MLS 2009 QUOTESHEET
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2009 – D.C. UNITED 2, NEW YORK RED BULLS 0
D.C. UNITED HEAD COACH TOM SOEHN
On getting a win
It’s kind of funny that on the day when I thought “we’ve had better moments soccer-wise” you come out and take a game in which you shore up so there’s a real positive in that because we’ve been looking to do that but it wasn’t our best soccer day. We didn’t create our normal chances but at least we were opportunistic when we did.
On Josh Wicks
He manned the box very well. He really had a presence in the game. Especially on a wet day, it can cause keepers a lot of havoc and defenders so he really stepped up to the plate today.
On Rodney Wallace
He’s a guy that has a big engine and he’s got a lot of fight and in training wins a lot of balls. We’re still trying to figure out all the pieces and what we can get out of everybody. At the time that was our best eleven and we gave him an opportunity and he did alright. He still can be a little more positive with the way he plays, offensively, but he did alright.
On Fred
Fred’s pretty versatile. You never want to defend against him because you never know what he’s going to do. He made a couple of great defensive plays that turned into chances going the other way. He has come back and get fit because he seemed to cramp up at some point, I believe he did in the 86th minute. Fred offers a lot of energy and people feed off it.
On Christian Gomez
It was a game where we needed him. We needed someone to settle the game down and hold the ball for us and he came in and injected a lot of energy right away. He had a couple of good chances and he was very unfortunate not get it. But it was a game that he did a better job defensively. He kind of sat in the spot we needed to and we were able to find him and start the attack.
On the importance of getting a win after so many draws
Yeah, and most importantly is to get a shutout. I preached all week, and today especially, when we score that first goal, 1-0 is good and I thought ‘we’re going to win 1-0’ and they kept a clean sheet so that’s very important.
D.C. UNITED FORWARD JAIME MORENO
On coming off the bench
Like I said, [Gomez and I] are here for the team. If coach decides to put us on the bench, we have nothing to say. Just work and help the team. That’s the reason we’re here.
On the play that led to the penalty kick
I think it was a corner for them, and the ball bounced right to me. So I took off and Christian [Gomez] was beside me. He did a great overlap. It was a great play by him and on the penalty I was lucky to convert.
D.C. UNITED MIDFIELDER/FORWARD SANTINO QUARANTA
On playing in the rain
It was beautiful. Nice and wet and fast. I think that’s the way every game should be played. So fast. You’ve got to make faster decisions; it’s not as slow.
On the team’s performance
We were trying to build off of what we did in New England in the first half and I thought we did pretty well. We’re just trying to find the right mix of players and energy because we’ve got a lot of good players here. We’re trying to figure out the right mix and we’re doing a good job of it.
On bouncing back after last week’s loss
We needed three points. It was very important to get three points tonight. It was good to get right back at it from Saturday to Thursday. That was our main goal, to get three points tonight.
D.C. UNITED MIDFIELDER CHRISTIAN GOMEZ
On coming off the bench
As a player you never want to be on the bench, but obviously I’ve been nicked up a little bit with an injury on my toe. I didn’t play much last weekend and I didn’t practice much this week. I came on in the second half and I felt good, so overall it was a good performance for us.
On whether playing is better than practicing
Definitely, especially once the years start catching up to you. But seriously, in training we have to work hard so you’re match ready and fit to play on game days.
On the play that led to a penalty
It was a counter-attack play where Jaime [Moreno] went in front of me. I yelled at him to wait for me, and he did, and he gave me the ball. Then I went in the box and the keeper made contact with me so it was a PK call.
D.C. UNITED GOALKEEPER JOSH WICKS
On his save to preserve the shutout
You have a split second to decide, so I just held my ground and made a good reaction save to secure a victory.
On whether his performance reflects his level of fitness
Definitely. It lets me know that the work I put in to get fit, to get in shape and keep my focus throughout 90-plus minutes [is paying off]. A save like that shows me that mental toughness and fitness-wise, it’s going strong.
On the communication with the defense
It’s great. It’s improving every day. Today, I feel there weren’t any mental lapses at all. From the back line to the outside mids to the center backs, the communication for switching players and tracking runners, the communication from me to them, I think was spot on today. Once again, everything is going right for you and even if you have a couple bad bounces, you still come out on top.
NEW YORK RED BULLS HEAD COACH JUAN CARLOS OSORIO
On the game
[We’re] Disappointed with the result. I think the team played well against a very good team. We limited them to only a few chances and we created our own. I think that we created enough chances and entries into the attacking third but we couldn’t finish them up.
On adjusting at halftime to three defenders
We think Nick [Zimmerman] has been improving and has been showing us that he needs playing time and he didn’t disappoint anybody. He came into a very difficult game and played his game, created good chances, had one shot from distance, got good looks at goal. We’re very pleased with his performance and we think we made a good adjustment at halftime.
On losing three games in a row
Just keep playing, keep working and eventually that will turn around.
NEW YORK RED BULLS MIDFIELDER NICK ZIMMERMAN
On the team’s struggles this season
We’re playing well a lot of times, but you know it doesn’t matter how you play. What matters is results.
NEW YORK RED BULLS DEFENDER MIKE PETKE
On the Red Bulls’ eighth loss of the season
It’s frustrating, disappointing. A lot of guys played hard out there tonight, and that’s becoming a disgusting cliché in my mind. I feel like all our guys work hard all the time, but we’re just not getting results.
On what is going wrong with the team
If I knew, I’d be the head coach, and I’d still be the center back if I was head coach – I would put myself there. I don’t know what’s going on. You know, I don’t believe in the whole luck thing. I believe in a little luck. Everybody gets lucky here and there, but I don’t want to start saying clichés and stuff. But we just can’t find the net, and we can’t keep the ball in the net with the very few opportunities that we’re afforded against. It’s a horrible combination to have, so someone has to sacrifice a chicken or something because something has to happen.
On the quick turnaround to playing New England on Sunday
I don’t know how to look at it. Physically wise, [we’re] probably not [ready]. But it doesn’t matter what’s good for us. It’s a reality that we’re playing again Sunday. We’ll take the train ride home tomorrow morning, gather our thoughts, get back to work, practice, get up to Boston and throw everything we have at them.
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
