Goalie Will Hesmer has led the Columbus Crew to its first ever spot in the MLS Cup.  He speaks with Soccer365's Lars Lifrak about what to expect this weekend, what the key matchups will be and what the atmosphere has been like in Columbus.

365:  First of all how does it feel right now?
Will Hesmer:  We had the whole weekend to let it sink in and celebrate a little bit.  But now we still have one game and have a lot of business to take care of.

365:  I assume you watched the other semifinal game on Saturday.  What were your thoughts?
WH:  I thought it was two teams battling hard.  We’ve seen New York three times this year and twice towards the end of the year.  We are pretty familiar with how they play.  They are a hard working team and they’re committed to do whatever it takes to win.  They’ve been rewarded with that in the playoffs and by no stretch of anyone’s imagination do we think it’s going to be an easy game for us on Sunday.

365:  Still, if you ask anyone, you are the favorites to win the game.
WH:  Yes, that’s the way it’s being told to us, but if you are inside our locker room they beat us twice this year and we beat them once.  So it’s not only a championship to win but also some redemption as well.

365:  The funny thing is that you as a team, and you in particular, played a huge part in getting the Red Bulls into the playoffs by beating DC in the last game of the season.
WH:  That’s the irony and I guess the beauty of the MLS playoff system.  Going into that last Sunday it’s us and DC and they were playing for their lives.  That game was almost like the NY/RSL game on Saturday night.  We scored a goal and were able to hang on 1-0 with them hitting the post a couple of times and because (DC) couldn’t score a goal New York is in the playoffs, and now look at them.

365:  Do you see the MLS Cup being about the same in terms of flow as the game Saturday night with New York looking to counterattack for the most part?
WH:  That’s how we would think it would be on the surface, but if the game does take the shape of the Salt Lake game than it’s not in our favor.  We want more of a flowing tempo'd game.

365:  If the Red Bulls are able to dictate the tempo in that way, what is it like from the goalkeeper standpoint?  You may go a while without any action and they you suddenly have players streaming at you in numbers.
WH:  I think throughout the year we have faced some teams who have played that way against us.  As a goalkeeper in that situation you can’t have both of our wide backs get forward at the same time and you can’t let our center backs get too far from their forwards.  Wolyniec has really done a good job for New York lately and Angel is a threat to score at any point.  You just have to keep guys heads in the game defensively so if they do win the ball we are in position to win it back. 

365:  It seems like you are in a good position matchup wise because you have offensive players who are creative enough to break down a packed-in defense.
WH:  Guillermo (Barros Schelotto) has done a great job of finding the killer pass all year long in those critical moments when you need that special play.  I’m sure he’ll play a big roll again on Sunday.  Then you have Eddie Gaven and Robbie Rogers who are capable of those same moments and Alejandro (Moreno) is going to work his butt off for anything and everything and he does all the little things that allow those other guys the chance to do the things they do.

365:  How has the reaction been in Columbus?  It’s great that you are in the MLS Cup but it’s on the same weekend as the Ohio State/Michigan football game!
WH:  It’s been awesome.  Even last Thursday night, I had people sliding notes under my door and sending me text messages looking for tickets.  Thursday night games are a tough sell for this league but for this game I had people beating down my door and we had lots of coverage in the media.  We have felt more of a rush of coverage for sure.  This city loves a winning team and I think they’ve really jumped in behind us.

365:  Finally I’m scheduled to speak with a former teammate of yours, Chris Leitch, who will be on the other side of the field on Sunday.  Do you have anything you want me to say to him?
WH:  No, just tell him good luck.

365:  That’s it?
WH:  That’s it.  I know Leitch.  He’ll be fired up already; I don’t want to prod him anymore.

365:  Thanks Will.  Good luck this weekend.
WH:  Alright, thanks Lars.