Sporting KC II Head Coach Benny Feilhaber
Thoughts on the match...
We played as a team. We brought what I consider the minimum requirement which is outworking the other team and making sure to compete. I'm not saying we haven't done that the last few games, but we did it for 90 minutes today. That was the biggest difference. We wanted to come out with a head of steam in the beginning and we were able to get that goal very quickly. The game changed, obviously, goals change games. We were able to sit back a little bit more in the game. In certain moments we could have been a little more dangerous on the counter. KP [Kayden Pierre] created a really good opportunity there in the second half, some other guys made some really good actions, some really good passes and Duke [Cam Duke] gets the penalty. There were some good moments, not out of the ordinary in terms of a pretty soccer game but it was effective and good for the guys to get a win after a few losses in a row.
On the clean sheet...
We talked about that as soon as we got to 2-0 with 15 minutes left. We talked at the water break about making sure we kept it at zeros. The guys were focused, and concentrated and that was definitely something that was a focus for today.
On the younger guys getting good minutes on SKC II...
All the Academy guys, it's good to see them play at this level. Guy [Michaeli] has been the one guy that has played consistently over the last six months, but now Nati Clarke, Edgar Bazan and Ryan Reid have come up. It's good for them, it's experience and now it's a fair question for the staff to see if they can grow. At first, you come in and you have blinders on. You're nervous but once you start settling into the game, it's about whether or not you can play at this level. It's good for those guys to get that experience. It's good for them to win in a game because it breeds that winning mentality. We'll see but we'll keep giving them opportunities if they earn it and hopefully they can keep learning from that.
On the progress of the younger guys...
No matter your age, no matter where you came from, on this team you need to progress. You need to improve. If you're not, you're not going to make it. Playing on this team is not making it in the sense of the word. We're trying to develop players to play for the first team. For every single player on this team whether it's a guy like Edgar Bazan that got his second start or a guy like Josh Coan that's played 10 games in a row, it's always about getting better and showing that you can improve. Other than some of the guys that have played first team minutes already that played today, these guys aren't ready to play with the first team. They have to keep improving if they're going to get there someday. That's the thought process for me and I'm happy with some of the performances but again it has to be a little bit better the next time. It's about consistency and improving.
Sporting KC II midfielder Edgar Bazan
On earning the result...
It was good to finally get a good result after the past couple of games. It was fun.
On playing in the MLS NEXT All-Star Game...
That was fun. I got to see some of my old teammates from the U.S. National Team. It was fun to see them and to get to do all the stuff off the field with the concert, skills challenge and the game. It was fun but then to be able to play with them was a great experience. The guys on the bench in the second half were pretty disappointed. It is what it is. We did our job in the first half.
On his best position on the field...
I play either the six or the eight. I mainly play the six with the academy but here it's pretty hard to play the six so they have me rotating between the two. I'm good at both, really whichever one but I prefer playing the six.
Sporting KC II goalkeeper Ethan Bandre
Thoughts on the match...
We've had four tough games, but we've talked a lot in training about how to keep going, going and going. We've been putting in the work during training and it showed with a fantastic team performance tonight. Two goals, good finishes and just a really good team performance.
On the clean sheet...
It's nice for sure but I have to give the credit to my backline. I wasn't too busy tonight. We did what we have to do and we did the dirty work.
On playing on SKC II and having a different lineup most matches...
I coach with the Academy and it's a very fluid environment. We try to play the same style from the Academy up to the second team and all thwa to the first team. Even thought there's a lot of player movement, the identity is the same between all the teams so it's very easy to stick guys into places. We all know our roles very well.
