New England Revolution head coach Jay Heaps
I do want to go back and look on the film on this one. From the opening whistle I think we all know DC is a tough team and I think tonight they really showed some real grit. They didn’t give us much at all. We tried to take a little bit, but Bill Hamid made a good couple saves. But in the end we’re not thrilled but at the same time we were up against a hell of a team tonight.

I know they’re nights you can’t find the back of the night like tonight … I think that when you look at it later … our final pass was a little bit off, our spacing was a little too tight and DC really once we got in their final third, they were bending not breaking. I think they did a nice job keeping us out of there half. They pressed high and we did have some good sequences, but when we did get in their final half and we had good opportunities, they bent but they were never really anything we were totally in and when you give Bill Hamid the right cover likethat, he is going to bail you out. Not that he had to bail them out: he made two really good saves and I thought they deserved a point.

No, I don’t think anyone was (expecting Chris Tierney to cut back and shoot with his right foot). That’s the type of sequences we were talking about. I think it was off a quick corner. There were a lot of guys in the box, maybe too many guys and there was nowhere to go and he had to cut it back.

… (D.C.) is a good team, I’m telling you. I agree with you that’s there are stats and things like that (that say they’re a bad team) but that’s a good team. I’ll take you into my office and show you the film. That’s a good team. Now, am I saying we are at home and should have done better, yes. But they played well tonight; I don’t care what you say. You can put any stat up, when you go out on the field every week and play against opponents like we do, it’s tough. And that’s a good team and I don’t care what you say. Last year, they were second in points. I think there a tough team and I was glad that we didn’t give anything away. I thought that was good start for us not giving anything away. I thought we could have scored, we didn’t, but I give them credit.

I think (D.C.) did a good job, I want to credit their guys. I think they did a nice job. I think when we had our chances and had that final ball, it just wasn’t there and that’s our fault. I don’t think we made enough runs off the ball. I thought in the first half; we didn’t run enough off the ball. From where I’m sitting I didn’t see enough off the ball. If Lee (Nguyen) has the ball he only has one option, I want him to have two or three options where if it’s (Juan) Toja running off and (Juan) Agudelo this way, Saer (Sene). I thought in the second half we did have more runs when (Andrew) Farrell was going. He came in and saw two and three options; he played Lee in that time. Those are things we are looking for. When we are firing and we’re better offensively and I think that’s what was lacking tonight, along with the final ball.

I was expecting them to push us. I thought they did a better job of pressing us on the second ball. When they would lose it, we would make a good two or three passes and they would get to that one. We have to do better at breaking pressure. We did it at times. Scotty (Caldwell) got out and (Andrew) Farrell released. When we did that well, we were in the attack. When we didn’t, we were forced to play a questionable ball to the forwards and they ate it up.

New England Revolution forward Juan Agudelo
I felt like they didn’t put a lot of high pressure on us. I think that our defense was better. I don’t know how they feel. But, I felt like we were trying to play out of it, maybe we should have had some more long balls because my strength was lacking today.

I think we need to be more direct. I feel like sometimes we are playing the easy ball. Sometimes we play out-wide because the man is open, but maybe we need to be a little more direct and get some more chances.

Yes, I felt like we should have had at least one chance on the set piece, but again D.C. was really good defending it.

… we let (the defense) down today. They did their job and did not let up any goals and every time it is like we are playing defense against our offense. If they are up here and we are up here, then we are winning like we did last week against the Galaxy. But today the defense was better than us. We need to be better and I feel like we need to apologize to our defense for working so hard.

New England Revolution goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth
I thought we were very organized again. The guys played really well in front of me, didn’t give away any chances-a couple half chances – but like I said communication was good across the back line with Scotty (Caldwell) and everyone put in their shift and we stayed pretty organized.

Everybody knows their role and what they have to do. Jay (Heaps) makes that clear to everyone. The communication between all of us has been pretty good. The back line has been unbelievable, and Scotty (Caldwell) and everyone have been putting in the work. As long as we keep putting in the work, then I think we’ll be able to keep our defensive shape as we go along.

Obviously, we are disappointed (with the result). We had the chances to get three (points). Credit to Bill (Hamid). I thought he played really well. Obviously (we’re) disappointed but we’ve got to keep moving on.

Last year I think we were probably losing that game 1-0. It’s a stepping-stone; I think it’s a good thing that we are disappointed that we didn’t get three points. That being said, we’re at home so we need to maximize our points. Dropping points here is not what we want to do.

We didn’t lose right? We got the draw, so it’s not a good result for us, but it’s not a loss. We take the Open Cup very seriously and I know there are a lot of guys in this locker room that want to do well in that tournament. We have a lot of good depth so I think you’ll see on [Wednesday] that the guys are ready to play.

Every time we step on the field we want to get the shutout, we want to keep the zero. The guys have been really, really good. The back line has been super organized like I said. The shape has been good throughout the entire season. The goals we have given up, I don’t think that we were making the mistakes on those things. So as we’re going along we’re trying to fix those things and I think that’s exactly what’s happening.

I think there are a lot of guys on this team that can step in and we won’t miss a beat. Like I said credit to everyone that stepped in and done well. I think we’ve made changes along the back line and we’ve still kept shutouts. I think that this says a lot about the type of depth we have across the back line. Not just there, but the squad.

I thought in the first half we had our fair share of the possession. I thought we were trying to hit them on the counter a bit in the second half. It’s a bit of a lull coming out of halftime. Towards the end we were picking it up and we were playing some good stuff. That being said I think we had our chances to score and like I said credit to Bill (Hamid) and their defense.

D.C. United head coach Ben Olsen
At first glance, it seemed like a pretty even game. Both teams had some good looks and some good breaks. Neither team was able to finish. Both goalkeepers played well. I was proud of my group tonight and it’s been a tough three months, I’m not going to lie. For the guys to keep grinding and fighting together to get a result tonight, I was very happy with that and I was proud of them.
Well, when you’re in this position, you’re looking for baby steps and this is, again, something that maybe we can build off of. I thought the way we got into the attack was better. We had more numbers now in and around the box. Now, the final ball has to be better. Last week, we worked on getting numbers forward and having enough guys in the box when we’re getting good opportunities. We did that. We were committed. The final ball just wasn’t good enough tonight and that’s been haunting us.
The five goals - some of them were late and LA was pushing. I think it’s a good attacking team. They’ve got a lot of nice little players that play and move and cause trouble. So I’m happy that we were able to shut out what was a pretty formidable offense.
Some goals would help. We put our defenders under such stress because of not being able to put the ball in the net. I’m constantly harping on defense to shut out zeros and then point the finger at the offense and tonight they did that.
We’ve been looking to add some pieces and help out with our group and we’re excited to get (Nick DeLeon) in. We have a bunch of games coming up here with the Open Cup. It’s an important tournament for us right now with the situation we’re in in the league. So, it’s just another piece that I think makes us better.
It’s not been an easy process for the staff or the players, but I give them credit. They’re hanging in there and I think there’s starting to be some belief that we can turn this thing around. A game like tonight helps.

It’s my first time really dealing with a little bit of a downward spiral. It’s tough. You learn a lot. If you’re able to sit back and focus on some of the lessons that you’re given during this time, I think it can help you down the line, from a coaching standpoint and from a personal standpoint. You’re really tested and the players are really tested. It’s not just me; the organization’s tested and the fans are tested. It’s easy to fold and point fingers, but I think overall, we’ve hung in there. That’s a tribute to the guys, the organization, our fans - who I know are very unhappy but patient - and ownership that is supportive of me and my staff.

D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid
I think it was a hard-fought point. As a unit, defensively we did extremely well dealing with their off-the-ball runners, their 1-2s, give-and-go’s and dealing with crosses. As a group, it was a great defensive performance and we got some chances in the offensive end. So, this is a positive game for us as a team, moving forward.

The next step is to continue to get as many points as possible. Continue going into every game thinking we can get points from it, being as positive as possible. Continue going into the home games and thinking that we’re going to get three points, this is our home and no one’s going to come here and take it from us. And at the same time going on the road and having no fear.

I think we’re just tuning in as a unit. As long as you stay tuned in for the whole game you won’t give up any silly goals or make any silly mistakes. There’s still stuff to work on – we know that and we’re very aware of that but - like I said, the heart was there today from the team and you can’t deny that.

D.C. United midfielder Dwayne De Rosario
(New England’s) a team that comes at you with a lot of weapons. They’re constantly playing move. I think they try to be too cute with it sometimes. I’m not complaining, I think it worked to our advantage. Again, Bill (Hamid) made huge saves – big time. All in all, a very good defensive effort. A little bit unlucky in the first half with Chris (Pontius’) try. Other than that, we fought for some little half-chances towards the end, got the header, but all-around it was a good effort by everyone.”

Obviously they’re coming off a huge win. They’re riding on a lot of confidence, beating arguably the best team in MLS. They beat them pretty damn good. With them coming off that high and coming into this game with their momentum, I thought we handled it pretty well. With our record, compared to our disappointing game last week, like I said I thought we handled ourselves very well as a unit. As individuals we all worked hard for each other and that was big.

(The result) is something to build on, but we can’t dwell on it because we have (an Open) Cup game on Wednesday against Philadelphia, another tough opponent. Hopefully we can start finishing our chances going forward and continue to keep a clean sheet. Everyone knows, once you keep a clean sheet anything is possible. We just have to create and finish our chances now. The defense did a good job, now it’s up to us as offense to start creating chances and burying the ball in the back of the net.