MLS QUOTESHEET 2009
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2009 - D.C. UNITED 3, TORONTO FC 3
D.C. UNITED HEAD COACH TOM SOEHN
On the draw
It’s really disappointing, you know, we obviously made some key mistakes, and not many, but the ones that we made really cost us. It’s unacceptable; we can’t afford to do that. We can’t afford to get in a shootout at home. We were pretty much in control of the game and with one bad chance or bad giveaway, and it gives them life and energy.
On the game
We had chances and all, but the way games are played, they’re sitting pretty deep, it’s hard to break them down. We got the early one, and when we came out in the second half we had a really good opportunity to put it away and really forced them to have to play. We kept pushing and we gave up a bad goal, and it gave them life so it’s pretty frustrating on this end. Granted, they didn’t give up and they get a tie out of it, but you don’t walk away feeling good about this one at all.
On the first goal scored by De Rosario
You know, the communication, it’s got to be better. In fact, we had a couple of instances where it didn’t turn into anything, but it could’ve. It was a situation where they weren’t creating it was us giving them opportunities, and that’s the disappointing side.
On Ange N’Silu
[N’Silu] did well. He was opportunistic on the goal; he’s good in the air, held some balls for us. He hasn’t played a lot of minutes, he came off an injury, and we need to get him some minutes to get him fit.
On the goalkeeper situation
On any given day, one can be better than the next, so it’s up to us which one’s going to stand out in the end. And Josh [Wicks] is not far either; Josh has done a real good job of getting fit. It’s early in the year and we have to figure out in which direction we want to go.
On aerial balls in the first half
They were sitting back and looking to pump balls up. And we talked about it, we talked about the communication, that was so disappointing about allowing the goal. That’s all we lacked.
D.C. UNITED FORWARD JAIME MORENO
On the manic finish at the end
I thought it was pretty exciting. I thought we relaxed a little too much in the beginning we thought it was going to be easier and it got complicated. I think we learned the hard way, but at the same time it is good it came this early in the season so we know what’s out there and to be prepared for that.
On the handball
I couldn’t really see, I missed a header and somebody was in front of me, but obviously they called it. The referee was there and he saw it, said it was a handball.
On his penalty kick
It’s one of those things - [Stefan Frei] did a good job of waiting for me. I was lucky - I tried to hit it a little hard, with pace and a little high. It went where I picked the spot and I was lucky to convert.
On the never-say-die attitude of the team
It’s always positive - we never give up, so we fought until the end and it showed. It’s a good lesson for us, and hopefully won’t happen again.
D.C. UNITED DEFENDER BRYAN NAMOFF
On De Rosario’s second goal
It was a counter. It was one of those where he had the momentum going forward - takes a long touch, which triggers me to stop him. I had Clyde Simms coming in to double down and he brings it in and shoots it in right outside the 18. It was a great goal.
On the turning point in the second half
[Toronto’s first] goal. It was a trigger point. It was just a miscommunication with Milos [Kocic] and Dejan [Jakovic]. They really didn’t have too many opportunities before that one. The momentum was completely on our side, the confidence was high. We were exploiting them out wide; all the keys we wanted to exploit before the game. We shot ourselves in the foot.
On the ball he drove into the box to win the PK
I was trying to play it in the near post for Jaime [Moreno]’s run - he actually faked the ball to the oncoming runner and the defender just sat there and kind of threw his arm up. It’s a deep sigh of relief and we were resilient to come away with the tie.
D.C. UNITED FORWARD CHRIS PONTIUS
On his goal
I’m just trying to keep my shots on frame now. Jaime [Moreno] did a great dummy and cleared it up for me. I don’t think the goalie could see much and I was just trying to get it on frame and give it a little bit of power.
On how the game went after he subbed on
It got crazy at the end. We’ve already had a couple of those games this year, so we know how to react to those kinds of situations.
On his confrontation with De Rosario
I got spun around in the air. It was a hard play and I just didn’t like him standing over me like that so I let him know that.
On the team learning from blown chances
I’d rather have these mistakes happen in the beginning to the season rather than later on in the playoffs. Hopefully we’re learning from every game. We’re still getting points out of these games so it’s not the end of the world, but we need to pick up some wins and learn from our mistakes more.
D.C. UNITED GOALKEEPER MILOS KOCIC
On Toronto’s first goal
Their first goal - that’s the goal that changed the game. It’s my fault for that goal. It was a good punt from Frei and it dropped between me and Dejan [Jakovic]. He did a good job shielding [De Rosario], but somehow he put his leg up.
On his play up to that point
I had a pretty good game until then. You can’t do anything about, just got to keep my head up and keep working hard, and whenever I get my next change to play to step up. One bad goal is not going to change my career.
On De Rosario’s second goal
It was just a bomb. We spread out too much and we’re still thinking about the goal we scored. He got a ball and was in a great position to shoot it and it was too far away for me to save it.
On the team’s resilient spirit
Every single player is fighting for the team and that is a great attitude. If we had lost today it would have been miserable because we put so much effort in it.
D.C. UNITED DEFENDER DEJAN JAKOVIC
On the first half
In the first half I thought everyone played well. We kept the ball, closed down on those spaces, created some chances. Maybe if we got more goals in the first half it would have been better.
On playing with different goalkeepers
It was a little bit of a miscommunication. [Frei] punted it like 100 yards and I couldn’t get to it. Somehow De Rosario got a toe on it.
On the last 15 minutes of the game
We started pushing forward and it looked like they went three up top. The long balls were giving us trouble, but I’m glad we at least got a tie out of it.
TORONTO FC HEAD COACH CHRIS CUMMINS
On the PK
Penalties go either way; they go with you or go against you. [Wynne] comes up, he’s got his hand up, it’s a penalty. And he has to get that. I would say it’s as simple as that. I got no complaints with the ref. But like I said, I know D.C. is at home. They came out, they threw everything at us but we defended very well. We’re disappointed because we didn’t win the game but I’ll take the point.
On the game
We sat at half time, I thought we were still in the game. We put Pablo [Vitti] in, we had more movement, we had a bit more quality, we went to a 3-5-2, and we created a lot more chances, and you know you look at the players after the game and they’re disappointed, and I’m sure if you would have asked them before the game they would have taken this result, but they’re disappointed and I like that. They came out with sad faces, but there is another game on Wednesday, and tonight we played away from home and scored three goals.
On Toronto’s lineup
You only bring three subs in and you have a lot of games, they play a lot of games as well and we put up the best team again so that is good. Obviously we made the changes that we could, we had to play Adrian [Serioux], you know, Adrian wouldn’t have started today to give him a rest, but you know like I said they rest up now, they’re ready for next game.
TORONTO FC FORWARD DWAYNE DE ROSARIO
On the game
We got three goals away from home, which is good, I think we started the game up slow, and probably the humidity got to us a bit, but then second half we felt our game, and we started to play the way we should play.
On the penalty
Basically the ball came across the six-yard box and bounced up and hit the player’s hand. Is it a penalty? I don’t know. You can call it for or against, but they called it, and Frei did so well to try to stop Moreno’s penalty shot, and Moreno is good at taking shots. But you know I’m pleased with the end result, a tie, but still disappointed we didn’t come out with a win.
On the difference in the second half
First half we were slow. We were second to every ball; they were beating us everywhere, balls in the air, second balls, they came out to win and were dictating the pace. Second half we turned it around. We had a good team talk, and said we got to pick it up and play a lot better than that. And thankfully we turned it around second half and capitalized on our chances.
TORONTO FC FORWARD PABLO VITTI
On the game
I think it was a good game. Well played, especially the second half, it was entertaining and both teams did things well. It was a fun game because both teams wanted to win, we knew it was an important game, and we both came out to play and win. It was pretty open, there was a lot of open space, and that is why it was fun to watch.
On the result
It’s frustrating, we had the game, the handball a little questionable, but we’re satisfied because we played a great second half. It’s a valuable point because they are first on the table. I thought that after the last goal we had the game, but in soccer you never know. But like I said, it’s a valuable point.
On D.C. United
A good impression, they play the ball well, make good connections, pass the ball around. It’s a great team that will get far because they know how to play.
On the second half
I think we started having possession of the ball and play on their half - we attacked more. We didn’t do much of that in the first half, and they felt our pressure, we gained confidence and the goals came.
Broadcasting and P.A. Request: When speaking of the organization, please refer to the team as either “D.C. United” or “United,” but not “the D.C. United” or “the United.” We appreciate your cooperation.
Doug Hicks,
dhicks@dcunited.com
, (202) 587-5448,
Boris Flores,
bflores@dcunited.com
, (202) 587-5452,
Kyle Sheldon,
ksheldon@dcunited.com
, (202) 587-5450 or
Cristina Cruz,
ccruz@dcunited.com
, (202) 587-5440
