Eric Alexander: “We want to win out the rest of the games. We still have something to prove. The season hasn’t gone our way but we’ve played well the last couple of games, trying to get results. I think tonight it finally just came together.”

“It was a little different being there [in central midfield]. I haven’t played in a while. I haven’t started in a while. So it was a little different at first. But it was good to get back in there. Me and Diego are a little bit different players but I can bring the same kind of stuff he brings to a game, so I tried to just influence what I can do.”

“He [Chara] is going to be back next week and I don’t know what’s going to happen. He’ll probably go back in. He’s obviously a great player, he’s one of the leaders in the locker room. It’d be hard for me to take his spot after just one game because he’s proven it all season. Hopefully I can just come back next week, train hard and if I get lucky, maybe I’ll get another shot.”

Jack Jewsbury: “We were disappointed [to allow the late first half goal]. We felt like we took another one on the chin with the call at the end of the half. If that goes out for a goal kick, I feel like the whistle’s probably blown there for the end of the half and we’re going in 1-0. At the end of the day, sometimes if things aren’t going your way. There were two ways we could react coming out of half-time: put our heads down and feel sorry for ourselves, or go get the next one. And that was the way we wanted to react and it was good coming out of the locker room. Happy with the performance again and it’s good this time that we get three points out of it.”

“I think defensively we’ve got to be sharper. We cleared the ball a couple of times and we still didn’t step our line quick enough. So defensively we could be better. It’s just one thing after another. It gets kind of frustrating and it builds up and it builds up. Tonight, the way we reacted in the second half to go out and get a second goal and put that behind was great.”

“I don’t think we want to say we’re in a great spot to win it [the Cascadia Cup] yet. We still have quite a few games. But at the end of the day, it’s another trophy to be won. So these are huge games. Especially at home, you want to take care of business because it’s going to be tougher on the road. But it feels good to get three points and kind of get them back for one we thought we earned earlier in the year when they scored late on us.”

Darlington Nagbe: “The ball came down from the right side and I think it got played in to Jack [Jewsbury]. Jack touched it across and saw me going and just gave me a little touch. I took it across and put it in the net.”

“I feel like everyone is playing better, not just me. Luckily I’m the one getting on the end of things.”

“Cascadia Cup means a lot. I think we’re ahead in the race for that. So that’s good. In the whole league, I hope we keep it going and next week we can come in and get a win again.”

“Those guys [Franck Songo’o and Sal Zizzo] have a lot of speed, so extra attention is on them from the outside backs. And also having [Bright] Dike up there, he’s powerful and has a lot of speed also. They’re dropping the defense so it’s opening up space for me, Jack [Jewsbury], Diego [Chara] and Eric [Alexander] to move the ball around and get chances.”

“They [the coaching staff] have told me you’ve been doing everything right. But at the end of the day, everyone wants to see goals and assists. Luckily I’ve been getting some of those.”

“Everyone’s having more fun. Everyone’s playing better, everyone’s putting in good performances.”

“Nothing’s gotten easier, but it’s become more comfortable. A better routine and getting used to things. Used to the crowd, the fans, just the whole aspect of being a pro.”

Steven Smith: “It was just a reaction thing. I turned around and the goalkeeper wasn’t on his line. I don’t know what happened before that, I just seen he wasn’t on his line, had to get into position to cover for him and I was fortunate enough I was in the right position.”

“It’s always tough when you go to a new country and a new culture. It always takes a while. I’ve had good games before and then followed it up with a bad game, it’s just about finding that consistency. I’m not going to say I’ve found it yet, but I feel like I’m improving and hoping that continues.”

“Personally, I don’t [notice a difference in these rivalry games]. I try to play every game the same way. I try to win. Sometimes the performances aren’t good enough. But I go into every game wanting the same thing – to win. That’s one thing that I will never, ever question myself about is giving 100% to win. Every game, I treat it the same.”

Franck Songo’o: “We are happy. It’s been a long, long, long time without a win, away or home. Every game we are trying. We’re just working hard. Finally, today we got the three points and I’m happy for everyone. I think, personally, everyone had a good performance and the staff did a good job. We’re happy to win in the Cascadia Cup, too.”

“Everything we say, we count it as mistakes. We had the same mistake against New York, a free kick we don’t get out and then he scores. But in the forty-fifth minute, we just say we’ve got to keep going. We played much better in the first half and we had many, many chances. So we just tried to push on and keep going and finally we got a victory.”

“I just had to take it [free kick] over the wall and hit the target. The first goal is fun, I’m happy with that.”

“I was really happy. My girlfriend came into town to see me. So I was really happy for me and the team. I’ve been here for a while but haven’t scored yet so I was happy with that. She asked me to do something special for her.”

“Yes [was surprised it too this long to score first MLS goal], to be fair because Gavin [Wilkinson], Sean [McAuley] and Amos [Magee] and everyone want me to get on the score sheet. And I was trying to show them one that goes in. So hopefully I score today and just keep going.”

“It’s not only with Nagbe, but Eric [Alexander] and Sal [Zizzo], I think with everyone attacking well, we play really well. We force a lot of shots. Darlington is a great, good player. And Danny [Mwanga], when he comes on, or [Mike] Fucito or [Kris] Boyd, we have good strikers. We have a good team with good players.”

“Gavin [Wilkinson] took us in and he said we’ve got to do this for the fans. It’s something that we can win and it’s really important to the club. We are ahead of everyone now. Seattle are ahead of us, and Vancouver, too. But when we play against them, we show them that we’re better than them.”

“It feels nice [to lift a log] because I’ve been jealous of the guys, sometimes. You see a lot of them in the locker room. So it’s nice. But like I said, it’s about the team and the win. So hopefully we can keep doing that.”