St. Louis City SC 3, LA Galaxy 0
Q. Your initial thoughts, getting the start today in front of your hometown club?
HARBOR MILLER: Yeah, so excited. Super excited to have all my family and friends.
Q. When you talk about at 17 years old playing in Major League Soccer, what do you see from this game, the physicality, the speed, the quickness, all of those things?
HARBOR MILLER: I mean, I think whether it's playing in the academy or playing in the second team -- the whole point is to prepare for the MLS. The Galaxy -- in terms of producing players. Yeah, they do a great job. When you get here, it's like first thing you've got to match -- the competition. First thing, I don't care how old they are, how big they are -- whether they are the same age as you or not. But that's the first mentality change. Then I realize, all right, these guys are playing, it's their job. I'm at home still, you know what I mean. I'd say that's the biggest difference I see.
Q. How much did getting to go in Costa Rica prepare you for this, especially confidence-wise after your performance there? And what were the biggest differences you saw in MLS versus the Champions League game?
HARBOR MILLER: After getting the start down in Costa Rica, it was really tough. The atmosphere, the team, the fans, they don't make it easy to play. Obviously if you can do it there, being at home for your own team you definitely have more confidence. I thought I had a decent performance. So my confidence was good and I was ready, and I knew there was an opportunity I could possibly start today. When I got the news, that raised the confidence. The difference is those Costa Rican teams are so hard to play and it's everything that you don't see. The long balls, the atmosphere, they make it really hard to play against.
Q. Wanted to ask you, what was the conversations with Greg leading up to this game, maybe what did he want from you and what advice did he give you, and also what was it like playing on the right side?
HARBOR MILLER: Yeah, Greg has seen me play for a while, probably the last three or four years and watching me in the academy. He shows my style and tendencies for sure. The biggest thing is -- young player, you want to score a goal. That's the big thing you want to do. But he's like, you know what -- when the chances come -- do the things you're best at. Gives me that confidence and the freedom to that, made me excited that I can play how I want to play and that was a big deal. And make with all the guys on the team that are top players, it makes it a lot easier and to have goal-scoring opportunities. It's right where I want to be.
Q. You mentioned some of these players that are top players, and you mentioned what Greg has been letting you know before you hit the field but what are some of these players that you mentioned, what are they telling you, especially right now in this tough moment for the team?
HARBOR MILLER: Yeah, obviously, the team results have not gone our way the last few games and it's really tricky because we have a lot of amazing pieces and resources, and it's just a matter of putting it together. We have great opportunities the rest of the season. In terms of players, it's kind of like, well, it's your turn to step up. Unfortunately both players got injured, so you're either going to go out and you're going to show up, or you're just going to fade away. They were like, play with confidence.
At first it's kind of intimidating because you've got to really step up, especially to play in a club like the Galaxy, the biggest club in the League. It's a big responsibility for sure.
So it's a big responsibility but at the same time go play the game that you want to play.
Q. What age were you when you came to the academy?
HARBOR MILLER: Ten years old.
Q. Looking back, did you think this moment was coming as quick as it has?
HARBOR MILLER: To be honest with you, no, it's always been a dream. Everybody always says when you come to the academy, maybe one player makes it, maybe two.
Of course, that's everybody's dream is to play with the Galaxy, but at 17 to make a start today, it was incredible. Yeah, I would say two years ago, I couldn't have told you this would happen. A year ago I couldn't have told you this was going to happen. But the game of soccer, you never know when your opportunity is going to come, and it just happened to come.
Q. Who else is in your age group, Ramos?
HARBOR MILLER: Yeah.
Q. Greg Vanney had some good words regarding your performance and how you could fit into the team in the future. I don't know if this is true, but I believe we are all our own harshest critics. How do you think you did tonight?
HARBOR MILLER: It's a good question. It's disappointing to get that result, especially the way it went down because I really don't think we deserved that. We created so many opportunities and we had the ball, I would say, the majority of the game.
But yeah, I'm very, very hard on myself, and so I expected better. I probably should have scored. I had the opportunities.
I'm going to watch the film. Go watch it back and learn from that and hopefully when it's time next time, we're going to put those chance as way. That can change the whole game. We go up 1-0, 2-0 the first half, maybe the game doesn't end the way it does.
It's always amazing. You have to be proud of yourself no matter what to be out there and play as hard as I did, and so I'll give myself that.
But in terms of execution and quality, I know there's more in me and I expect myself to be able to do that.
Yeah, it's just about reflecting, learning, and when the chance comes again, I'll be ready for it.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports