D.C. United assistant coach Pat Onstad
Thoughts on the new stadium
“The experience was great. It’s a beautiful stadium. The fans were into it. It’s nice seeing a sea of orange. The way you come into the stadium is pretty impressive. I’m glad they took their time to get it into the right location.”
Thoughts on the match
“The first 30-35 minutes I thought we did a pretty good job and then we lost our footing a bit. It was the first time we saw heat this year and I think that affected us a bit. We just need to regroup. We have a game on Wednesday so we need them to recover as quickly as possible.”
D.C. United midfielder Dwayne De Rosario
Thoughts on the experience at BBVA Compass Stadium
“The fans showing their appreciation for me made me feel really welcome. It’s a great moment for me. I can’t emphasize how proud I am for the Dynamo organization and for the city that they have a soccer-specific stadium.”
Thoughts on the match
“In these conditions, you look for the effort. At halftime, I said the main thing would be the focus. Every guy needs to stay focused mentally and I think we did that. We showed a little fight toward the last 10 minutes and maybe it was a bit too late. We just have to put this behind us and move forward.”
D.C. United midfielder Danny Cruz
Thoughts on the match
“I was excited to play here. It’s an amazing atmosphere as usual. I’m just really frustrated and sad to fight so hard and lose 1-0. They had a lot of opportunities but it’s just frustrating. You never want to lose three points. They played well, though, so you have to give it to them.
Houston Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear
Thoughts on the experience at the stadium opener
“I just wanted a goal and to win the game. It’s not often that you open a stadium with a sold-out crowd and you want to make sure you take advantage of the opportunity and to give the fans what they are coming here for. They want to see the home team win and the score is the last thing they will remember.”
Thoughts on keeping the team focused on the game
“The locker room was pretty bouncy and I left them alone. I told them to make sure their focus was on 90 minutes. It was the first time they were walking down the tunnel with the crowd cheering their names but in the end it is a game and there is nothing different about it.”
On being nervous leading up to the match
“I always feel a bit more nervous at home because you are supposed to win the games at home. You have things in your favor and you want them to go your way. You want this to go well and you want to win. We have been waiting for this for a long time.”
Thoughts on Tuesday’s match vs. Portland
“We are going to change things up. It would be a crime to ask these guys to play 90 minutes again. Unfortunately, you don’t get the chance to rest with a schedule like this.”
Houston Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis
Thoughts on the match
“Today was a special day, not just for us players but for this organization and for the city of Houston. It’s been a long run and we have been waiting for this for a long time. To be able to come out and get a win, I don’t think we could have written the script any better.”
On the goal
“I got a ball from Andrew [Hainault] and turned. Usually, my option is to go out to Jermaine [Taylor] if I get closed down. I’ve been striking the ball well during training this past week so I decided to give it a chance and let it fly. When I did, I saw where it was going and knew he was going to get a touch. I just hoped he wouldn’t get enough. I saw it go in and went over to the Supporters’ section to let them enjoy the moment with us as well.”
On scoring the first goal
“Pure joy. Those moments are tough to put into words. To be here and to have that happen is pretty special. It is a day that I will never forget. It’s a moment I will never forget and one our fans will never forget. “
Houston Dynamo forward Brian Ching
Thoughts on the match
“We started a little shaky but we settled down in the second half and came out with a deserved win. It’s been exciting all week. You get out there and get the jitters a bit but I thought we settled down in the second half of the first half and then again in the second half. We got the three points most importantly and hats off to Brad [Davis] for coming through with a great goal.”
On trying to score a goal
“I think the guys were trying to get me a goal but it’s a game of inches and the inches didn’t go my way tonight. I should have put one away. We should have been cruising at the end but we got the shutout and got back to the way things are. It was a great job by our team, specifically our defense and Tally [Hall].”
