It can be one of the most difficult challenges in sports: staying positive after a tough loss.
It's a challenge that's currently facing the Crew as it prepares for the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against New England in need of a 3-0 (or better) result on the road. While certainly not impossible to achieve, it is daunting, particularly in the wake of Saturday's 4-2 defeat.
While Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter admitted today at training that his side is still in the process of getting over the first leg, the Black & Gold are trying to put the past out of their minds as quickly as possible in preparation for Sunday.
"We stressed this all season long: not being the victim, taking responsibility," said Berhalter.
"We’ve turned the page," added Michael Parkhurst. "We still talk about it and we still talk about the game, the missed opportunity that we had and it is an unfortunate time to play a poor game. We are still talking about things in the game that will help us for next game. We are still looking at it, but mentally, we are past it. We need to look forward and we need to focus on what we need to do to move on."
Parkhurst, especially, has an important role this week as the team captain. The Crew defender said that he is trying to take an active role in keeping spirits up and confidence high.
"I’m definitely trying to," said Parkhurst. "It's important that we move on. I think the team in general has done a good job, there were no fingers pointed ... we've stayed together and that's been one of our strengths all year long: the chemistry within the team. It was tested this past weekend, but we're sticking together, we're going to fight through it and we're going to go out there and give it everything we have."
The mental side of this week's match could play just as large of a role as any tactical decision. It's crucial that the Black & Gold head to Foxborough believing in their ability to complete the comeback. With the positive form that this side has showed down the stretch, including recent road results in Philadelphia and New York, it would be foolhardy to count them out.
"We believe in ourselves," said Wil Trapp. "We know that that game wasn't good enough, and we didn't play our style. We didn’t play our best game and it showed. I think the body of work this season shows that we know we can do more than what we put out there on Saturday."
