Dash interim head coach Juan Carlos Amorós
(on preparing for Friday’s match) "The focus is to be able to perform throughout the 90 minutes. We need to step up as individuals last week, we focused a lot on that on that team performance. If we can get that right, again, making sure that we work as a unit - then we'll have to step up on the individual aspects in order to be successful. Those key moments of the game go from the start in our favor. Not like the last couple of games, where we've gone behind and we have to fight really hard to get back into it."
(on the transition) “You want to win every game, now making that a reality. It's very difficult. In that aspect, things are going fantastically well. It's down to the players, they've responded really well to what they have been asked to do on the pitch and they left everything, the individual side of things on the side to make sure that they are putting their best interest into the team. The staff has been proceeding unbelievably hard in order to be prepared for all the games. Prepare as much as they can, the coaches and the support staff works around the clock, the whole club, you know they are all fully behind the Dash. The connection with the fans has been fantastic. It seems that everyone, everything is going in the right direction because everyone is pushing into the same direction."
(on the growth of FW Ebony Salmon) “Ebony (Salmon) is a player with certain strengths that we know and our job is trying to make sure those are highlighted in games and at the same time that we've helped her develop other aspects of the game. At the moment, she is responding really well to everything. She is working extremely hard not only in games, but also in training in order to do those things. The same way we've had teammates push her, she can't relax. She's been able to put those six goals in five games and at the end of the day that is the job of the number nine. The team behind her has been spectacular. They are working extremely hard they are producing fantastic moments in every aspect of the game. Even the players that are maybe not playing or even not traveling are really pushing our training, making my job very difficult by raising the standard of everyone in order to be to be the best we can be.”
(on the recent struggles Racing Louisville has faced on the field) "It happens at times and I think they are not getting the results they should. They have a very tough run of games they played probably against almost every top team and they got draws almost against everyone. Maybe they are not winning a lot of games, but at the same time, they're not losing a lot of games. So that gives you the sign of a very competitive team, especially when they've been playing against these top teams. It's a game that you really, really can't give nothing for granted and if you do then you will get punished. So that's why it's so important that we are able to perform throughout the 90 minutes and that we start the game connected and ready from the from the start."
(on FW Ebony Salmon playing against her former team) "Normally when you play against a team of someone that (was traded) not long ago, we speak a little bit about what's your vision of the team, the main strengths, weaknesses, but Ebony (Salmon) has a special place probably for Louisville, they are the team that brought her into the American league. It will be always a club, I guess that she appreciates. For us it is the same to play Louisville, San Diego, Gotham we just want to be competitive and win against anyone. It's not different this week. The only thing that maybe is different to the last couple of weeks is that we're not traveling away and having to go into those long flights and be away from home for four days. We were going to be able to play in front of our fans and we can't wait to do that, to play in front in front of our home fans."
Houston Dash FW Nichelle Prince
(on preparing for the last stretch of the regular season) “Something that's been different and great for us so far is that Juan (Carlos Amoros) is really focusing on us as a team. Not worrying too much about everyone else and everything else. Each week we go into every game working on our strengths and not changing too much from week to week. That gives us confidence. It just allows us to have that belief in ourselves. We are a great team. Other teams have to be worried about us and our players in our system, rather than us always focusing on everyone else's strengths.”
(on playing with Ebony Salmon) “It's amazing. She's obviously super clinical. She's also super fast. That's been really fun, to play with her up top. The both of us use our speed against backlines. That makes us so dangerous. It's another threat that backlines have to worry about. It's been really awesome to just see how see her confidence and how she's been able to impact the game in the five, six games that she's been here. It's really amazing. I'm looking forward to just continuing to grow with her.”
(on what FW Rachel Daly represented as a player and leader) “She's been such a big piece of the Dash for seven years. When I first came to the team, as a rookie, she was someone who, as another forward took me in and taught me a lot. I learned a lot from her. If you've seen her play, you know that she's like a feisty, passionate person on the field. She demands the best from her teammates and herself. As a captain, she's been a great leader for us. It's going to be very weird not having her around anymore. I've spent my whole career here with her. That's going to be different. I think that she was ready for something different. So, I wish her all the best and in Aston Villa.”
(on the team currently sitting in a playoff position) “It's really cool to be in this position. In previous years it's always been conversation of ‘hey, guys, we got to make playoffs this year.’ We have never done it before. We're in a good position right now. People are, it's not just saying like, we can make playoffs but we're saying hey, we can like actually win this league. We can actually do damage in the playoffs. It's a different conversation than the one we've had in the past. It's really cool to see that, players actually have that belief. It's not just coming from the coaching staff. It's truly everyone on this team believes that we can do something special this year. It first comes from that, from the players believing in ourselves. We still have a good chunk of games left and we just have to stay focused and get the job done.”
(on Racing Lousiville) “We've already played them three times this year. It's always a good matchup when we play them. We know a lot about them already. They're a team that you definitely can't underestimate. They have great players, they have pulled out some great wins. We have to just make sure that we come out and play our game because they're a great team. We just want to keep this winning streak going and get as many points as we can. This Friday is going to be really important for us.”
