QUOTE SHEET
Real Salt Lake 3-2 DC United
Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
May 12, 2018
Real Salt Lake
Head Coach Mike Petke
On needing a win tonight:
“It always comes down to the three points and I wouldn’t want somebody on my team who would rather have personal glory then three points. The last thing I said (before the kickoff) was three points for the team, 200 wins for Nick and you could tell that he didn’t want to hear that. That’s the credit to Nick. Three points are great and obviously, it’s a special night for Nick; not just for Nick, but for all of us. The players, the organization. Nick represents this organization and anytime he can be recognized is phenomenal.”
On finishing chances:
“Taking your opportunities. Corey had a phenomenal goal, same with Savarino, same with Albert. Sometimes it’s a coin flip unfortunately. Those three guys took their chances tonight and put away some pretty nice goals and perhaps we could’ve had one of two more.
Midfielder Kyle Beckerman
On handing Rimando 200 wins trophy:
“It was great. To be a part of it with him, all the hard work he’s put in, he really deserves it. And he’s the best, you know, so just every time he plays, he’s breaking another record, its really cool to be a part of.”
On Rimando’s character:
“That’s just Nick. He’s all about the team, he’s making turns to get three points, win the game, all that other stuff is bonus. And that’s I think part of the reason that makes him so great. You know that’s his mindset, he’s always with the team, and he’s kept us in so many games, he’s been huge for us for so many years, so it’s great to be a part of that game to be a part of 200, and let’s get to 300 [wins].”
On getting victory after two hard away losses:
“Yeah we were talking about it a bit before the game you know to take those positives from those games and actually get some points. It was just an important game to get three points with four out of five on the road to then finally come back home in the middle of it. We needed to get the three points to stick with the pack. So, that was the main thing. Of course, we like to play fun soccer where everybody’s touching it, the balls on the ground, and there were some good times for that tonight. And then there were some times where we just had to battle and get it done. So, there was a good balance of it, and we’ll look what we did good, look what we did bad and try to improve this week and get better for next week.”
On Set Piece Preparation and Conceding A Set Piece Goal
“Yeah I mean its always one of our goals to not give up anything on set pieces, so we’re definitely disappointed. But it was a good response to get a goal right back, kind of take the wind out of their sails. But yeah, we’ll look at it, we’ll try to get better, and see if hopefully that is last set piece goal we give up.”
On response to DC United goal:
“I think it was just as a collective group, we knew we needed to respond, we needed to get back in it. The thing is I felt that when we went down, nobody panicked, we felt like let’s continue, lets get our game going. And when we did, we got the goal, we got the second one, we really pushed on for the third, and just to get the win.”
Goalkeeper Nick Rimando
On Injury at the end:
“I just came out for a ball, as I went up I felt an elbow, or a head collide with my head and then just me hitting the floor and hearing the whistle called.”
On what it means to reach 200-win milestone:
“It’s special for sure. I’ve got to give not just myself credit, but all my team mates that I’ve played with credit. I don’t win games by myself that’s clear for sure and those guys out there today fought hard for me and I share it with them, but also a lot of teammates in the past. The longevity of my play, the consistency of my play, the trust that I get from my teammates and the coaches I take a lot of pride in that. To play this many years and to get to 200 is special.”
On emotion from 200 wins:
“It’ special. We’ve played a lot of games here, had a lot of special moments and played a lot of years here and to do it in front of those fans is special. They’ve had my back and supported me through so many years. Again, I’m lucky to play here and play in front of those fans, to do it in front of the them on this special night is something to remember for a long time.”
DC United
Head Coach Ben Olsen
On the red card in the 22nd minute:
“It looked like one of those, from the angle that I saw, that could go either way in the game of soccer. I’m sure they (referees) have more angles and maybe they will let me be privy to those but it seems like all the VAR decisions that are 50/50, again I got to look at the views, in the last month for us have gone against us. I’m a little biased as you know but it obviously changes the game. Our reaction to the red card and giving up the goal before we could get the sub on right away hurts.”
On subbing Luciano Acosta off and his reaction:
“It was just legs; we’re playing on a big field with the altitude. I needed fresh legs and I needed a left back. It’s unfortunate, it’s not fair and it’s not fun for Lucho to get subbed off but it was a tactical move that I’ll stand by because I thought we played very well after and it was the right move. Would you take it well (getting subbed off)? I didn’t take it well as a player I hated getting subbed off.”
On how Nick Rimando was able to reach his 200th win:
“He’s stayed healthy and that’s a huge component. He’s taken care of his body but it helps he’s a goalkeeper, I think they end up playing longer. But he’s an unbelievable competitor and a dear friend so I’m very happy that he’s the guy breaking records. I’m not happy every time I’m here there’s some record for him to break, it’s getting a little bit old and I’ll tell him that later.”
Winger Paul Arriola
On the red card:
“For me, I have my opinion just like everyone else. Players going back and not really providing a lot of danger. Joseph, it was his first foul of the game in the 20th minute. I’m not quite sure why, but the referees have their rules and the VAR didn’t do us any favors today.”
On the game:
“The past three games we’ve come out and scored first early on in the game. We make it a point to come out into the game and provide on energy and get the early goal and we’ve been able to do that now. The question is how do we keep the lead throughout the game. Obviously, with the red card it was going to be tough. I think we did our best, and in the end, we showed a lot of character. It’s a good step forward regarding the team and the chemistry that we have and how we all fought for each other very much like the game against Columbus where I was thrown out. It was a very tough result because now it’s not necessarily about the performance but it’s about the result. I think now we will be confident going into San Jose that if we can keep 11 men on the field we will have a really good chance of getting 3 points.”
On team confidence:
“Personally, I found myself more confident in the position that I played today. It gave me a little bit more freedom and with a loss like this where we were down a man and we continued to push, in the end I think we could have easily tied the game up with a good cross or a good finish. The losses are piling up; the road games are difficult and they’ve been difficult since last year. It’s our job to continue to get better. Me personally, I’m very confident with my teammates and what we can achieve in San Jose and elsewhere.”
Defender Steve Birnbaum
On the red card:
“Obviously, he comes from behind. I didn’t think it was a malicious attack or anything. I probably would need to watch the replay, but in real time I didn’t think it was a red card and obviously neither did the ref. He had to get a VAR. That was kind of a bummer for us; 20 minutes in and go down a man, it’s tough.”
On the last 15 minutes:
“I’m just proud of the guys. They had a lot of heart today. Being down for 70 minutes of the game is tough and I thought we had a pretty good second half. There’s some positives to take away from this, but not picking up any points is tough. I thought we played well to pick up at least a tie. There were chances out there for us and sometimes that’s the way goes. I’m happy with the second half and the way the guys responded.”
On preparing for San Jose:
“I thought we did a good job in the second half of keeping the ball a little bit longer and creating better chances for attackers out of the back. With 11 guys now going into the San Jose game, we are really going to hone in on that and make sure we dominate possession because we are a good enough team to do it.”
