The effort today was very important. We need to balance our team with some of the players who didn't play today.

We were short of players with experience, but at the same time, North Carolina was short of players. It was fair for both teams.

Ajax was probably a little surprised by the level. It was another level for sure. We're definitely playing a higher-ranked (opponent) in this FIFA team. We're looking a little bit up in some areas. Canada is very physical. It's amazing what improvements they've made in physical conditioning. It's a hard style to match. It's like a boxing match and there's 20 pounds we're giving up.

We had a great experience last time. It was first class. Coachella offers a very exciting crowd, with excellent support for the national team. The players enjoyed the interaction with the crowd especially comments and reactions after the game.

All of the sudden you come to a place like this and the other places want you to come, like San Bernardino or Ontario. Also this is an area highly populated by Mexican-American families. It's a chance for us to see the talent.

I'm glad how the kids responded and came to the ballpark today ready to play. It was a solid effort on our part to play a first-place team and keep us in the thick of the race.