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Wake Forest postgame Women's College Cup press conference after semifinal win over Stanford
Dec 7, 2024
Deacons coach Tony Da Luz and players Valentina Amaral and Emily Morris after their 1-0 win over Stanford. #WakeForest #Stanford #Women'sCollegeCup
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0:14
thank we're now joined by the W Forest
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Demon Deacons we have with us head coach
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Tony Delo along with players Valentina
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Amal and Emily Morris we'll have an
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opening statement from coach followed by
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questions for the players and then
0:28
questions for coach
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um yeah thanks for uh for having us um
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you know I can't say too much about our
0:36
team I'm so proud of our team um they've
0:39
performed really high level all year
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long uh and to beat a good team like
0:44
Stanford and National semi-final is an
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incredible uh result and um I have faith
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that we can get to Monday and and close
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the deal so looking forward to
0:57
Monday questions for the student athlet
1:00
coach congratulations um I guess the
1:03
first thing you're probably going to do
1:04
after this press conference is go
1:05
outside and do some more scouting how
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much of of an advantage is that that you
1:10
get that extra game to just kind of
1:12
watch these two teams that are really
1:13
good one of them better are taking you
1:15
on um I mean it's more of a relief for
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me really to be honest to get this early
1:21
game over with and and uh watch these
1:24
guys battle through it um uh yeah I mean
1:28
we know these teams we've seen them a
1:29
million in time so you know us watching
1:32
it it's it's really not uh that big of
1:35
an advantage uh it's just uh a relief
1:38
that we're done and hopefully they'll
1:40
play overtime and penalties and wear
1:42
each other
1:43
out just a reminder questions for the
1:45
players first in coach Valentino the
1:48
first half they had a set piece
1:51
opportunity great scoring chance and you
1:53
were able to deflect that off the post I
1:56
think a lot of people didn't realize in
1:57
real time you were able to through what
2:00
you saw in that moment and how you were
2:02
able to make play yeah I mean it it was
2:04
pretty crowded in there but um we we
2:07
were bit ahead it out and um
2:09
unfortunately there's um nowhere to get
2:11
the second ball but um when she kicked
2:14
it it was very much just a reaction save
2:17
I was just able to um get a few
2:19
fingertips on it and I'm just happy that
2:22
I had one of my Defenders to just get it
2:24
out of the goal
2:27
area so so You' scored two goals against
2:31
the defended national champions another
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go n tournament and a game winner today
2:37
what is it about
2:39
game that um I don't know I just just
2:45
happens I guess my teammates set me up
2:47
in like really good positions and yeah I
2:50
just get lucky I
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guess back Emily is it sun in yet that
2:56
you know by getting this game winning
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goal and get to their first ever
3:00
national title game you're Forever part
3:03
of history with this program um no not
3:06
really I mean I sometimes still feel
3:09
like we're in ACC season so I don't
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think it's actually hit me that we have
3:12
one game left of my college
3:17
career Valentina so sit in the stand
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when the ball's played to you I'm
3:24
getting nervous here what's going to
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your head how are you so composed in
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those moment fast even as pressure ising
3:31
down I mean I think one of my um main
3:36
impacts in the game is just staying
3:37
comfortable on the ball even um through
3:40
stressful times or
3:41
situations um and I have full trust in
3:44
my center backs um to be able to play
3:47
out of the back so um I don't know I
3:50
think I just stay comfortable and just
3:52
try to play around them that's really
3:54
it this for both players do you have a
3:57
preference of who you face out of these
3:59
two teams
4:01
no I I think we're ready for either
4:04
either one to be
4:07
honest for either one of you just the
4:09
celebration your fans were awesome
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tonight cheering you guys on all game
4:13
long what was it like when the clock hit
4:15
zero and seemed like the whole team was
4:16
over there right in front of the F were
4:18
you able to interact family what was
4:21
it um well we have a lot of Alum here so
4:25
especially when I was a freshman a lot
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of the seniors came tonight so it was
4:28
amazing seeing that and our families and
4:31
basically everyone that was here tonight
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came to California so they travel in a
4:37
packed yeah your question
4:42
questions I recognize our alums with the
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Harry Potter
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scarves see no questions
4:51
congratulations
4:53
Monday feel free to go thank you thank
4:55
you
4:58
stay good luck
5:00
sure you can ask all you want now in the
5:03
back for Coach JP the first time I'll
5:06
try this time what does it mean to you
5:09
that for the first time not only you
5:11
guys go into the national championship
5:13
game but for the first time since 1992
5:15
you have two North Carolina teams
5:17
playing for a
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title yeah I mean it's a little
5:21
overwhelming really I mean this to have
5:24
four ACC teams in this thing and you
5:26
know we won the first round of the ACC
5:28
tournament tonight so like it's just uh
5:31
it's unreal and it it raises the level
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it makes you be better like it if you're
5:38
not improving in our league then you're
5:41
falling behind and it's hard to catch up
5:43
so um I'm I'm excited about it obviously
5:47
we we've been there in we were there in
5:49
2011 it's been a long time and we lost
5:52
to Duke in that game um so if it happens
5:55
to be Duke again then uh you know I'm
5:58
I'm definitely
6:00
G to try to send Robbie on a sad
6:03
retirement yes so coach been at this now
6:08
for almost three decades practically
6:10
built the program from scratch what does
6:13
it mean to finally reach this stage work
6:15
so
6:17
hard yeah it's um you know I'm I'm just
6:22
you saw all of our alums you know in the
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stands and that that's the most
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gratifying thing for me is that our our
6:29
alums and our fans are so
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um there they're just so invested in our
6:37
program and so faithful to our program
6:40
in all ways uh the way they support us
6:43
um so that means more to me than
6:45
anything right the you know we're in the
6:47
final and it's absolutely incredible
6:49
it's
6:50
fantastic I'm super proud of this team
6:53
because this team started in January in
6:56
January they really locked in and from
6:58
then on the entire year they've been
7:01
completely locked in um so it's just you
7:05
know it's our 30th year uh of the
7:08
program and uh this would be a great way
7:10
to commemorate that that year um with a
7:13
national championship so we're going to
7:15
come back on Monday and try to win
7:23
it CLE off off the line yeah I mean
7:26
Valentina has been different level uh
7:29
since we got her back into the lineup
7:31
you she's been out she was out all last
7:33
year with her knee injury and um she's
7:37
beenin different level and like you said
7:39
we can play out of the back with her um
7:41
and we train that a lot because we know
7:43
that she's capable um of of playing out
7:46
of the back um but Christine Johnson
7:50
unbelievable last week in the
7:52
quarterfinals she scores the winning
7:54
penalty um and then tonight she clears
7:57
one off the line so so everybody's
8:00
contributing um love the kid she's just
8:04
you know she doesn't have a pulse that
8:06
kid she's an Icelandic Viking
8:09
so um there to
8:12
compete yes we saw you get a little
8:14
emotional that ESPN
8:20
yeah
8:23
um it's really hard to say um you know
8:28
in this this time days times of this
8:30
portal situation and teams you know
8:34
there's a lot of programs that are
8:35
getting rid of kids and bringing in new
8:38
portal kids you know in mass and we we
8:41
don't do that we try to develop players
8:44
at wake and and this this group is
8:46
Testament to that we've had them for
8:49
four years and we've added a couple kids
8:52
um through the portal specific needs
8:53
that we wanted um but they've been
8:56
together and we've developed them and
8:58
some of these kids didn't play as
8:59
freshman they didn't play at all um so
9:02
I'm you know it's just uh gratifying to
9:06
see that they stuck with it that these
9:08
are kids that um are tough mentally they
9:12
don't give up and you know in this age
9:15
of hey I'm not playing I'm going to
9:18
leave we don't we just don't have that
9:20
so um I'm really proud of our kids for
9:23
for sticking around and and believing in
9:25
what we're
9:27
doing coach a little bit of a tactical
9:30
question here so in a game like this a
9:33
lot of teams can have to play more
9:35
safely your players who still connec Z
9:39
passes 18 just how long did it take to
9:42
build a group that was that confident in
9:44
the game
9:48
this yeah I mean I I don't know how to
9:51
do it any other way so I could our kids
9:54
couldn't hit long balls if if we told
9:57
them to so we we know know one way to do
10:00
it and we believe in it and we train it
10:03
a lot like I
10:04
said um the first game against Stanford
10:08
uh during the year it was very similar
10:10
the first half was pretty even they had
10:14
the ball a good amount in the second
10:15
half we wore them down and we kept
10:17
playing and I showed our team those
10:19
clips last night of some sequences in
10:22
the first game that we were just
10:23
absolutely fantastic uh from end to end
10:26
building out and you know that's what we
10:28
do that's our identity and that's what
10:30
we believe in so our players come to
10:32
wake because they believe in it and that
10:34
that's the way that they want to play so
10:37
um you know it is
10:40
stressful but uh you know it's it's it's
10:44
part of the game so that's what we want
10:45
to
10:46
do we touched on Robbie Church being his
10:50
last season and you know before the
10:51
season we saw decid to step away is
10:55
there kind of that like Tom last one
10:57
standing like you're kind of excited
11:00
that you know be the the veteran and the
11:04
sucess
11:05
the yeah I I mean I'm I'm the oldest guy
11:09
in the in the league now I me Robbie was
11:12
there for 24 years I think and I'm at 28
11:14
and uh he's still older than me though
11:18
um but uh yeah I
11:21
mean you know those guys have they're
11:23
Legends in the league um you know it's
11:26
sad to see them go both of them um
11:29
Robbie and I are very good
11:31
friends um but you know I could to win
11:36
the game you know it's part of my job so
11:38
um yeah he's a quality guy I just I love
11:41
the guy to death he's we we talk almost
11:44
every day you know um and he's usually
11:48
the one initiating the text or the call
11:50
you know um so it's going to be I'm
11:53
going to miss him a lot for sure um but
11:56
you know I got to put that aside on
11:58
Monday if if they get through uh
12:00
regardless um of which team gets through
12:03
we got do do the
12:05
job
12:09
questions app all right thank you thanks
12:12
a
12:16
lot oh yeah
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