Texas Tech University Athletics
Soccer Coach Felix Oskam Qoutes
September 04, 2000 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 4, 2000
LUBBOCK, Texas - Quotes from Monday's weekly press conference.
Head Coach Felix Oskam
"It's not the start we wanted. Our record does not reflect how well the kids have played. We're 0-4, but all of our games have been on the road, and the same thing this weekend [at Portland and Portland State]."
"North Texas and TCU are good Central Region opponents, and we had all the confidence to go over to Denton and beat North Texas on their home field."
"In every single game except [Sunday], we have outshot the opponent, but the end result is what's on the board, and that's goals. That's been our problem the first four games. We have struggled offensively to put the ball in the net. That's one thing I was not anticipating this year. I had more concerns defensively since we graduated three defenders. I had to find some new players in those positions."
"We have enough talent in midfield and forward. I was hoping to do some damage. As a team we have to keep plugging along and keep shooting on goal, because if you don't shoot at all, you're not going to score. We just have to take care and be more patient and take advantage of the opportunities we create offensively. We should not make a decision quickly to shoot on goal when you do not have a very good shot."
"I talked to our forwards [Sunday] on the way back [from Baton Rouge] about making better decisions, facing the goal, square your hips up to the goal and take shots that will hopefully go into the net."
"We are very young, which is a good sign. We've started five freshmen in almost every single game and a couple of sophomores. We only have two seniors starting on this team. I'm not concerned at this point, yet, with the 0-4 record right now. [Sunday] was the best game we've played this year. We played the full 90 minutes, had some chances but Mississippi had one breakaway and that was the difference in the game."
"I'm not down on our players. Obviously, our players are a little frustrated because they know they've played well, or well enough to win all four games. Against LSU this past Friday night, LSU was on a winning streak, almost matching their winning record of last year [four games], beating [Texas Tech] was big for LSU. They deserved to win. They had a little more intensity against us. In the second half we just made some individual mistakes that cost us another goal."
"When you look at all of the games, especially three out of four where the opponent scored in the last 10 minutes of the game to go ahead, it's tough in the last eight minutes or four minutes to come back and try to tie it up or score a goal to put you ahead."
"Overall I'm pleased with how we've played, but obviously the 0-4 record does not sit well with our players. We just have to keep working hard at practice [Tuesday] and Wednesday before we head out to Portland this weekend."
"This weekend, I don't really know much about Portland State. Portland is a perennial powerhouse who goes to the NCAA's almost every single year except last year. They had a down year last year. We're just going to have to keep working hard and keep our confidence high. We're just looking for that first win. I think that one win will give us a tremendous boost for our confidence, especially for our players."
"Talent wise, we have the best team in the five years since I've been here. We are a more technical team. We have nine new players on the roster, five of them are starting freshmen. That's good for the future. They're not freshmen, still. They have four games under their belt. They should now know this is a step up. This is Division I ball. They have to play with intensity and play for 90 minutes."
