SPORTING DIRECTOR AND HEAD COACH GREGG BERHALTER
On defender Gaston Sauro's return to action
First of all, I’m really proud of Gaston Sauro to come back and to work this hard to reab and get back into a position to help the team. Today, first and foremost is my congratulations to him. He’s back on the field and able to help the team get a result is something that he’s been fighting for a long time. So congratulations to him.
On the result against Sporting Kansas City
Escape with a point maybe because of the red card, right? But don’t forget we missed a penalty. We maybe could have had another one. We had a couple wide open chances. So to me, it was a shame. I think the game had a winner in it if we stayed 11v11. But it certainly got hard being down a man. At halftime, we re-grouped and we talked about a plan and how we were going to do it. The team didn’t stop fighting. Give them credit for executing.
On Zack Steffen's performance
Zack’s a warrior. He got a little banged up with his finger but it’s not too severe. Like most guys, you play through a little pain in the course of a season.
On setting a Crew SC shutout record
We’re proud. It’s not something we talk about. It’s not something we’re aiming for. But we’re certainly proud of it. It’s a culmination of work by a lot of guys. It’s the whole team. On nights like tonight and days like Seattle, where the guys work together to achieve their goals.
GOALKEEPER ZACK STEFFEN
On the result against Sporting Kansas City
It’s huge. Down a man, in this heat, against this team, in this atmosphere, it feels like a win honestly. The effort that the guys put out in front of me was unparalleled. I’m really proud of the guys.
On setting Crew SC's shutout streak record
Those accolades are nice. It’s just not a kudos to me, it’s a kudos to the backline and the guys in front of me and the hard work that they’re putting in, as well. We just keep going. It’s a long season and those are just little accolades. It’s not the trophy that we want to lift at the end of the year.
On Crew SC's resolve
Our mentality right now is really strong. We just did this. We just played with 10 men away in another difficult crowd and atmosphere a couple weeks ago. When we got into the locker room, we said we’ve been through this before. Let’s get to 0-0 at the water break then we’ll re-group and get to 0-0 at the end of the game. That just goes to show our mentality and the love that we have for each other that we put the work out for 90 minutes down a man.
DEFENDER GASTON SAURO
On Crew SC’s form
I think we are a great group. We are working very well in defense. We are a team that we are dangerous, too, when we create. We are happy that we are solid at the moment. We are doing very well and I hope we can continue like that.
On playing down a man in the second half
It was tough. The weather here was very hot for both teams. To have one man less is too much on a day like today. I think we fought together and got a very good result for us.
On securing a road result against Sporting Kansas City
I think every game here in MLS is hard but in this stadium with this team – they are one of the best teams now in the West – we came here and we showed that we are good, too. I’m proud of my teammates because we did a very nice job today.
On his return from injury
I was excited before the game and when my time arrived to go in. I was working hard for this moment. One year and eight months after my last game, I come back and I’m so happy.
