Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake Head Coach Jeff Cassar
On clinching a playoff berth in his first year as head coach:
“Wow. It’s been a learning experience all the way around for myself, but I’m so blessed to lead these men. They are an unbelievable group of men. They are competitors, they are excellent people, so it’s been a pleasure. It’s been a learning year for me, personally, and I’m so pleased for the guys in the locker room to have qualified. If you would have said ‘would you take 52 points’ at the beginning of the year, I would have jumped at it. Super pleased where we are at. We have some business to finish up at the end of the year, we have a lot to play for still, and now it’s getting ourselves ready to head into the playoffs and position ourselves right.”
On wanting to make the opposition wilt:
“I do [feel like we did that after the first two goals]. Obviously, extremely pleased with getting a shutout. Jeff [Attinella] wasn’t extremely busy tonight, but had a huge performance for us. He suffered an ankle injury yesterday in training, very painful, stepped up huge for us, and it was really important for us to get that shutout. I think that’s a big thing with us moving forward, especially heading into Portland.”
On five consecutive seasons with 50-plus points:
“It’s not easy. It starts all the way in preseason and preparing. Every game is important in this league. No game is easy. Obviously, last week was a tough week for us. That just shows that you have to bring your A game every week. I thought our intensity and focus and pressure today was off the charts. San Jose did a great job of hanging in there, but we stayed on top of them and really played the whole game in their half.”
On MF Sebastian Velasquez starting:
“I go back to the Sacramento game and he was fantastic. Very bright in the attack, putting it in on the defensive, making good choices, and he’s been training well since that game. So I felt very comfortable putting him into that position because he has been playing well. Super proud of him. It’s not easy to step in to Javier Morales’ shoes but I thought Sebastian [Velasquez] did an excellent job of that.”
On the quick start:
“It was something that we talked about after the Chivas game. We were moving the ball but not penetrating, not being aggressive, not forcing their goalkeeper to make any saves. We definitely wanted to not come out like that at home. Jon Busch made a few very good saves to make his team in it, and we just kept our foot on the gas. We knew that if we stayed aggressive, that their dam would break, and give credit to the players.”
On traveling to Portland Timbers on Friday and using this momentum:
“[Portland needs a win] without a doubt. They’ve been playing some good soccer as of late. They are very attacking with their front four especially. We know what they are about, we know what we need to do. Obviously, we want to finish in a certain spot to make sure we head into the playoffs in the right way. We’re going to be aggressive but extremely mindful and organized.”
On the effect of RSL’s international call-ups:
“They come back sometime on the 15th and then we travel on the 16th. As we’ve heard Nick Rimando is going to be playing. We hope he plays fantastic and comes out healthy. The rest we have to see what kind of minutes that they are logging. Extremely pleased with the guys we had on the field tonight and when they return it’s only going to make us stronger.”
Real Salt Lake MF Ned Grabavoy
On his goal:
“I can’t remember who it played off of or how it came out. Usually, they’re bouncing around a little bit, so you’ve got to try to get over the top it, but that one seemed to be almost rolling, like a pass – which was great so my eyes lit up a little bit. There was little bit of traffic in there, but I just tried to get it rolling on frame.”
On scoring early:
“It’s great. I think it kind of got us going a little bit. I think our energy was pretty good for the most part for most of the game. The soccer stuff maybe wasn’t the best that we know we can play, but the energy was certainly there, and we kind of got our chances and our opportunities from that. I felt like that kind of got us going, especially through the rest of that half as well. When you get some chances, you’ve got to put some stuff away and change the game, and we did that tonight.”
On making the playoffs for a seventh-straight year:
“I think it’s great. Obviously, you want to win trophies, I understand that. We certainly had chances to do that and we’ve been close to some that we unfortunately haven’t won. But, at the same time, I think you build something consistent in the club, and the fans have something to support. I think you can see how this whole thing has grown, on the field and off the field, with our support from our fans and ownership, etc., and right on down the line. It just goes to show that we have a system in place, we have good players here, we’ve had a really, really good core. The one thing I will say is: I really do feel like the players do get credit. I think people don’t realize how fortunate they are to have an unbelievable core group of guys together this long .I certainly think there have been some individual players who’ve made sacrifices to stay here and support this thing. I know it’s all important to us – all the other guys for sure.”
Real Salt Lake DF Tony Beltran
On making the playoffs for a seventh-straight year:
“It’s a testament to this organization, this group. It’s not easy. It’s something you have to earn consistently. It’s such a long, grueling season, and you look at the race in the west and the east right now, and it’s incredibly tight. It’s a stat to be very proud of and something we’ve earned.”
On how he feels coming back from injury:
“I felt good. I felt a little heavy. I think being two weeks out, I’m still obviously trying to maintain my fitness, but it was tough – I was shut down there for a little bit. Things got a little bit heavy, but for the most part I feel really good.”
On the intensity tonight:
“I think it was a fantastic response, and I think that the intensity was there from the beginning – the desire, the passion. I think we’re at our best when we outwork teams – when we go out there and we show them we want it more, that’s when our soccer comes out.”
Real Salt Lake MF Luke Mulholland
On clinching a seventh-straight playoff berth:
“I’m very happy that we could do that [clinch], and keep the trend going. I’m delighted to reach the playoffs in my first year, and I’m happy that I could be a part of the team and help the team get there. I feel like, if we weren’t to get to the playoffs, then that’s just a bad season, fallen short. I think if we don’t win the [conference] semifinals, I think with how good this team is, we’ve fallen short as well. We expect to get to the playoffs, win the [conference] semifinal, and then compete for the conference final and obviously the MLS Cup final. Definitely a delight to be in the playoffs, but definitely not done.”
On the intensity tonight:
“We always come to win at home. It’s just one of those feelings you get – I feel like every team has it, when you got 20,000 plus fans cheering you on, it’s great. Also, anytime we score a couple of goals in the first half, that sits us down to tea, coming in at halftime, knowing what we’ve done well, knowing what we can create for the second half. We usually just go out there in the second half and have a solid professional performance, and credit to the guys for not conceding any goals tonight.”
Looking towards Portland next week:
“Looking forward to that, I’m sure. I’m sure we’ll be buzzing. They’ll be right to bring their players in and pushing their players on to victory. That revs us up as well, and everyone wants to play in front of thousands of fans. So, I’m definitely looking forward to that game. They’re going to bring their best – 110% hard work – so we’ve just got to match that and get what we can, knowing that we’ve got one more game at home against Chivas midweek. But let’s see if we can take care of business this Friday, and secure third place.”
San Jose Earthquakes
San Jose Earthquakes Head Coach Mark Watson
On how the Earthquakes handled playing their third game in eight days:
"The one thing I'll say about our guys is that I thought they fought right until the end. There's tons of things that go against you and reasons you shouldn't win the game, but in the end we weren't good enough on the night. But our guys kept going to the end so I'm proud of them for that."
On what he wants to see from his players with two weeks left in the season:
"I think everyone wants to win. It's been a long time. I think that would boost the spirits a little bit. I think there's a lot for the guys to play for. We have a proud bunch of guys and you always want to do well. You're playing for yourselves as well. You look at next season and there's obviously going to be changes and guys are playing for positions, every single one of them."
San Jose Earthquakes DF Jordan Stewart
On playing without their top scorers:
"Obviously it's hard when you do play so many games. We didn't have a full squad. We only had like 14 or 15 guys that could play with a few of the guys carrying knocks. Still, I think the goals we conceded we could have stopped. Obviously, they were going to have more of the possession."
On what they need to do in their final two matches of the season:
"I know I hate losing. I'm sure the rest of the boys are the same. We need to win whether it's scrappy or whether we need to change something by going back to the foundations and the basics of trying to win a soccer game. Obviously, as a player it's frustrating to lose so many games in a season. I think we've won six games all season which is never ideal. Especially with expectations of us trying to make the playoffs. This is my second season and I've never made it so I feel disappointed."
