By Wilson Sy (@WilsonSy93)

On a title-winning, history-making start to 2015:

Danny Szetela: The team is motivated and positive all the time. Winning feels good; you don’t want to lose, and we work hard every day. Even on our days off guys are doing the things they have to be doing to make sure that we are prepared for the next game.

Cuba was a great experience; getting to be the first professional team there in a long time was special. It was great to be there. The people welcomed us with open arms and they were great. It’s inspiring to see the relationship grow between the U.S. and Cuba. 

Hunter Gorskie: We just have an enormous belief in what we do and the work that we've put in since preseason, day in and day out on the training pitch. We relied on that to take us through the tough times. It’s the belief in each other that we're going to pull it out.

Was the Open Cup win over New York City FC one of the most exciting games you've played?

Jimmy Maurer: It has to be up there. A Cup match against a local rival. Going into penalties, then winning it has got to be one of the biggest matches I've seen.

It was tough. We found ourselves down 2-0, but the group we have, we never put our heads down. We just kept going, chipping away. We got that goal, the crowd got into it, gave us a lift and we were able to push for the 90th-minute equalizer. The rest was history. Winning the penalties was a rush. We were thrilled.

Mads Stokkelien: Definitely. It was a crazy game with a great atmosphere.

It reminds me of the win against the Red Bulls last year. We showed great character in our team to come back from 2-0 down and tie the game, taking it to extra time. Jimmy Maurer was amazing in the penalty shootout.

Gorskie: It’s definitely up there. A lot of twist and turns, a lot of things going on. Somehow deep down inside, every guy just knew we were going to do it. 

I was telling the guys, it was one of the best moments of my life. Just so much fun to come back in the game the way we did and obviously being the guy to finish it off was surreal. 

Szetela: It was intense. Whenever we're at home our fans are great. They bring the noise. Being able to play at home and have the fans behind you, you have the extra boost of energy. That’s something great. 

I think our fans are some of the best in the United States. They continue to grow and we will continue to be successful with them behind us.

How will you carry the momentum into the Fall Season?

Szetela: It starts with training. We will continue to train. I don’t think at any time we will have more than two or three days off.

We have matured from previous years. The younger guys have grown up. We know what it means to be professionals, and they're doing the right things off the field. Having a couple days off is important, too, to do the right things in order for the team to continue to have success in the future. We just have to stay motivated and prepare for the next round in the Open Cup against the Red Bulls.

Stokkelien: We're unbeaten, and we've found ways to stay that way late in games. [June 17 vs. NYCFC] was not the first time we came back in the game, scoring late goals. 

We've shown that we never give up and we have a great team spirit, no doubt about it. We always believe we can come back in games when we're down one goal, two goals. We just showed great character. 

Maurer: It's a great way to start the year, but we've got more work to do. That's the nature of the business. We're just excited to get back to work.