D.C. UNITED 2, CHICAGO FIRE 2
D.C. UNITED HEAD COACH TOM SOEHN
On what went wrong:
"I don't think we came out flat early, but we let up a couple big opportunities and when you let some goals in, it's a big mountain to climb. I still credit our guys for fighting through that and still making it interesting. I still thought we were going to win the game, I still felt positive with what we were going to accomplish. I still think Luchi [Emilio] had some effects of his injury. I think it took away some of his moments as well did Jaime [Moreno's injury]. We added some younger guys and they added some life."
On his halftime speech:
"I can't repeat that, but we are a resilient team and I kind of brought back the idea of the Toronto game where we scored four goals in the second half and that there is a lot of soccer left out there. We pushed it as hard as we could and we got two back and I thought the third was coming."
On the game:
"I still think we had a lot of the game -- it's just not putting away opportunities and blocks on the line. [Matt] Pickens came up with a big save and that's soccer, unfortunately and not always the best team comes out on top and I give them credit for how they compete and battle. And unfortunately we were on the wrong side of that."
On Chicago's first half goals:
"I think they were broken plays and we got caught flat. I am going to look at that again, I haven't had time to look at them close and we will break that down. They are mistakes and we got punished for them. Again, give Chicago credit for being opportunistic and finishing those chances off."
On the fans:
"We have the best fans in the league and you could see that tonight. The atmosphere is amazing and the fact that the final is being played here and we aren't in it, I feel like apologizing to each and every one of them because they deserve it more than anybody."
On Christian Gomez handball and disallowed goal:
"It's a situation where both guys are competing for the ball and Christian fought through that and finished it off. I haven't had time to look at it in slow motion, I mean he only has a split second to make a decision and he decided what he did. And there is nothing you can do and nothing to change that."
On starting Bobby Boswell over Devon McTavish:
"Bobby has been looking good and I have been shuffling them -- and Bobby has a lot of experience so we went with Bobby. Unfortunately he hurt himself a bit, got a charlie horse and he took himself out of the game, but overall I thought Bobby did pretty well."
On Clyde Simms' goal:
"It's like any game, you get one back and it brings life [to the team]. I was hoping we would get one at the end of the first half. Anytime you score, it brings out more abilities and it changes your mindset. I wish we would have done it earlier because we would have a little more time and we would have got the result we needed."
On adding players at the beginning of the year, but still falling short:
"You know it's difficult for a guy like Luciano, who's scoring goals at will -- [playoffs] come at a time where he's hurt. And he is not going to be at his best and it's going to take a little time to do that. And in the playoffs, it's short, you don't have enough time to deal with that. I think over the course of the season, you manage injuries and all, but in the playoffs, it's tough, you have to be healthy and you have to be sharp and when a couple of your major guys are hurt, it will take away from the things you are good at. You saw that in Chicago and we had a hard time creating opportunities. I felt that obviously we were better tonight but we're playing at home.
On being the best team in the league:
"I'm sure you can ask that [question] to most coaches and the test of a good team is over the course of the season and anywhere else in the world, the champion is crowned after the season. So, I am still really proud of what we accomplished, winning the Supporters' Shield -- that was high on our list. And of course the MLS Cup [was too], it's a time where you hope your team is hot and healthy and unfortunately we weren't, but that's soccer. You have to deal with that. The final is here and we are not in it, of course I'm bitter."
On his post-game locker room speech:
"The one thing is when you have a team, they are a reflection of the coach. And the one thing I don't want to see out of my team is quitting and I don't think anybody did, I think they gave what they had and for that you have got to be proud of their efforts."
D.C. UNITED GOALKEEPER TROY PERKINS
On Chicago's goal:
"We were just letting guys get away from us. The first goal, granted it was a great ball into [Chad] Barrett, but at the same time if we stay with our runners it could have been avoided. We just struggled with that, staying with our guys, and some of that is probably me needing to tell the guys where to be."
On whether or not Chicago was the better team:
"I've got to say yes because they beat us. I can't sit here and say anything different because I hate when people do that. They fight hard, they have a bunch of brutes in the back and we just didn't deal with it. Right now they are better than us."
On the playoff results:
"I mean in every other league in the world you fight all season to win the league. Here you win the Supporters' Shield and then get into the playoffs and start all over."
On the long season ending with disappointment:
"You know, it's tough. Like I said, you fight to win every game to get the Supporters' Shield, but then it's back to square one. There's no excuse we should have won. We should have played better."
D.C. UNITED DEFENDER GREG VANNEY
On Chicago's goals:
"The first one I can't remember how that started, but we were both shifting out and the ball got played in behind us. I'm not sure how because the play was behind me. For me, you have to prevent the service -- that's number one. The second one I don't really remember at all. By that point I was kind of numb to that, and focused on how we had to score goals."
On the mindset after going down 3-0 on aggregate:
"That was tough. [Your] mindset completely changes because you have to send so many people forward. You have to also be cautious though while doing that. You want to go after them, but you don't want to give them something. You go into the game thinking you can just outplay them and win the game, but then you have to throw that idea out the window when they score two like that. You have to hope that you don't get counterattacked, and we did a pretty good job in the second half of playing man on man. We had to get everyone forward and I think we we're valiant in doing that and I'm proud of the guys around me. But we underachieved; we should be going through."
On Gomez's goal being disallowed:
"I mean I thought it was in. I couldn't see anything and obviously there was no replay. I mean, I think there were a lot of handballs in this series and they decided to call one and that was the one that could have helped us. I think in the first game they had a couple handballs that weren't called that were in the box, but that's old news now and it's disappointing. We knew if we could get the third goal the game was ours, but that's the game. It's a silly game, but that's why it's exciting to watch."
D.C. UNITED FORWARD JAIME MORENO
On what happened:
"I don't have an answer. I wish we played a better first half. It is difficult to make it back when you get down like that. It is very disappointing. It's a long season and we didn't want it to end this way."
D.C. UNITED MIDFIELD ROD DYACHECNKO
On how it feels to end the season like that:
"It is hard. I mean it hurts. I think we created enough chances, but in the end you have to finish and we just fell short."
On the fans:
"It was really tough because we really do have the best fans. I mean they were incredible, it was a great atmosphere to play in."
CHICAGO FIRE HEAD COACH JUAN CARLOS OSORIO
On the team:
"I think we have developed a really strong team spirit throughout the team. Defensively we are a very well balanced team and we don't concede many goals. Up front I think now we are playing to our strengths and our strikers know what they are all about. I think we play a lot better more organized soccer starting in August."
On the referees:
"I thought they made a big mistake not giving their goalie a red card and giving us a free kick instead of a penalty. I mean we have seen these kind of mistakes all year. It is something we definitely need to improve in this league."
On if the last 10 minutes felt long:
"I think we defended very well. In the last few days, we have spent a lot of time defending crosses and diagonal balls and with the one exception I think we did a very good job."
CHICAGO FIRE GOALKEEPER MATT PICKENS:
On the game:
"I never really doubted ourselves because I think we have been the best team in the league for the past two months. I never have any doubt in our team defense, but to come to D.C. and score two goals is incredible. To fend them off is pretty hard to do. Not many teams can do that, and we have done it twice in the past two years. It's a good feeling we are playing good defense and getting the goals when we need to."
CHICAGO FIRE FORWARD CHAD BARRETT
On his goal:
"I saw [Bobby] Boswell cheating in a little bit, and saw some space and they [Calen Carr] did a great job of finding me. It was a great ball. I took a pretty good first touch with my left foot and then just finished it far post."
On the feeling of scoring:
"It's my first playoff goal. Probably [felt] the same Chris [Rolfe] did last week when he scored. He scored another great goal tonight, and I think that is a big thing for us as we continue to finish."
On the focus for the next game:
"We have to figure out who that [opponent] is first and then for me scoring goals."
