A full transcript follows.

Q: How was it playing on the turf? A couple of the other players have been talking about it. I mean, it’s ranked the worst in MLS, so I know it’s definitely a challenge.

AM: (laughs) “Yeah, the turf was a little difficult to play on. Obviously, we’ve gotten a couple of opportunities this week to play on it, to get comfortable with it, but it still hurts your body a little bit more than grass, especially when you get tackled on it. Ninety minutes on it is definitely hard on the body, so we’re going to take a couple days to recover for the next game (Thursday at Red Bull Arena).”

Q: Were you having one of those games where it just felt like nothing was falling through for you?

AM: “This game was difficult just because, I mean, the turf, the bounce is awkward. I didn’t really feel good up top obviously. I felt like my touch was on, but just in the final third, I felt like I was maybe a step behind or a step too soon. It just felt a little off for me today, but I’m proud of my teammates for coming through, for Kristie Mewes for getting that first goal in Boston. It was a great goal for her to get.”

Q: How excited was she in the week leading up to this game?

AM: “This week, I mean, Kristie has so many fans here, so many friends and family, so I was really excited for her to get the start and, just, it was a cherry on top for her to get the goal. She’s just been really happy to be here and, in Boston, especially with everything that happened here in Boston, we’re happy to come represent and make the fans smile a little bit with our play on the field.”

Q: (inaudible)

AM: “Me and Abby just anticipate each others’ runs so well. Abby’s the ultimate post-up forward and she’s still doing it with the best in the world, so for me I definitely needed to make more runs for her as she posted up, and I think that she did well. I think that she made the right runs and I was able to feed off of her and she got that last goal, which was awesome.”

Q: What happened on the play leading to the penalty kick?

AM: “I saw Tobin (Heath) take a touch inward and she’s really good at threading that ball through, so I made a run and she threaded me through perfectly. Unfortunately – well, I guess fortunately because we did get the penalty – the Korean player knocked me down a little too hard, so she had to call that PK.”

Q: How do you see the Korean game going down in Red Bull stadium?

AM: “I mean, it’s always great to play a team twice because then they see your strengths and weaknesses a little bit better. Us as well, so I think we’re going to maybe try a some new faces on the field next game, see if we can get a rhythm throughout the whole first half because after the 20th minute there was a bit of a lull, so we’re hoping to keep a rhythm and get some more goals and have no goals against next game.”

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