New England Revolution head coach Jay Heaps
I thought it was a pretty exciting game, to say the least. It was really a tale of two halves because our first half, I thought, was complete and we played really well. I thought we should have gotten our second goal and we didn’t and it really put us in a lot of pressure. And when you’re playing against teams that are fighting for everything – you can see both teams needed to win – both teams risked a lot for the win, so that’s why the game was wide open. Credit Columbus, because I thought they had an excellent second half and every time we seemed to step ahead, they pounded back. So I credit them a lot; they had a great game.
I agree 100 percent with Brian Bliss on [the pace of the game]. The first half was – for us – I thought we were really good in the first half, playing well, following the game plan. We scored a goal on a set piece, we felt we had a couple of good chances where we really wanted to take advantage of them. In the second half, we thought we were going to come out and play a little bit better and we didn’t. And I credit the opposing team for that. There’s areas where we have to get a little bit better, obviously. We get the second goal, and then they scored and we get the third. And we did a better job holding on at the end there, but after the first and second goal we should be better.
(Andy Dorman’s performance was) gigantic. He’s put his time in, his work in. I wish I could say more. There’s so much to say about it, because he works so hard. He won everything in the air that he could get his head to, he controlled the middle, and to me, it showed he was a player that wanted to win it and he was the one who got the game-winning assist. It just was a great play. But Andy Dorman, from the time he got here – I don’t know how many years ago, when I was a teammate of his – to this game tonight, you just felt, tonight you felt very comfortable with Andy Dorman out there.

On the thought process of taking off Scott Caldwell and putting on Stephen McCarthy:
I think you saw it. They started to go long and direct, and we didn’t have time after the second goal to get any subs in, so we were really contemplating bringing Kevin (Alston) on to try to nullify (Dominic) Oduro and then get [Stephen McCarthy] in because of the longer stuff, because you saw they went to three. And (Aaron) Schoenfeld is a handful up there and they ran the ball off of him, so Macca went in and did an excellent job.
For me it was a no-brainer (to start Andy Dorman) and it’s hard to say that but, that’s not the right word. But we thought a lot about it … He played so well in the New York game. I thought he came in and changed the game and then he got the red card. I think he would have been in my plans for Montreal had he not gotten a red card, so whenever Lee (Nguyen) got his yellow card, Dorman all week trained in there, and to me I really was happy to have a week to train with him, because he really just locked down that middle for us.

On 13 different players scoring for the Revolution this season:
That’s a good stat, I didn’t know that stat, and I like stats. Set pieces, you have to be dangerous and we felt that last game was almost a set piece goal but we stayed active. And this one, Kelyn Rowe put a beautiful ball in and A.J. (Soares) attacks the ball. He’s one of our best set piece guys; he’s scored goals like that a few times in his career.
The bigger the crowd, the bigger the moment, Diego (Fagundez) rises to the occasion. I thought he had a good first half and then he was one of the guys that got quiet, but he never gets silent. I think he gets quiet and in the break game we couldn’t find him - in that transition break - but he just kept going and he just knows how to score when he gets some time.

New England Revolution midfielder Andy Dorman
It was nice to be honest. I haven’t played too much this season so it was nice to get out there and get the three points.

The boys were pretty confident going into the game. We had to fight for everything and we knew it wasn’t going to be a pretty game. Everyone’s attitude was spot on and everyone in the squad has been training well all week and making it hard for the guys that are starting. Definitely was a squad win tonight. With Lee (Nguyen) suspended and Saer (Sene’s) injury, it’s a bit of an inspiration for us.

Obviously, the red cards broke up [my] season a bit and have been disappointing. But yeah, I’m just glad I got the opportunity today and more importantly we got the three points. It’s about the team and to make the playoffs, and we have another big step next week.

On the penalty kick call:
The ball popped out. I’m not too sure who it was, but I saw a leg come out and got touched and went down and Chris (Tierney) has done well to tuck it away.

On game winning goal:
I was trying to shoot across the goal and Diego (Fagundez) is always in those spots to sneak a goal. He got another important goal for the team.

Lee (Nguyen) has been high-standard all season, so filling his boots obviously was difficult. He is really technical and really good on the ball and has done well this season, so it was the case to come in and brought what I can do to the game and fortunately we won three points.

New England Revolution defender A.J. Soares
That’s what it is: it’s already a playoff atmosphere. So we’re happy to get the win, but our attacking play bailed us out today, fortunately. We’re going to take this and go into Columbus next week, know that it’s going to be another battle. We’ve got to win again, basically. At this point of the year, it’s either win or go home. So we’re very happy with the win and I thought a lot of guys stepped up and played well, and we did what we had to do. At the end of the day, they were throwing everything forward and it’s that kind of situation where they’re in the same situation where they’re bombing for it, they’re putting everything forward and they’re likely to score a goal like that. In the end when Diego (Fagundez) put that one in, was big time. 

Naturally, I want to score all the time, so it was all about the ball. Kelyn Rowe put the ball perfectly and I didn’t have to do much.

They just went direct and we needed to adjust a little bit quicker than we did (in the second half). That’s what teams do – I mean, that’s what we do when we’re down. It’s something you’re used to dealing with and hopefully we can do a little bit better of a job next week if we’re up a goal.

It’s big time, you know? We haven’t been in the postseason my first two years here, so it’s a different feeling; the locker room’s got a different vibe. Everyone’s fresh, we’ve got a lot of energy, it’s a great group of guys this year. Everyone’s resilient; everyone works hard for the group. No one has a bad attitude and it’s pretty incredible to be in the locker room with that kind of group. It’s the kind of group that deserves to be pushing for the playoffs and we’ve got to go to Columbus next week and win, so we’re focused again. That’s it.

(Andy) Dorman was big time. He’s such a vet. He’s a pro; he can come on the field and be one of the best players, if he’s gotten minutes recently or not. He was big time. He defended hard and he went forward and he created two of the goals really. Two of the goals were almost directly his involvement. He got the penalty and he whipped the ball in for Diego (Fagundez), so he was huge today and he defended his balls off. He was big time.

Columbus Crew interim head coach Brian Bliss
It was entertaining if you were sitting in the stands. Sitting on the bench, it’s a heart attack a second. We couldn’t play it any way other than that way, because of what was at stake. They were in the same boat we were, and the game opened up after the first call and it was an entertaining game. Both teams went at it. I need to look at the statistics, but I think we probably had a little bit more of the possession – a little bit more of the winning of the duels and pass count – which tells me we were playing and trying to push the game.

There was a little bit more direct play going, so we decided at halftime that if both teams are going to play a little more direct and look for second balls, then Aaron (Schoenfeld) would be a little more helpful than a couple of other guys we had on the bench and it proved to be right. I give (assistant coach) Mike Lapper a little bit of credit, because he pushed me in that direction.

It was a see-saw game. It’s just tough. You’re pushing the game and you get the game tied up. You give one up right away, then you come back again and get one, and right away we gave one back again. It’s very difficult to play that way. Look, if this was Game 17 of the season, we wouldn’t have been playing three in the back when we tied it up 2-2 or 1-1 – that’s insanity. We know the way the game’s got to be played to get the result. There’s high-risk involved.

We owe it to our fans to put the best product out there (next weekend.) It’s not going to all of a sudden turn around and throw out seven guys who haven’t played all season. We’ve got to go play. We’ve got to go play for our fans and ourselves. It’s certainly not a game we’re going to be throwing away, by no means.

Columbus Crew midfielder Will Trapp
We battled.  We just gave up some soft goals. It is a tough one to swallow, for sure. Coming back twice and then giving up that third one was kind of a dagger. But I thought we battled hard and I am proud of our guys.

I thought (Aaron) Schoenfeld did a great job coming in. (He was) Dynamic, fought for every ball, made it real difficult for their center backs and defenders. Anytime you can produce like he did today is awesome. I am really proud of him as well.

I think we need to just settle the game down a little bit (next weekend). Today was just hectic from the beginning to the end. It never really settled down. It is a tough way to play against a team like that, who is very dynamic and quick on the counter as well. So I think we need to just get a hold of the ball a little bit more and control the pace and make them work a little bit.

Columbus Crew defender Tyson Wahl
With all of the implications, we knew it was going to be a battle. Unfortunately, we let too many easy goals in. We had a good fight in the second half, it just wasn't enough tonight. I think we needed to be sharp on a couple more defensive plays and we weren't.

On the third Revolution goal:
I think we could have done a little better to stop them before they got that deep, myself included. We have to follow runners in the box and that guy was pretty open.
I’m not sure what the game plan is coming off of this pivotal game. Obviously, (Brian) Bliss is going to decide what the game plan is. I’m not sure how we regroup from here but always play to win.