Orlando City SC Head Coach Oscar Pareja
“Well, thank you all for your efforts on behalf of our players and staff and all the people that made this happen. Today we want to be very grateful to the fans. The environment today was phenomenal. Just seeing them in the stadium, supporting us is the best sensation we can have and to return it with winning helps us enjoy tonight. It’s great. Thank you so much to our fans. I think we were the best team of this series, but the game just put us in that situation. When they score goals and they sit back, we felt we couldn't open up those lines. But finally, we did, and the PKs is probably a result that is very fair for the effort that we made during the series.”
On the gameplan tonight
"I have to congratulate the coach [Dean Smith] as he complicated things with the system that I respect. He reduced the lines in the spaces, and they were difficult to find, even though we found many more answers today offensively than in the past game at Charlotte. We were more offensive. I think we hit the post twice in the first half. We have many other options that were clear, and we know we made a mistake, and we made one, and that was very costly for a series like this. That's why, I guess, the push from our team, and the belief, and again, the energy from our fans, is everything. Just get together and allow us to tie that game. This is another step that you know, is one of those things that you can't control sometimes. I think our [penalty] takers were very precise today and had a lot of personality so very well deserved.”
On playing Charlotte three times in a row
“That is why I want to congratulate Coach Smith. I think he made the movements and made our game model more complicated. In some moments today, they defended with a line of five, and it was a surprise for us, because I had not seen it before when we faced them. We had that well though. The initiative was the same and we tried to put some passes together and counter attacks. We needed to be so precise in how we mark that preventive, and how we make our vigilantes. That one, when [Karol] Swiderski got in behind against Robin [Jansson] is what that proposal is for. That's what they were waiting for. Then they clog again the box. We tried, but it's not easy. They defend well in box. I think our initiative was good all the time. Very difficult to play three times with the same team with no other opportunity to play against anyone else is hard. It really is. For them too.”
Orlando City SC Defender Robin Jansson
Opening Statement
“Amazing. Nice to go through. We didn’t give up today. Even though we were down 1-0, we kept fighting all the way to the end. Then we got a [penalty] there with Duncan [McGuire] and [Facundo Torres] converting it. The rest will probably become history in the future with Pedro [Gallese’s] saves and the shootout. How it looked for us last week, it looked for them [Charlotte FC] this week. We take that and move forward.”
On Charlotte FC’s defense
"Same as they did, I would say, in the second half of the first game. We knew they were going to come out very low in the games, which they did at home too. But we had the spark there for the second game, I don’t know why, but sometimes it happens. Today they tried to control out on the flanks, and they became super compact in the middle. I think we had some times when we were rushing it a little too much. We lost the ball in the wrong places and that’s exactly what they wanted, and they want to go out on transition with [Patrick] Agyemang and [Karol] Swiderski and the guys up there. But it was a good series, a good three games against a hard opponent. All the credit to them for bringing the heat to this first round. We’re super happy to be through.”
On Charlotte FC’s late goal
“I ended up in between and didn’t reach it and Swiderski was behind me. It was just a bad move on that one. But I don’t think it was him just taking the ball around through the goal. I think we could have stopped it anyway. Those are things that happen sometimes in the game, and we have to be better in the coming game. That’s what it is today.”
Orlando City SC Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese
Opening Statement
“First off, just very happy to succeed and advance to the next round. I think it was something that we deserved. First game we won 2-0 here in our stadium and we went up to their place and ended up tying it, ultimately falling in penalties. Tonight, I think we were really finding the game, but they were able to go up a goal and we were able to get it back right before the end of the game. Tonight, we were able to succeed in penalties and I think we deserved to advance.”
On what he learned about the previous penalty-kick shootout in Charlotte
"I don’t know if it was one specific thing but this week, I studied a little bit more. Really focused on the PK takers of our rivals tonight. We knew the way that they play there was a good chance it would go to penalties again, so we all put in extra effort to make sure we were ready for that. Thankfully it paid off."
On taking on the challenge after game two
“I don’t think it was that. Everyone on this team prepared as much as they could for penalties. They did as much as they could during the week to get ready for it. At some point, everyone is going to be a hero in penalties and today was me. I was able to step up and really help my team and did everything I could to be able to do that.”
