Steve Sampson Teams Quotations

New England is going to be a title contender as is Chicago. Chicago, I feel, is one of the best teams in the league, so we have to play well.

For us to be successful we have to play with much better energy. Teams are playing us tough and for us to get any results this year we're going to have to raise our level significantly.

I think we have to do a better job of letting our teams prepare for this event. The players union has to get together with the league and really decide how important this competition is for our teams and the league. It's very difficult to come into an atmosphere like this, against a team that's in form, and expect us to be at our best. Our league wants to win CONCACAF championships, and we're good enough. We have to give ourselves a better chance.

We know that after this match, both teams will get on with the business of trying to do well in the playoffs and win the MLS Cup, ... So, both teams have an opportunity to win two cups going forward, and I think it's a great opportunity for both teams.

Sometimes that's even more difficult because these are the guys on the bubble as far as making the World Cup squad for Korea. They're going to be fighting the hardest to win a spot; sometimes they're the most dangerous teams to play against.

It was a very difficult game. I think you could see that the two teams were very tired. You can see that the season is starting to take its toll. But it was important for us to get the three points and this is why you saw the players that we put on the field for the most part that will be the same look on Wednesday.

It was a great first half with two very good goals. I thought that the way we responded after they scored was exactly what I was looking for. I wish we could have created a few more chances before that. I have to give San Jose credit tonight, they put out a lot of energy and they were very dangerous on dead balls obviously. It was a great strike by Moreno and a brilliant header by Danny Califf. I have to give them credit tonight. It was a great match, I thought both teams had chances, we had a good one with Chris Albright's header off the post, that could have made the difference for us, but I thought defensively San Jose played exceptionally well, putting forth a lot of energy and forcing us to play quickly.