Quote Sheet: MB 2-3 TUL
Cardinale Stadium; Seaside, California
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Head Coach Jordan Stewart
On the match:
“I thought we started well. Obviously conceded a sloppy goal, an individual mistake. Then going into half we kind of spoke to the boys that we’re still in it and if we score early then we can gain momentum. And going into the second half we were able to do that and then get the second. It’s disappointing because when you look back, all three goals could have been prevented. It’s just individual mistakes that for some reason we keep persisting on doing throughout the season. I don’t think they broke us down, they’re good at winning second balls. Overall, bitterly disappointed to lose, but we have 11 games left so we have to just keep on trying to compete.”
On the team’s preparation for FC Tulsa:
“We know Tulsa is a physical team, a big team. They like to get in behind, they don’t really keep possession as much as maybe some other teams. Long throw-ins, so aerial battles were going to be something that we needed to adjust and be good at. But then on the opposite side know that we’re a good team that can have threats in behind and 1v1 actions. You’ve seen that up until the 2-1 and then obviously it started to fade and ended up losing the game. So we’re bitterly disappointed in the result, but at the end of the day we have Sacramento on Saturday now, so there’s no time to sulk or be in a low. We have to kind of get back into game mode and go again for Saturday.”
On Johnny Klein’s debut:
“I knew Johnny from his time in MLS NEXT Pro and knew he is a guy that, one, is hard-working. He’s got a good work rate and he’s a good character, so that’s someone that you always want to get in the building, And then obviously his quality on the field. You can see he’s always hungry and he’s always looking to either get goals or get assists. He gets forward and creates opportunities in the box. Super happy for him to get his first goal on his debut. It kind of put a shadow on his goal because we ended up losing the game. But for him personally, I’m super happy with the way he played.”
On his message to the team at halftime:
“When you look back at the first half, yes we conceded a sloppy goal, but I think we had most of the rhythm. I think they probably had one other chance, but we were creating actions in the final third, which was good with the movement of Johnny [Klein] and Adrian [Rebollar] and obviously Luke [Ivanovic] making runs in behind. We were able to get in behind and create chances but we weren’t getting the finished goal. So we had that and wanted to build on top of that into the second half and we did because we managed to score two goals. But then obviously the mental lapses and individual errors kind of cost us the game at the end of the day. So we have to try and fix that, try to keep the group positive, and try and go again against Sacramento, which is obviously going to be another tough one.”
Midfielder Johnny Klein
On his club debut:
“It was an excellent atmosphere tonight with the home supporters, I knew they would show up for us. To grab a goal on my debut, that’s what I’m looking to do when I come in. That’s kind of the dream start, but it’s tough to drop points against the conference leaders there, but it shows that we can play with anyone. We are competitive with them, we played them really hard. It was just some of those key moments late in the game that we’re looking to clean up.”
On the intensity shift going into the second half:
“Coach said it at halftime – the first half was really positive, though we found ourselves down a goal. We wanted to come out and start the second half strong. He said if we get a goal in the first ten, another one’s going to come and then the snowball effect will start. Luckily I got the first one, and then Luke [Ivanovic] had a good finish off Sami [Guediri]’s cross, so we thought things were going really well. But Tulsa’s a good opponent and they kind of hit us back a little bit. Overall, I’m happy with how the boys performed and we’ve just got to look to the next one because it’s a quick turnaround.”
On adapting to his new team:
“The guys have been super welcoming. I got here early Friday, first training session Saturday, they’ve been super welcoming. I’m starting to understand how we want to play, how Jordan likes us to play, and I’m starting to get some links with some guys. I thought Luke [Ivanovic] put in a great shift today, just running balls down. I like playing off of him. Xavi [Gnaulati] in the middle and then Adrian [Rebollar] on the right, I really liked our attack. I’m just continuing to gel with the guys and getting more comfortable. Hopefully I can settle in and keep scoring and providing goals for the team.”
On the team’s aim heading into the weekend:
“Three points. I’ve heard some of the guys talk, maybe they think they’ve struggled on the road a little bit, but we’re looking to change that. We’re coming down to crunch time in the year and all these points matter. So we’re looking to go to Sac and get all three points.”
On preparing for Sacramento:
“When a team’s in front of you [in the table], you’re looking to get some points just to make up ground. But what I’m noticing in this conference is that anyone can beat anyone on any day. The competition is so tight, so we know if we go out there with our best, it’s going to get us a result. We’re only going to have two training sessions probably and a little bit of rehab to get our bodies fresh. If we go into Sacramento and we play how I know we can play, we’re going to get all three points.”
