New England Revolution Head Coach Jay Heaps

On coming away with a point and the team’s overall performance…
“A little disappointed in not getting the full three points. I thought we went about the game the right way and tried to create as much as we could. I credit our guys, we fought to the last whistle even getting a chance there in the last couple of seconds.”

On Jose Goncalves’ performance defensively…
“Joes [Goncalves] had a great game. I think, going into this game, we needed our center backs to be diligent. DC does a great job countering and so we had to make sure that, if you’re organized and dealing with it before it happens, you’re in a much better place. So we were proactive, not reactive, and I thought Jose [Goncalves] and [Andrew] Farrell did a great job, but Jose [Goncalves] certainly had a very good game.”

On Charlie Davies’ status…
“He came out of the game. I haven’t gotten a full assessment, but I don’t want to hold on that. He walked off all right and got treatment and we’re hopeful that he has good week. It changes things a little bit. I think that in terms of what I thought, Teal [Bunbury] did it, went in and did a great job creating some length in the field and getting in behind. Juan [Agudelo] was ready to go. I thought Juan had a good game and so it’s one of those - we preach all week that we’ve got guys that can play any time and I thought Juan stepped up and did a nice job.”

On the difference between last week and today…
“I felt like last week Houston was open as well, they were trying to go for the game. I think DC was very smart and compact and didn’t give away a lot and any time we got in the box they were six, seven, eight guys behind the ball. I think you train all week and we prepare for this and I thought we were good enough up until the final third and the final ball, but I still thought we created enough. We hit the crossbar, I think the chance at the end, Juan’s [Agudelo] chance. We had some things in there that if we were a little bit cleaner would have gone our way and we could’ve scored.

On what is missing in the final third…
“The final pass”

On the frustration on not finishing …
“Well, we preach patience all week and like I said, you’re not going to get through them every time and that’s the reality of having a lot of guys behind the ball, but we still got in. We’ll go back and look at the film, but [there were] three or four clear chances where we hit the crossbar; Kelyn’s [Rowe] chance at the end, or Juan [Agudelo] was one on one. Where we were a little disappointed was that I really felt like Juan held back by [Sean] Franklin. Very clearly could’ve been the second yellow card. You can’t miss those, you just can’t miss those.”

On Koffie and Watson’s impact on the team…
“The first part is they’re both very good players and players that we’ve wanted quite frankly for a little while. Once we got them - and Gersh [Koffie] came a little bit sooner so we were able to get him in - but both guys are hard physical players, but they bring an element of soccer that I think is really clear. Je-Vaughn [Watson] shows you how good his feet are. I thought Gersh had an excellent game winning balls in the middle and then finding Lee [Nguyen] or Diego [Fagundez] to help spring our attack. I think we still have a little ways to go with them and the final kind of getting them into the system and how we want to play, but at the same time I couldn’t be happier we have both these guys in there and both of them are strong, physical presences and that shows and I think both of them are winners.”

On Charlie Davies coming out and Juan Agudelo coming in…
“Well it gives us a little bit difference. Teal [Bunbury] is really fast so it really opens the field up. Teal got behind them a lot more than Charlie [Davies] did, but Charlie also has a little different runs that he make, he gets himself open for crosses and different things. Juan [Agudelo] is a little bit more of a physical player and battles a little bit. It’s a move we would go to at some point anyway - that was our thought process. One of our ideas was to maybe go to that formation anyway, just not in the first half, but I think it gives us a different look because when Juan is up there he’s definitely number nine on the wing and he can hold the ball. You saw in the second half he likes the ball being played into his back. With Teal it’s a little bit more of the - he likes the wider and likes to make the slicing run when he’s on the wing so that changed right away - but then Teal going up top just a little bit different than Charlie in how they run and the way they run.”

On Kelyn Rowe’s return…
“Kelyn [Rowe] went in and did well. It’s hard to go into a game like that, but I thought Kelyn went in and adapted well and found places in the game, won a couple of balls, and set himself up perfectly for the last chance. I know Kelyn and there’s no one else I’d rather take that shot. Unfortunately, it slid underneath his foot a little bit and he didn’t get it clean, but in terms of how he played I thought he was really good. He and Daigo [Kobayashi] I thought went in and really changed the game. Daigo was in for seven minutes and had a cross and had some three or four really good touches and again my only regret is probably not going to Daigo a little bit sooner.”

New England Revolution Midfielder Gershon Koffie
On how he felt the game went…

“I think we did well. We did all that the coach asked us to do. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the back of the net but we got a lot of chances and for me this is a positive to get more chances. The next thing is to just get the goal.”

On how tough D.C. United made it for the New England Revolution to capitalize on chances…

“I think D.C. came here, they played their game plan and we did our game plan, too. But I think they did what they have to do but we still break through and we got a couple of chances. For me, that’s good thing for me. Like I said, we just have to capitalize on those chances.”

On how he has been transitioning into the starting lineup…

“It’s not easy. The boys here, they are very good people--good players as well, just like me. It’s just the coaches make their plans and they know what’s best for the team. That’s what they do. I don’t think it’s easy.”

On how he and Je-Vaughn Watson have managed to work together so well…

“I’ve known Je-Vaughn (Watson) when he was with Dallas and we keep in contact a lot, so him coming here is a good thing for me. We communicate on the field more. Most of the time when I have the ball, I can give instead of trying to play something; instead I try to play it simple.”

On how getting a yellow card affected him during the game…

“I know. I wasn’t thinking about the first yellow card. I forgot about it, but I was just trying to play my game. I wouldn’t let it dispose me from the game.”

New England Revolution Forward Charlie Davies
On when the hamstring injury occurred in the first half….

“On a ball from Diego (Fagundez) on the sideline.  So it wasn’t like a full sprint type of hamstring strain.  It was more of a trying to accelerate.  I guess if there’s any part of your hamstring to strain, I guess I strained the right part.  I’m looking forward to getting back on the field and helping this team win some games.”

Regarding which leg the injury occurred to…

“Left side, yeah.”

On why he continued to play after suffering the injury…

“The veteran came out of me and made me come off.  I felt like, when I did it, I’ll give it one more chance to get a scoring opportunity.  It came.  Didn’t happen for me, but I took myself off.  I feel that I still have strength in my hamstring.  I’m able to walk without pain, there’s all positive signs and I know I’ll be back on the field sooner rather than later.”

On his frustrations of the game’s result…

“This is a game where we had many opportunities to take advantage of a chance to score and it didn’t happen for us today.  Obviously, we felt D.C. [United] came in here just to get a point.  They [D.C. United] weren’t playing to win this game.  Let’s put it that way.  We know teams will do that coming here.  It’s not an easy place for teams to come here and play, but with that being said, we have to capitalize on the chances that we had.  It’s only the beginning of the season.  We have high expectations and high hopes this season, so it’s good to see that guys are frustrated and guys want to win.  We feel that this is a prime opportunity for us to get three points, when we play at home.  With that being said, it’s only the second game of the season.  Things are looking good for us.  We’re confident.  We know things will eventually go our way.  We just got to keep working hard and things will come together for us.”

New England Revolution Defender José Gonçalves

On today’s performance…

“I think we create a lot. We played better soccer than last week definitely and that was for us very important because we play at home and we knew that we want to do well the first game of the season at home. I thought the team defended well and we created a lot. Maybe we needed a final touch to get those three points.”

On playing against a side that was staying compact and trying to hit on the counter…

“You have to be very present when you put a team like that you know who is just waiting for you to make a mistake and then counter and I think we did pretty well.”

On matching up against Álvaro Saborío …

“That’s their different players. We don’t really look who is playing. For us, it’s important as a defender to defend well and once I win the ball try to find our midfield so we can move forward.”

On why he thinks it’s important for a defender to go forward and be creative…

“Yeah, if I have the space in front of me then I try to get closer to the opened half and try to create something. Usually they don’t expect for a defender to come up, so it’s surprising if you do that and who knows, sometimes you can help the attacking create something special and that’s why I was trying to go a little more forward.”

On where he gained the skill of being able to go forward…

“I think it’s just a modern game: try to go as much as I can forward and obviously if I can score a goal or be in the box then I will try.”

D.C. United Head Coach Ben Olsen
On coming out of today’s game with a 0-0 draw…

“It’s really hard to keep New England off the board in their house. We are very happy with that. We are happy with Travis’ [Worra] performance. There was some moments that we saw that he is a young goalkeeper. We are happy for him, happy for the group too, to get our first point.”

On the club getting its first point of the season…

“It’s very difficult to keep them off the board. We’re happy with the point. It was gutsy. It was a gutsy performance from us but again they are good group. Their offensive top six, they didn’t get enough room for some time. I think you see their relationships on the ball are better then ours at this point, they are also at home and they are used to this turf. This turf is not fun. It is very difficult come here and get a result, so that part I’m happy about.”

On the team’s discipline…

“We were just more disciplined (then last week). I think we bailed each other out, it was more of a ‘what if?’ mentality.  ‘What if the [guy] next to me doesn’t make that play?’ ‘Am I in a spot to help him?’ I think that ultimately gave us a lift, as we were laying out, blocking shots, a lot of those little things start to add up over 90 minutes. [Marcelo] Sarvas was great - the amount of plays he made. I thought. Rob Vincent had a good day. I thought [Alvaro] Saborío came in and gave us a real presence up top. Thought Julian [Büscher] and Miguel [Aguilar] gave us something. This is not what we come in for but certainly we’ll take the point.”

DC United Goalkeeper Travis Worra
On making his first career start…

“I’ve gotten in one game already so it was not as hard as the first time. But at the same time the last game I was thrown in in the middle so it was all instincts.  This time, it was just thinking about it all week, all day today. I was starting to freak out in the hotel but as soon as I got here to the stadium, honestly, it just all came together and I felt pretty good.”

On having friends and family at the match…

“Yeah, I had some friends I played with at school come down. Actually, a lot and then my parents when they heard I was starting they flew out red eye from Seattle last night. My girlfriend flew out - she had a tennis tournament down in South Carolina - so I had my best people in my corner. That was pretty cool…It means the world. I’m totally blessed and lucky.  Like I said, friends from school, my girlfriend, my parents came out.  They’re the real motivators for me. I mean of course you want to win games, want to do well for everybody in DC but family is family and they’re the most important thing to me.”

On Kelyn Rowe’s scoring chance at the end of the game…

“As soon as I split the ball through I think I got a good angle on the ball and honestly I fell in a pretty good position. Even if he put that on frame, I think unless he megged me, I fell I guess in a pretty good position to make a save but it helps that he put it wide.”

On when he found out he would be starting today…

“Let’s see, today is Saturday so Wednesday when we got back to training Andrew (Dykstra) pulled himself out - his back has been giving him some issue - and then I didn’t think much of it on Wednesday. And then on Thursday Zach (Thornton) our goalkeeper coach tells me, hey, start getting your mind right for the game, we’re not sure about Andrew (Dykstra), and then it was not until Friday at training Andrew still wasn’t doing well and Zach (Thornton) said hey you’re going to be going tomorrow, be ready.”

D.C. United Defender Bobby Boswell
On the defense’s performance and communication…

“It’s a tough place to come and play. It’s the home opener, they’re a hungry team.  It’s always a tough game. I thought the defense did well. We still have room to work on and improve but a zero - it’s awesome. It’s a step in the right direction.”

On if Travis Worra’s inexperience put more pressure on the defense…

“Not really. If you’re at this level, you’re at this level for a reason. “