NOTES
- Whitecaps FC earn their first point on the road and move their record to 2-2-1
- Martin Rennie has made three changes to his starting XI with Hurtado in for Sanvezzo, Teibert in for Koffie, and Hertzog in for Mattocks
- Corey Hertzog made his first MLS start and scored his first MLS goal tonight
- Canadian international, Russell Teibert made his 2013 debut. Last appearance was as a sub on September 15, 2012, at FC Dallas. Teibert's last start was against LA Galaxy on September 1, 2012
- Tommy Heinemann made hisWhitecaps FC debut
WHITECAPS FC – QUOTES
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC
HEAD COACH MARTIN RENNIE
Overall Thoughts on the Match:
“I thought it was an exciting and entertaining game. We started a bit slow and had ourselves into a difficult position by giving up the early goal. After that I felt that we responded quite well and gained our composure. We should have put the ball into the box some more. In the end, we had to stand strong and I thought that we stood up to that. Overall, I thought this was a great game to show how we can start our season.”
Importance of the draw:
“I thought the draw was very important. Last season, San Jose finished a lot of games with a draw and that helped them be successful. That probably won’t be the case this season and it’s unusual for them to do it again two years in a row.”
Thoughts on San Jose changing their cleats:
“It was very unusual to me. Usually when teams need to change their cleats they do it one man at a time, but having two was strange.”
On tough road schedule:
“Having three games on the road is very tough to do, especially in a row like that. However, I felt that this is a good sign to start our season for the ongoing. We feel confident starting this season and we find ourselves right where we were last year.”
MIDFIELDER ERIK HURTADO
Thoughts of returning to Buck Shaw:
“I was excited to return here. I played my whole college career on that field. It felt great to have everyone I’m close with, teammates, friends, here tonight cheering me on.”
Thoughts on play tonight versus first MLS start:
“Every time I come on the field, I play the best way I can. I always look to improve through what the situation on the field is. I feel that things are going the way I like them to go.”
What the game plan was through the final 10 minutes:
“We wanted to out work them. We knew the game was getting crazy, so overall we had to find a way to come together to keep the tie intact. We know that if we out work any team we know we can be the best.”
GOALKEEPER JOE CANNON
Does tie boost confidence:
“I hope it’s something we can build off. We’re a lot like San Jose at home. We know what we have to do to win. On the road, it’s something great to have our guys pull together to get the tie in a tough place like this.”
Thoughts on final moments:
“I don’t’ know what to tell you. It was such a blur with all that was going on. With the shots they were firing at us and with the threat that [Chris] Wondolowski is inside the box, it really was something that happened so quickly. I just wanted to keep the ball out of the net.”
Thoughts on cleat change:
“Every year in MLS you see something you’ve never seen before. Overall, I don’t know what to think of that situation. It’s just something that happened and it helped us out.”
Returning to Santa Clara:
“This is a special place for me. You don’t know how many times you will have the chance to play in front of family and friends. You cherish the moment as much as you can but not too much because the ball may end up in the back of the net. I just feel so thankful for what this organization has done for me when I was here. Even with being on the Whitecaps, I feel without San Jose I wouldn’t have reached the level I am at now.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES – QUOTES
FRANK YALLOP
On play of team:
“I thought we played pretty well throughout the run of play. I have felt that way about most of our performances in games this season. We possessed the ball well for the majority of the game and created some really good chances for ourselves.”
On Wondo’s goal:
“It was a great finish after some play in the buildup. I thought we created numerous chances throughout the first half and deserved to get that goal and there could have even been more throughout the game.”
Getting missing pieces back:
“I think Lenny [Steven Lenhart] came on in the second half and gave us another attacking option to play through. Having him back gives us another presence in the box and the ability to score. And we saw that tonight; he was very dangerous in the box late in the game.”
FORWARD STEVEN LENHART
On season debut:
“It felt good to get back out there with the guys and in front of these fans. I was moving well, creating space and fighting for headers. I think there were some positives in my play heading into Portland.”
On second half of match:
“It was getting physical toward the end, but that’s what you get when two teams are competing and wanting to win. Sam [Cronin] took a nasty tackle, which we all thought was a foul, but we had to play on. I think that non-call fired up the guys and we were knocking on the door to score. We just couldn’t execute tonight, although we did finish strong.”
MIDFIELDER SAM CRONIN
On Vancouver’s goal:
“I didn’t know at the time why our guys weren’t allowed to get back on the pitch. It’s hard to stop a team with only nine players on. We were all pretty vocal about it afterward. Still, we have to manage it better. We could have wasted some time by kicking the ball out of bounds. It was unfortunate.”
On late scoring chances:
“I thought we would score, to be honest. We had a great chance that went off the post. I had a perfect view of it. I thought it was in and then at the last second it clipped the post. It was unlucky, but we have to be better.”
