HEAD COACH AND SPORTING DIRECTOR GREGG BERHALTER
On his post-game message to the team
Yeah, no, I’m proud of the guys. I think… I think they did a great job. You can see we were fatigued, you could see they got tired, and it was a group that normally hasn’t played together. A lot of new faces, a lot of guys, you know, playing major minutes, basically in a competitive game for the first time this year, so I’m really proud of them. I thought they did great job, and that’s what I told them, keep your head high, you guys really showed resiliency and courage, I think, to keep going.
On preparing and being part of an 11-shot penalty shootout
Well, I think… I think we did a good job. We were very concentrated on the penalties, and so was Chicago. You know, for Logan [Ketterer], it’s one of those things, you know, one of those things that you don’t think you’re going to get the opportunity, and um… you know, it’s a difficult spot. You’re the last shooter, right, basically, until you reset the deck, reshuffle the deck, so it was um… odd. I’ve never been part of a game like that where the penalties went that long, but it was… you know, it was exciting. I liked the guys’ concentration in executing the penalties.
On Cristian Martinez’s production
I thought Cristian [Martinez] did ok. I thought his decision making in the final third could have been better. I think he could have done more, in terms of chance creation. Um… You know, he was very active, and then the end product was missing, slightly, in some of the opportunities he created, but you know, he is another one who – obviously disappointing getting the suspension, but he came out with a point to prove, and I think he did a good job.
On who decides the order penalty kicks are taken
They [the players] completely figure that out themselves.
On the importance of Cristian Martinez keeping his form during his suspension
No, it’s important. I mean, when you look at these upcoming games, you know, it’s important that he doesn’t have that big of a break. Now, we can look to integrate him on Wednesday into the group, but he did a good job today and we are happy.
On Gaston Sauro’s 77 minutes of play
Yeah, I mean, that whole story, it continues to get better and better. When you think about a guy who has come back from this type of injury, and he had an appearance in Kansas City, and then, you know, our target was this game. We weren’t sure how long he was going to have, get to perform, based on his fitness, but he hung in there, and he was tired, but he kept going, and I think, overall, just really proud of him, really proud of the work he has done over these last 18 months, and it’s great to see him back in that capacity.
On encouraging the players to keep pushing
I mean, some guys proved that they deserve more minutes as the season is going, and I think that was the important thing. When you look at a guy like Adam Jahn, who got a goal, and I thought his defensive work was excellent, and you know, that fantastic goal that he scored, so he’s a guy that we want to get on track, and it was good to see his performance today, but for the rest of the group, we are a squad, we have weeks… We have… times, at all times, when the whole team is needed, and this is an opportunity for some guys to play, and they are going to be involved moving forward.
On the penalty shootout helping develop young players
I think it was important. I think it was important for them. I think, you know, you have to face that, somewhat fear, in your career in a penalty shootout, and to get guys, especially our young guys, to get them involved in that was great.
On Luis Argudo’s role during the match
He is a smart player, and I think he did well. I think he hit a wall as well, but you know, you saw the ability to get through guys, to almost be on the end of some chances that were created, and I thought it was a good performance by Luis [Argudo]. It shows that he can adapt, and he can play other positions. So far, he has played four different positions with us.
On being asked if he influenced Luis Argudo’s penalty kick
[Laughs] That seems like a loaded question there. You know, Luis [Argudo] came up with that all on his own, and he executed. He did a great job.
On some of the takeaways from tonight’s performance
It wasn’t a loss, Patrick. Yeah, I mean, listen, the guys aren’t taking this as a negative, you know. We played against the majority of Chicago’s first team, and we did a good job and I’m proud of the guys. You know, this is the same group, basically, that played [University of] Louisville, and that was scrimmaging college games, and when you look at Eddie [Edward] Opoku, who came in and had to hang in there and battle… You know, I’m really proud of the guys, and I think, this is a positive for me. I think it’s showing that guys believe now they can compete at this level, and we’re taking it as a real positive game.
On Hector Jimenez being given the Captain’s band
Well, it was pretty simple actually. He is in the leadership council, and he was the only one starting in the leadership council, so it was a very easy decision.
On if Hector Jimenez’s U.S. Open Cup experience played into the Captaincy decision
No.
GOALKEEPER LOGAN KETTERER
On the nature of Crew SC’s comeback and the penalty kick shootout
Yeah, um that's – if you [had] told me my first game [with Crew SC] was going to be 120 minutes and 11 rounds of PK’s I’d tell you that you were crazy. It was a great experience, tons of credit to the guys, for battling for that long, getting that goal. Going until the end, just like that Toronto game last weekend. It shows a lot of the character that is in this locker room.
The mentality during the shootout
Yeah, I mean you just got to see if you can get a read here or there, see if you can pick up something. No matter how many go in, you just got to push for the next one. Maybe you’ll get the next one.
On moving forward as a team
As I said before, all these guys are ready to step on the field. All these guys are ready for any game. Any situation, no doubt they can get the job done. And I think that is what you can take away from a game like this.
FORWARD ADAM JAHN
On scoring the late equalizer for Crew SC
The whole game, we thought we were gonna get one of the corners. They were playing zone, and we had three giants: me, Alex [Crognale], and Gaston [Sauro]. A few times, we were playing inswingers, I’m not sure that was the best plan. We should have been doing outswingers. They played it short to Cristian [Martinez], then an outswinger, and they’re [Chicago] caught off-guard by the quick corner. Luckily, I had looked up soon enough to see it, and then he put a great ball in.
On the defensive side of his game
The way we play, there’s a lot of defensive work for the forwards. Gyasi [Zardes] does a great job, and I try to do my best. Playing with [Eduardo] Sosa, he really impressed me today with his work. He’s great offensively, but the fact that we were moving together and working off each other defensively was really promising. I was really pleased with that.
On Crew SC’s depth
It says a lot. I think everyone laid it all out there tonight. They [Chicago] had good quality, but that didn’t change much for us. We had our plan, and we were trying to execute it. We did pretty well. I wish we could’ve snatched one before the overtime to save our legs a little bit, but that’s the way it goes.
