MetroFanatic: How did you think you finished last season?
SS: Last season, Mo showed a lot of confidence in me. Obviously, when the coach shows that much confidence in you, that builds your self-confidence. I just wanted to go out and prove that Mo was right. If he's gonna put his neck out there for me, then I'm gonna ensure that he looks like he made a smart decision.

MF: With the versatilty you've once again shown in the preseason, and now that Tim Regan is gone, it seems like you've become the de facto utility man on this club.
SS: Yeah, this year, Mo told me to be ready to play everything from left to right back, anywhere through the middle, and I've played a little bit at forward. I think it's good to have that versatility, so that wherever it is that Mo needs me I can go out there and perform.

MF: That being said, where do you think you fit best on the field?
SS: I enjoy playing outside mid or up top the most. I'm not sure which I might be best at, but I enjoy the attacking part of soccer, that's what I did all through the youth leagues up until I was a sophmore in college.

MF: Playing forward, how comfortable do you feel given your limited amount of time there at this level?
SS: Last year in the Chivas reserve game I played up top, that was the first game situation where I had played up top with this team. That was the biggest adjustment, ever since then it's been better. Obviously we have Youri to learn from and see what small differences you have to adjust to at this level. You know, how far you should drop back into the midfield, what's appopriate there, stuff like that is part of the adjustment. It's good to be back up there once in a while, I think it's fun up there. Any time you can score a goal or help to create a goal, it's exciting.

MF: Let's go back to the end of last season, when you were matched up in midfield against Steve Ralston. Was that a big thing for you, to have that level of responsibility put on your shoulders?
SS: It was after the Chivas game, the last game of the regular season, when Mo told me he was thinking of starting me at left mid, and that my job would be to try and neutralize Steve Ralston. I'd be lying if I said I was 100% confident right after he said it. I was a little bit nervous at first, but I put in a good week of practice. It was hard since I was going to school two days a week, but I came back, resumed training and put in the work so that I would be confident going into the game.

MF: You're a guy who's been here for a few seasons, so you have an understanding of what it was like to have been here before Red Bull came into the picture. Give us a couple words about what you've seen so far with the acquisition.
SS: At first, we heard some of the rumors that were floating around, that Red Bull was interested. I think there was a little bit of apprehension in the front office, I think there was apprehension among the players, the training staff, everybody. But Red Bull's put their faith in Alexi and Mo, they've assured us there's not going to be any drastic changes from that standpoint. I think it's been a pretty smooth transition, from a player's standpoint I haven't really noticed any changes except for the nice locker room.