The following are quotes from the Aug. 8 MLS conference call featuring a pair of rookie defenders — Kansas City’s Nick Garcia and Chicago’s Carlos Bocanegra. Nick Garcia’s Opening Comments I think this past Saturday both teams came into in thinking the better team would come away with three points. Los Angeles and Sigi Schmid came out to play on Saturday. They had a great gameplan. They executed very well in their final third. They struggled at times defensively. In midfield, they dominated us. All the credit goes to Los Angeles for getting five goals up on the board against us. That was something that coming into the season I would not have expected anyone to do. We are definitely looking to going into Los Angeles this week and trying to get three points back. After looking at the tapes, there were quite a few things that we should have done better. In regards to the Rookie of the Year talk, I think it’s great for Carlos and I to be recognized as the two top rookies. No matter how we do personally, it would be great for both of our teams to be there in the final. That’s why we are here in MLS and both came out of school early. If I am chosen as Rookie of the Year it would be quite an honor. Carlos Bocanegra’s Opening Comments I got kind of lucky that we traded Francis Okaroh to Miami earlier in the year. I got to step in on the left-hand side after a few injuries. I played alright and got my confidence up. Bob [Bradley] and my teammates have faith in me. When Lubos Kubik went down, Andrew Lewis stepped in and has done well. We’ve dropped the goals per-game [average] down. We’ve gotten used to each other in the back. We have given up a few late goals, but overall our defense is playing well. Hopefully C.J. can play tomorrow night in the Open Cup, we have a lot of guys that are banged up. It’s a big game, if we win we get to go back to California and play Los Angeles or San Jose and I’d be excited for that. As for the Rookie of the Year story, It’s definitely nice to be recognized as one of the league’s top rookies. Just like Nick said, my ultimate goal is to win the championship. The Rookie of the Year would be a great honor, but I don’t think about that too much. Bocanegra on the quality of play in college I think college has done well in developing players. Guys like Nick and myself coming out early and playing well shows that. The strong programs such as UCLA or Indiana have a better chance at developing players. I left early because I wanted to further my game. It wasn’t that college wasn’t doing it for me, it was just that the pros are another level. That’s why I made the jump, to see how far I could take this as a professional. Garcia on the quality of play in college I think reason why I came out of school earlier was to get better and be professional. I think Indiana and places like UCLA and Virginia are great for development. I was developing at a faster pace than a lot of the other kids at college and that’s why I needed to turn pro. I think if you look back at Ben Olsen’s class with Brian West and Chad McCarty, they all made the right choices. Bocanegra on leaving college early I think a lot more players are going to be coming out early, especially the strong U-17 group that we have now. A lot of players come out early in basketball. As far as soccer, a lot of kids are going to be coming out after sophomore and junior seasons. Garcia on leaving college early A lot American parents emphasize education to their kids. I think that’s why Carlos and I went to school. I think kids are starting to realize to get better, you need to sit down and see what your options are and do what’s best. For a lot of us, it’s not a monetary issue, it’s about us becoming better athletes. Garcia on facing top strikers such as L.A.’s Luis Hernandez Any time that you can play against a player of high quality, it only improves your game. He is definitely coming on. He and Cienfuegos are becoming much better orientated with each other. He is getting stronger and better with each game. Facing that kind of competition only helps you. Bocanegra on facing top strikers We played against Hernandez and Los Angeles early in the year, and he was just getting his feet wet here. I think its great to play against these guys that you watch in the World Cup. It’s helping me further my game playing against guys like Cobi Jones and Clint Mathis, guys that play for their national teams. Bocanegra on the play of Galaxy rookie Danny Califf Danny is one of my really good friends, we keep in touch. He is a strong defender, really good with the ball. He can track people down. He is on the Olympic team and will benefit from that. He kind of got a late start because he wasn’t getting many games. Garcia on the play of Califf I’ve known Danny for a few years. When he was with me on the U-20s, he was a mainstay in the back. I played against him at Maryland, he’s only gotten better. I know he is looking forward to the Olympics coming up. Garcia on L.A.’s Hernandez and Mauricio Cienfuegos We watched some of the goals they scored on us at practice today. Cienfuegos is a bit like a puppet when he gets the ball. I probably gave him too much time, I definitely think had we the same situation a month earlier back in Los Angeles, Hernandez might not have found him. But now they are in sync. I think that there is certain things I need to do against Hernandez to throw him off his game next time. I look forward to the challenge and will try to limit my mistakes. Bocanegra on the dream of being a soccer professional When I was younger I didn’t really dream of playing pro soccer. That didn’t come to me until my senior year in high school when I started getting recruited by UCLA. My freshman and sophomore years in college I was thinking about leaving for MLS, but I wasn’t physically ready for that. Garcia on the dream of being a soccer professional I didn’t see that dream until late in high school. The MLS wasn’t around till then. A lot more kids are looking to come out early now to play here in the States and get better. In regards to the Olympic thing, I think it’s unfortunate that Carlos and I haven’t been given a look. However, we are happy to be on our MLS teams and improving. Bocanegra on the merits on having MLS reserve teams Especially on our team, we have a lot of injuries, but we can rely on A-League call-ups. Project-40 is doing alright. When I went and played with them, it wasn’t up to the level of MLS, but it was a good experience. Garcia on the merits on having MLS reserve teams If you are going to have a reserve team, you have to have more guys to fill the spots. Where are they going to play? Are we going to establish a reserve league? There are a lot of questions. I think it would be good, maybe if the A-league and MLS could work something out, more of a reserve system to make call-ups easier. It’s going to take some time. If we want to be like these European or South American powers, we have to set up these systems that start at the youth level. Bocanegra on the playoff push Our final seven or eight games remaining are all against playoff contenders. We had a tough game against Tampa Bay last Wednesday. The guys were telling me that all the games from here on out are going to be like this, there are no cakewalks. Everybody is trying extra hard, putting in that extra effort. From the likes of that Tampa Bay game, it’s going to be real tough. I can only imagine what the playoffs will be like. Garcia on the playoff push After the All-Star break, I can remember Tony Meola coming in and telling us we had to get refocused and pick it up from here. We as a team are still taking things one game at a time. We need to stay healthy and focus. Hopefully, by the time we reach the playoffs we’ll be at the top of our game. Bocanegra on Project-40 I think Project-40 is good. I went down there, obviously it’s not the caliber of MLS. As far as starting with my MLS team, I got lucky as I started almost every game so I didn’t spend too much time with P-40. I’m getting great experience, getting to play alongside Lubos Kubik, C.J., Diego Gutierrez and Hristo Stoitchkov. Stoitchkov has been nothing but helpful to us young guys in practice. I think the vets on our team have done a great job. They’ve shown how to be leaders, and I’m just learning with them. Garcia on Project-40 In the beginning, Project-40 really didn’t appeal to me. But weighing my options in college, P-40 was my best avenue. I was halfway through school and P-40 will help me finish. I think Alfonso [Mondelo] has done a great job so far. From what I hear and understand, they are doing well. They’d rather be with P-40 playing games rather than sit on the bench. I’ve been fortunate enough to play all the games with the Wizards. I definitely think P-40 is the way to go. Bocanegra on internationals Sigi Schmid used to make us keep up with the international game. Bob Bradley now shows us the tapes of teams like Barcelona in Europe. He goes over different situations and goes over how they make little plays. Our coaches do a great job of showing us how things work over there. Bocanegra on internationals There are opportunities for us to sit down and watch some games, whether its UEFA or Euro 2000. We see what is happening in other parts of the world. It’s another way for us to work on our game here. Garcia on living on a rookie salary The cost of living is very inexpensive here. I have a one-bedroom apartment which I pay a reasonable amount for that. I have a car to go to practice. It’s all I have. I’m doing Wizards camps and some other stuff, but I’m doing fine. I’m not living a lavish lifestyle, but its comfortable. I have a monthly budget so I know where my money is. Bocanegra on living on a rookie salary The cost of living in Chicago is pretty high. I’m kind of used to it from Los Angeles. The way I look at it is that we are rookies this year and I get paid to play soccer. In college, they weren’t paying me. I have a car, pay rent and have some money to do fun stuff. It’s okay, the league will grow and salaries will get bigger.