4-4 on aggregate; COL WINS 5-4 ON PKs
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2006 -- PIZZA HUT PARK
FC DALLAS HEAD COACH COLIN CLARKE
On the game:
"Almost 100 minutes we battled down a man, I thought the boys were absolutely magnificent and they didn't deserve that."
On the gameplan:
"We wanted to continue to get at them rather than sit back for the whole of the game and it paid dividends, but at the end of the day we just came up a little bit short."
FC DALLAS MIDFIELDER RICHARD MULROONEY
On the game:
"To lose at home like this on penalty kicks, it hurts. To be up a goal at two different points with five to seven minutes left in the half only for them to come back and get a goal is tough to swallow. I give our guys all the credit for playing 90 minutes with 10 guys and never giving up, but I have to give Colorado credit to because it's just as tough to come back from a goal down to tie it up."
FC DALLAS MIDFIELDER RONNIE O'BRIEN
On the game:
"We played 90 minutes with 10 men and we came within minutes of doing the job we came here to do. PKs are a crapshoot and that's the way the game goes."
On the result:
"It hurts, it really does. It's the exact same as last year. We came close and you can't fault our effort, playing 90 minutes with 10 men and we almost pulled it off. It's disappointing. We gave it all we had and just came up short."
COLORADO RAPIDS HEAD COACH FERNANDO CLAVIJO
On the game:
"We deserved to win in Colorado. We outplayed a team with very good players. The result of the first game wasn't justified. We were determined to come out tonight and make a game of it. We weren't going to go out without a fight. We showed from the beginning and felt that if it went all the way to penalty kicks that we had a good shot to win it. We always felt that we were going to win it. That is the sign of a good team to be able to come back and win."
COLORADO RAPIDS MIDFIELDER PABLO MASTROENI
On the game:
"It was definitely a rollercoaster. That's kind of almost the way our season has been. We have had lots of highs and a lot of lows. But I think with those highs and lows, we've found a way to overcome a lot of adversity throughout the year both on and off the field. I think we pulled together as a team and did what we had to do. This is a testament to the characters on the team and our belief in one another."
On the team's chances:
"I just think that we have quality players on this team. We have experienced players mixed with a lot of young players who are up-and-coming. We were the only guys who didn't sell ourselves short this year. The media and soccer publications never gave us a chance. We had nothing to lose and that was our mindset. We have World Cup veterans on this team, have people that have played in Real Madrid, Champions League games and other big games. We also have up-and-coming young guys who are proving they can make a difference on this team."
COLORADO RAPIDS MIDFIELDER KYLE BECKERMAN
On the game:
"The way we looked at it was to give it everything we got and leave it all on the field. All week, we didn't talk about it. We just did it. Last week, after what happened on Saturday, we were gutted and were searching for answers. All week, we looked at it and realized that we were only down one goal. We knew we would get our chances. We just had to make the most of them and play tough."
On Terry Cooke not playing:
"We missed him (Cooke) quite a bit this year. But it's something you've got to get on with. We came out fighting, scratching, clawing and looking to get the win."
COLORADO RAPIDS MIDFIELDER CLINT MATHIS
On taking the penalty kick:
"I was just asking him who was first. They were talking about it and he said I was first. I'm going to take it, make it and start it off. I had been having groin issues and just stepped up and took it. We've been working on them all week and I had been hitting them."
