Nebraska Quotes vs. Indiana

Senior Defender Ari Romero
On how it feels to win the Big Ten Championship
“I don’t even know to be honest. It’s surreal. We’ve been saying this since the summer and it has finally happened. It still hasn’t kicked in yet. I’m just so happy.”

On Senior Day
“It’s been very emotional. For the seniors, it’s just a little bit more meaningful. Needless to say, it’s a game. Every game we go like it’s our last. That’s how we’ve been approaching it. We don’t want to get a different attitude toward the games. We want to make sure it means something to everyone. We just kept saying ‘Big Ten Champs’ every time. Nothing has changed.”

On the season goals
“From the summer we said ‘we are going to be Big Ten champs.’ We say it after every practice, every game. It’s finally true. Once we set our minds to something and put in all the effort and the hard work, we are capable of anything.”

On goalkeeper Emma Stevens’ goal
“We didn’t even know what to do. We were running in circles and just ran to her. I didn’t even know what to say. I was asking, ‘Did that really count? Did that happen?’ until they put up the ‘3’ (third goal on the scoreboard).”

On moving forward
“We have conference (tournament) next week so obviously we’ll approach it the same way. Compete, push each other, hold each other accountable and get another Big Ten championship. As far as the NCAA (Tournament), it’s been a couple of years since we’ve made an appearance, so we approach it the same way. Take each game and push each other. I know we can go even further.”

On potentially hosting an NCAA Tournament first-round match
“I honestly haven’t really looked into that whole thing just because I wanted to be focused on this with no distractions. What we’ve been telling the team for the most part is that those are just rankings. It’s how we view our team and what we expect to accomplish.”

 

Junior Forward Mayme Conroy
On the game
"I thought it was a pretty even game for most of the time. We got ahead 1-0 and then they scored on a penalty kick and tied it up. I think we got a little shaky for a while after that, but once we got another goal from Jaycie Johnson, things started to calm down. Then our keeper (Emma Stevens) actually scored from one of her punts, so that was really cool. Then there was about 10 or 15 minutes left, and we just had to hold on. We stayed in our holding shape for the rest of the game."

 On holding on over the final minutes
"It was kind of nerve-wracking, but it was exciting at the same time."

 On the locker room at halftime
"It was just like all the other times. We were talking about what we needed to work on, but also the things we were doing well. We just wanted to keep playing our game.

 

Sophomore Forward Katie Kraeutner
On the game
"It was a crazy game. The determination of this team is unbelievable. The first goal in the first half was a great goal. It gave us confidence. Then, Indiana earned the penalty kick in the second half. That gave them some confidence, but everyone was 100 percent determined to bring out that win. The entire team showed what we have. It was a great win. There are just no words for it."

 On the locker room at halftime
"We were happy to be up a goal, but we knew we still had 45 minutes to play. It was the most important 45 minutes of the season. We were all determined to keep the lead and definitely not let off any. They were going to come out hard, so we definitely wanted to come out with a bang."

 On the reaction after the third goal
"I didn't even know what to think. The wind took it. All credit to (goalkeeper) Emma (Stevens), she's unbelievable back there and she deserves all of that. It's crazy. It should be on ESPN, for sure."

 On winning the Big Ten championship
"It's unbelievable. It's just unbelievable to know that all the hard work that we've put in the entire season pays off. When we came out here, we ended practices with 'Big Ten Champs on three' and that's been our goal since the season ended last fall. Just to know that it's come true is unbelievable."