U.S. SOCCER: From the U.S. locker room after Poland-USA

• by Soccer America , Mar 31, 2004

BRUCE ARENA

On the overall performance from the U.S.:

''I thought it was a good game for us today. Beasley's goal was big, since the Polish team was putting us under a lot of pressure early in the game. They also put us under a lot of pressure in the last 15 minutes, and Friedel made two big saves for us. I was pleased with the way our team played. We were very composed and did a good job in the last 20 minutes to kill off the game and get the win. I also want to make a point to thank the polish fans for treating us with such respect during the game.''

On his first win in Europe:

''I'm happy. We have a good team, and over the last two years we have played some very difficult teams on the road, some very difficult teams to play against. We knew we would win one of these games along the way, and we were fortunate that we were able to win today.''

CONOR CASEY, U.S. Forward

On his first cap and the win:

''I was excited to get my first cap and winning adds to that excitement. I thought the team played very well in a tough game and I was happy with the result. For my first game, I thought I did OK.''

DaMARCUS BEASLEY, U.S. Midfielder

On his goal:

''We had possession for awhile and Wolff played the ball behind a defender. We had talked about this before the game, because we have played together for a long time, so we talked about playing balls behind defenders. I made a diagonal run and was able to put the ball through Dudek's legs. Anytime you can get a goal and help the team is a plus in my book. Winning our first game in Europe with Bruce means this is going to go down as a big goal for me.''

BRAD FRIEDEL, U.S. Goalkeeper

On the win:

''Anytime you can beat anyone in Europe it is a great exercise. This is Bruce's first win in Europe and our last win came against Austria, so it is obviously difficult to win here. I thought Poland had a good team, and they were very organized. After we got through the first 10 minutes of the game, we were very, very solid throughout. Overall it is very encouraging for us going into the last few games before qualifying.''

On his return to the National Team:

''For the most part I've played with just about everyone here at least once, and a few of them for many years. To be honest, it didn't feel like I've been gone for 21 months. I felt very comfortable and I think it is because I've had so many experiences with the National Team, so it is very easy for me to come back in.''