United and Freedom leftovers
By: Craig Stouffer
Examiner Staff Writer
05/23/09 11:29 PM EDT
We'll start with D.C. United, who got a shutout at home against one of two teams in Major League Soccer that hasn't scored a single goal on the road. That said, Josh Wicks earned it with a couple great saves. Here's my report.
Here are some quotes.
Tom Soehn: "We talked about them bunkering, and they did just that. They bunkered, and very deep. The way you open that up is you score, early. We had a good chance to score, and we didn’t do it, and we kind of lulled ourselves to sleep, and we quit moving. It’s not the first team that’s come and bunkered against us, but the way we addressed it, we didn’t move off each other at all. We just stood there and waited for the next guy to do it."
More Soehn: "I thought we were flat. The one thing we’ve done against other teams that bunkered, we’ve been able to open up because our movement off each other’s been so good. We addressed that, and we started to move off each other. And then at the end of the game, we started playing kickball, and that’s something that we haven’t done in a while."
On pulling Jaime Moreno at halftime: "He wasn’t feeling well today. He wanted to go, and we felt like he just wasn’t getting enough of the game and didn’t have the energy. When you have a deep bench, you want to make sure you’re putting someone in who’s able to make you better."
On starting rookies Chris Pontius and Rodney Wallace on the bench: "Chris put a lot of minutes Wednesday. Rodney’s never sat. We’re trying to keep everybody healthy and fresh. When you play a lot of games, you always worry about guys hurting themselves and muscle strains. We’re going to be cautious to make sure everybody stays healthy."
Andrew Jacobson: "They know what they do, and they know their weakness, and they don’t try to push where they’re weak. They just bunkered in and kept ten guys within 20 yards of each other. If they spread it out, they knew we’d just knock it around them so they just dropped in. They have big defenders so we can’t really play long balls over the top. They made it difficult for us."
Wicks: "As a keeper, it’s always good to get the consistency of games and get a rhythm. It’s kind of tough, you play one game here and then wait a few weeks, then another game. Being a keeper’s all about being consistent. I think that really helped playing Wednesday night, having a good game and then being able to start tonight and coming in with a focus."
Wicks, on stopping Robbie Findley's first-half chance: "The ball was bouncing around a little bit, and he got slipped through. I didn’t hear a whistle for the flag, so I made play to the ball. I tried to close the space as much as possible. As soon as he opened up for a shot, I went down, and I was able to get an arm on it, and the team was able to clear it away."
And, if you're still with me, some quotes from the Washington Freedom:
Jim Gabarra: "Earlier in the season, I don’t know if we were playing worse but teams were putting those chances away and scoring great goals, and having really great performances against us. In some senses it always balances out. It’s nice to get back here and get a home result, get a win."
Erin McLoed: "For me, too, I’m a little rusty as well. I’ve been with this team two weeks, so we’re still learning to work with one another. The more comfortable we get with one another, the easier it will be. Playing with people like Cat Whitehill in the back, she obviously makes it easy. She’s a leader, and she’s incredible, obviously very talented so I’m lucky to be back there with her. It’s making the transition easier for me, definitely."
Whitehill, on McLeod: "She’s been huge for us. She’s only been with us for two weeks, and I already feel like she’s been behind me for two months."
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