The following are quotes from the Dec. 2 Women’s College Cup press conference for finalist UCLA: Opening statement by Coach Jillian Ellis We’re over the hurdle, obviously looking looking forward to the match tomorrow. As I said yesterday, it’s 90 minutes of soccer. I think all season we’ve played 90 minutes of soccer. I can’t say the game will be any different, as far as all the things we’ve experienced along the way. It’s just that the stakes are higher. We know we’re playing a good team and we have to play well. Ellis on whether she had seen junior forward Stephanie Rigamat play before Rigamat transferred from UC Irvine to UCLA last season, Ellis’s first in Westwood No. Even in the fall when she came in and sat out the year. I admired her a lot because she was always training and was never going to get see a game. But, even at that point I didn’t quite see how special she was. She reminds me of that regularly, by the way, that I made a mistake. Ellis on which UNC players she coached on the U.S. U-21 team They put half their team [on the U-21s]. Meredith Florance, Susan Bush, Jenni Branam, Jena Kluegel, Catherine Reddick. When I was an assistant with the 21s, I worked with Raven McDonald, we had Alyssa Ramsey in. A bunch of them. [Danielle] Borgman. Ellis on how much she knows the UNC players after having coached some of them Basic tendencies. People like Ramsey, she’s strong, she’s fast, she likes to go to goal. Those types of things, that most coaches could spot. I would also say with the national team, the 21s, we play a slightly different style. Your role is different, our expectations are different than how they play in college. Senior midfielder Venus James on what she knew about Ellis when the latter took the UCLA job She coached me briefly with the 21s, in Iceland in a training camp. … I was happy when she took over. I’m even more happy now. Junior midfielder Breana Boling on what she know about Ellis when the latter took the UCLA job I had never met Jill before. But I heard good things about her from one of my good friends and club teammate Aly Wagner, who’d been coached by Jill. And she just said great things about her. So I was excited to meet her. Boling on playing in the final in her hometown of San Jose It’s exciting. It’s a comfortable feeling being at home, being a home atmosphere. And it gives me confidence playing in front of my family and friends and playing in familiar territory. Ellis on championship expectations My ambition has always been to be here [at the Women’s College Cup]. I took over a program at Illinois, started their first year, and I stood in front of them and said, Our goal is to win a national championship. For me, I set the expectation out there and work hard to achieve it as fast as I can. Coming in to UCLA, a lot of the groundwork had been laid by Joy [Fawcett] and Todd [Saldana]. This program has been around for eight years, it’s been successful, it’s been in the playoffs. So I’m not surprised [to be here, I’m] extremely pleased. It’s more of a combination of good timing and what had already been laid out before I got there. Ellis on being the underdog I always tell my team you want to be the hunters, not the hunted. Tomorrow, we want to hunt. I like that role. It’s motivation in and of itself. They don’t need internal motivation; that’s external. We know most people are writing us off. That’s okay. James on dealing with the pressure to win I don’t really see it as outside pressure. I see it as pressure we have on ourselves, as goals we have as a team. Boling on whether UNC’s tradition of winning is daunting For me personally it’s a bit intimidating, but we have a great team. We’re pretty confident in ourselves and in the way we play. James on the intimidation factor I don’t really see us as intimidated. I see it as a challenge. … They lost three games this year. We lost three games this year. They lost to Clemson. We beat Clemson. Ellis on playing against tradition What I reminded my team last year about playing Carolina was, I said to them, I rattled off some starters off the current team. They were like, Who are these guys? I said, Have you heard of Mia Hamm? They’re like, Yeah. I said, Have you heard of Kristine Lilly? They’re like, Yeah. And I said, they are the legend on what this is belt, April Heinrichs, all these names. But they’re not going to be on the field. You’re playing players you played on the regional level. With Venus, she’s played with [them] with the 21s, at the national team level. Those are the players we’re facing. Having tradition behind you, Carolina probably has expectations on them, pressure on them to continue because they have such a great legacy. For us, it’s the 11 bodies on the field tomorrow we have to take care of. That’s what we have to focus on rather than on the past. We want to build a dynasty. That’s our goal — to build an elite team, that we’re in the hunt year in and year out. Tomorrow we get an opportunity to start that process. Ellis on Carolina I haven’t seen Carolina play this year. I caught maybe 10 minutes of the game on Friday. I saw the tape this morning. A lot of people talk about the way they play. It’s fairly direct. They play three in the back. We’ve go to try to get the ball. I thought that Notre Dame had success when they possessed the ball and I think if we can get a hold of the ball, we match up well. I love the fact they play with three back, because we’ve got some handfuls up front who I think three people are going to struggle to keep up with. I think it will be a contrast in styles. We’ve got to get the ball. And once we get the ball out of the air, because that’s usually where it’ll be, once we win it, we’ve got to possess it and keep it. Junior forward Stephanie Rigamat on her recent scoring spree I just feel I’ve built my confidence, and all my teammates are playing well. Everybody just feeds off everybody. Ellis on Rigamat’s recent scoring spree It’s the Big Mac before each game. That’s what it is. Ellis on how she’s feeling I’m tired. I usually go to be at 10:30. I’m kind of a loser. Last night I was up till maybe two, making sure these guys were in bed. Right now I’m pretty tired, but pretty relaxed. I think we’re pretty relaxed. Today we’re just going to take it easy, go for a little jog and a stretch. It’s another game. It’s one more game. Ellis on her defense Our backs have been playing well and continued to get better all year. I think pressure covering in the defense tomorrow is going to be key. Carolina loves to get endline and get service in the box. It’s going to be important for our goalkeeper to handle her six-yard box and take balls out of the air with confidence. Tomorrow or when any team’s playing in a three front, you’re going to be put under some pressure. But it’s not something they haven’t seen all year, as far as that system.