Goals from Francis Doe in the 77th and Bryan Namoff in the 99th completed a United come-from-behind 2-1 win over the visiting Chicago Fire. See the final stats here.
United advances to the semi-final around and will face the New England Revolution - who defeated Crystal Palace Baltimore on penalty kicks - on August 12 at RFK Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET). The winner of that game will advance to the final, which is set for August 24.
Were you at the SoccerPlex? What did you think of the game tonight? Did you see the skirmish involving Blanco and others?
UPDATE: A few photos added to the Video & Pics page and now post-game quotes from both teams below..
UPDATE #2: Official Unofficial Behind the Badge photographer Chris Leon got some really cool photos from last night's game. See them here.
D.C. United Defender Bryan Namoff
On scoring the game-winning goal
Tom Soehn said to me after the game that I’ve scored one goal and that I’m having a banner year [laughs].
On the win
I don’t think there was any doubt, even when we were down 1-0. I think we stuck to our plan. We were a little sluggish coming out in the first half, maybe it was due to having a couple of days off. We started to find a rhythm in the second half and started getting a lot tighter around marks. I would just give credit to a couple of good plays toward the end of the game. We were lucky to get a 1-1 tie and especially lucky to eventually get the game winner.
On his game-winning goal
You have to give credit to Jaime Moreno. He hit the perfect ball to me so if I didn’t score I think he’d be pretty upset. I made a run and beat the defender and went to the near post and he put it right on my head, all I had to do was make good contact.
On the team’s play in the first half
I think we were a little bit spread out from our defense to our midfield to our forwards and normally we like to keep that within 35 yards and I think there was a tendency for the back line to be a little bit up too high from time to time. I think defensively, for them, their defenders were giving up a lot of time and space and that’s why they were able to pick up their heads and look and find space.
On resting for the next game
Any time you have to play 120 minutes in this type of heat I think is draining. But luckily it’s only Tuesday so we have enough days to rest, recover and get everybody feeling right. We have to start working on a new perspective on a different team, a team that has proven to get the better of us in previous years.
D.C. United Forward Jaime Moreno
On coming into the game
I just try to give a little bit of light to the whole team. We reacted at the right moment and it was just one of those games where it could go either way. We fought tonight very hard and we’re very pleased with the result. Now we can rest and wait for Saturday’s game.
On knocking Chicago out
I guess for the record it’s a great thing but for us every game is different and every game so far we’ve been improving a lot so that was our goal from the start of the preseason, to be like this. A lot of the guys today had the opportunity to play and did pretty well.
D.C. United Head Coach Tom Soehn
On the win
Tonight was a hot night and I had to push our guys. We had some time off and I could tell we were a bit rusty but to their credit they fought and scrapped until the very end. We added a couple of guys that I thought impacted the game when they came in and that was the difference of the game.
On Jaime Moreno’s influence
He has so much experience in holding the ball and the flow got a lot better. The team changed dramatically when he came in, even tough he wasn’t in for long.
D.C. United Defender Marc Burch
On the incident with Cuauhtemoc Blanco
Blanco came over and swung as hard as he could and hit Clyde [Simms] in the stomach. You know I’m sick of that, throwing elbows at [Gonzalo] Peralta. I bumped shoulders with him and he threw an elbow at me and kicked me so I was just sick of him. He gets away with a lot of stuff because he’s Blanco and he’s from Mexico and he’s a big name. but he can’t do that stuff to any of my teammates.
On the second half
We started looking good in the second half. Jaime [Moreno]’s a big spark. We started holding on to the ball and creating more chances. When we started creating more chances I knew we were going to get one, if not in the second half, in overtime.
On the difference in play
We weren’t really tight. We were letting them play balls over the top and up top we didn’t give a lot of pressure and I think in the second half it got a lot better and they stopped getting in behind us.
On Chicago’s goal
I couldn’t really tell. I heard Devon [McTavish] say away and Pat [Carroll] just kind of slipped.
On Jaime Moreno
I think Jaime’s the best player. He’s awesome. When he came in and started holding the ball and playing great balls and started working hard. When he comes in he changes games.
On coming from behind
Being a goal down we knew we needed to start cleaning up how we were playing. We still made a few mistakes in the second half but I think it got a lot better. With Jaime [Moreno] in there it always gets better.
On the Blanco incident
He was out there smacking people, kicking people after they were down. He came up and swung as hard as he could and tried to hit the ball and hit Clyde [Simms] in the stomach. I can’t stand that. He thinks he can do whatever he wants so I went over and I pushed him. I mean, I didn’t hit him or go after him, I just pushed him down. He’s not going to do that to my teammates. He stood up and tried to poke Clyde in the eye and cut his eye open. I don’t like him, I don’t think he’s a good person. He’s a good player but when he’s out there he’s doing stuff that he shouldn’t get away with.
Chicago Fire midfielder John Thorrington
On the game
I think it’s just the same old story. It’s the same thing that happened on Saturday. We got up deservedly through our play and doing what we were supposed to do, implementing a game plan, go up a goal and had chances to make it more than one – we don’t capitalize on those. We make a bad mistake, they capitalize – 1-1 – and they score on a set piece in extra time. You can’t fault anything effort-wise. I think everybody that was out there left it on the field, but it’s disappointing to put so much in and come away empty handed.
Chicago Fire head coach Denis Hamlet
On why the team lost
It’s very simple – we don’t finish our chances. And we have one mistake and we get punished for it and they get back in the game, momentum swiotchs a bit. It’s the same thing that happened in Columbus. It’s two games now that we’ve had the lead and concede a goal late in the game.
On United’s 4-5-1 formation to start the game
We just went out and played our game, you know – that’s all we’re concerned about. We felt that no matter what players they put on the field, we just have to go out with the right attitude and compete and keep the ball moving – and we did. We had a great goal in the first half, we gave up a couple and that’s the game.
On finishing chances
We had some very good looks and, our guys, they have to step up to the plate and finish those chances, because at the end of the day that’s what this game is about. We create chances and we’re not finishing those chances.
