Quote Sheet: MB 1-2 ELP
Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Saturday, June 21, 2025
Head Coach Jordan Stewart
On his takeaways from the match:
“I think the second half was our takeaway. The first half we weren’t really at the races, we were standing off. There was not enough energy from defense, the midfield or the strikers. Then the second half was the totally opposite game. At this point, you know you have to spend 90 minutes playing that way, especially when you’re a goal down, you have to try and fire them in. It was a soft penalty, but just disappointing that we didn’t start the way we did in the second half.”
On the second half:
“I think it was just more aggression. Throughout there was more movement, more fluidity, and more risk-taking. It’s all part of the game – you need to start that way. The positive is the second half, but still not where we want to be. The fans were great to give us that energy and we should have started much faster in the first half.”
On Mayele Malango:
“He created a lot, especially in the second half. He was very positive going forward, beating guys. There was one time when there were like three or four guys marking him. So he’s effective, he can be a difference maker going forward. He was obviously the reason we were able to get a goal with Luke [Ivanovic] being able to tap in on the back stick, but we needed more over 90 minutes. They say it’s a game of two halves and if there is an example for that, it was probably this game.”
On moving on from the result:
“We finished well, so we’ll try and take that momentum to start that way next game. But overall, disappointed with the result. I thought there were opportunities for us to score goals. The difference is the first half, the final action, whether it’s a pass, whether it’s a shot – we just weren’t clean enough. I think in the second half, we had more actions, but just not clinical in moments. We need to keep the boys going, we’re halfway through the season now. We need to keep reflecting, learning, and growing so we can try and bounce back.”
Forward Luke Ivanovic
On his goal:
“It was just a scramble, Mayele [Malango] did well to go one-on-one. I just wanted to be in the box on the back post, middle of the goal, that’s where all the goals are. I got into the six yard box and it just so happened to fall to me there, so I was glad to get back in the score sheet. Great second half from the boys. We need to learn from what happened in the first half, and then just keep moving on.”
On the message at halftime:
“Just to apply a lot of pressure, to keep pushing. And it helped, which was good. Now we just need to look at video throughout the week, and then we’ll progress onto what’s happening for next week’s game as well.”
