D.C. UNITED 3, NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION 0
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION HEAD COACH STEVE NICOL
On the game:
"We started slow and then got slower. We were just awful. You name it and we didn't do it. We put a lot into the (Kansas City) game Thursday. I think we looked tired. We were second to every ball; we made bad decisions. Everything that could have gone wrong for us went wrong for us. We gave up bad goals. The first goal could have been avoidable: we should have been pushed up higher. ... The second goal was bad defending. We can't let people roll balls inside you like that. And the third goal sums up the day. And then that's the game over: three-nil. You know, two-nil, we still have a chance. ... We can't blame anyone but ourselves really because we were poor in every facet of the game. You name it we were bad."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION MIDFIELDER STEVE RALSTON
On trying to build momentum from Thursday's win against K.C.:
"We played pretty well on Thursday night and to come back and have a performance like this, it's disappointing. You're hoping to build on something and we definitely did not. Granted, maybe we had tired legs playing in the heat with the quick turnaround, but (D.C.) played on Wednesday, so they couldn't have been much fresher than we were."
On looking forward to Sunday's game against L.A.:
"I'm not even worried about that right now, honestly. Our schedule is so crazy right now, so many games: Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday; Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday. Honestly, it's a cliché but we have to take it one game at a time. What we're doing right now is just trying to get ready for Wednesday. We have a long stretch and we have to take care of ourselves, guys are in ice tubs and massages, but the only good thing is we do have a quick turnaround."
On how the loss fuels the rivalry:
"I wish we could go out and play these guys again tomorrow. We're obviously very disappointed, we're a better team than what we showed tonight. Next time we play those guys we're going to have to go out and prove it."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION GOALKEEPER MATT REIS
On Joshua Gros' goal in the 22nd minute:
"It was sitting there and I didn't realize he was as close as he was. I didn't see him before the shot came; the only one I saw was (Luciano) Emilio. I wasn't aware that he was there, but I should have covered it up quicker. But that's indicative of the game: they were hungrier and they wanted the game more than we did. We let it happen."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION DEFENDER JAY HEAPS
On the team's performance:
"We just didn't play well, from top to back, back to front. It was one of those days where you've got to try to fix it, and we didn't do it early enough. Then, by the time the second half came around, all the heart and energy wasn't going to change the way we started out that game. You hate to do that at home, I think that's the first game where you can say that we did not compete from the first whistle. That's something where, a guy like myself who competes on everything, getting out-competed in something really hurts."
On D.C. United's play:
"They did everything better today. They finished their chances. They didn't have many, but they finished them all. They kept the ball better than us. You add those two together and you're going to win the heck out of a team like they did to us today."
D.C. UNITED HEAD COACH TOM SOEHN
On the game:
"I think it's more of a team thing today, our mentality. We worked hard, the staff, to really push their guys to bring up our mentality on the road and stick to our game plan. And I thought that was a big difference today."
On being on the attack from the start:
"Yeah, we were pretty organized today. We made it hard for them; we know what their strengths are and took those away. We were much better on the ball and we worked harder. Won some balls high, and we took care of our chances, so that's obviously that's a positive"
On the team:
"Everybody's always questioning how good we are and I know we got a good team. Obviously there are certain days where they're better than others, but we got a good bunch of guys and when we click, we're tough to play against."
On Luciano Emilio:
"He's opportunistic. He's hard on defenders. He makes a living off scoring goals and that's why we brought him in." Forwards are going to go through stretches when they get them in bundles, and stretches when they don't get them. But I've always said, the day he wakes up and goes on one of those stretches, someone's going to pay."
D.C. UNITED MIDFIELDER JOSH GROS
On getting off to a quick start today:
"It was very important. They're a great team and it's always tough to come here to play. To get that early goal, and then to get that one in the second half was really big."
On Luciano Emilio:
"He takes advantages at his chances. He always seems to get in the right place at the right time and he had two chances today and he finished them both."
