HEAD COACH CALEB PORTER
On the win and what it says about his team
It says a lot. Road points in this league are difficult. I thought for us in our first road game, to come here – it’s a home opener, they had a good first result, we knew they would be flying. But I thought the way we managed the game, the way we kept the ball, the way we finished our chances – we defended well. We managed the game excellently.
On the team’s overall rhythm
I actually thought we had a lot of rhythm on the day. Obviously, I’m looking for the perfect game, so there are going to be 10 minutes or 15 minutes here where we don’t pass the ball like we want to. We’re a dominate passing team. I thought 25 minutes in the first half and a good 20 to 25 minutes in the second half, we bossed the game and that’s exactly what we want to do.
On getting three points on the road
Yeah, it’s great. Again, to come on the road, get three points – it was a team performance. Our striker scored two goals and our goalkeeper made a big save. I thought our midfield was excellent in keeping the ball in, winning balls. It was a team effort across the board and that’s what we need. We’re a team. We’re not a group that has individuals that are any better than each other, so for us, we always have to keep the concept of that team and it was a team performance today. I’m really proud of Hector [Jimenez] coming in the game and getting the assist.
On his being in his first year coaching the Crew
This is a good team. I’ve always admired this team and watched this team from afar. That’s one of the reasons I decided to come here. It’s great group of guys. We have to take it one game at a time. Obviously, we can’t get ahead of ourselves. This is a big three points. We go back at home and we need to take care of business and do what we didn’t do the last home game.
On what his team can take away from the win
“It’s a tough league. You have to be able to grind through home and away games. We had a tough week. It was cold. We couldn’t train at our home facility and we had to adjust and deal with it. This group has a really good attitude and they showed a really good attitude today.
MIDFIELDER WIL TRAPP
On the importance of getting the win
It’s really important, I think, for us early in the season to get that road victory. They’re difficult to come by in this league, and I think for us to understand the mentality it takes to win on the road and for it to actually execute and come off is really important for us.
On what this win means to the fans back home
I think it’s just building momentum with this group – for the fans to find that confidence in us, and for us to find the confidence in ourselves. Last week was a disappointment in a lot of ways. I think this week we responded really well and we a good job of scoring two goals, not conceding, and coming away with three points.
On the difference playing under Head Coach Caleb Porter
I think Caleb [Porter] has done a very, very good job of taking a group that's been established and evolving it, and trying to implement small things that he believes will take us a little bit further. I think that's a wonderful thing as players, to be challenged. He’s a passionate guy, he’s a fiery guy. It’s a very, very inspiring type of leadership that I think is pushing this group along very well.
Goalkeeper Zack Steffen
On Crew SC's fight this match
It was a good battle. New England is always a tough team, coming here and trying to get a point, or three points it’s always tough, it’s always a battle. I’m proud of the effort the guys put out today and they stepped up in a lot of moments for the team and I had to step up once or twice and luckily I was able to.
On this week’s win compared to last week’s result
Of course, when you're away, an away win is amazing. We were disappointed in last week’s performance and result. So we wanted to come here, get three points and kind of show ourselves and show everybody else that were a good team.
On whether the practice grind pays off in wins like this
Yeah, because it’s motivation and confidence to keep going and keep working. Now, we can go to any place and get a result. As long as we perform and help each other out.
On what this win means to the fans: Steffen
It’s amazing, I can only imagine that they’re just as happy as we are with the win. It’s going to be good going back to Columbus tonight with three points and go back to MAPFRE [Stadium] next weekend and hopefully get a win there.
