The cloud of anxiety in the Chivas USA locker room was fairly thick Saturday night. After their 2-1 loss to the Wizards at Arrowhead Stadium, Chivas sat and waited and waited for the results of the Real Salt Lake-Houston Dynamo match.
"Obviously, we're all sitting here waiting, hopefully all the work we've put in over the past two years will pay off in the next two minutes," said Chivas goalkeeper Brad Guzan. "We'll just have to wait and be patient and see what happens."
The wait wasn't long. The locker room which once was achingly quiet erupted with applause.
With the 1-1 draw in Salt Lake City, Chivas clinched a playoff spot for the first time in their history. Players slapped five and congratulated each other.
"It's a big step for the club," said Chivas coach Bob Bradley.
"We're disappointed that we didn't take the point in this game. It was three points. It's a reward for a year of good work."
Chivas had a little trouble adjusting to the cozy confines of the field at Arrowhead Stadium.
"It's a lot shorter, it's a lot more narrow," said Guzan. "It took us a while to get adjusted a little bit."
The difference was in the penalty kicks. After Dave van den Bergh gave the Wizards a 50th-minute lead, both teams had one apiece within a quick span.
"Anytime you have a guy (Jose Burciaga, Jr.) like that who can really strike a ball, you just kind of go with your gut instinct," Guzan said. "As soon I saw who was taking it I was pretty much going left the whole way. He hit it with pace, and he hits that an ounce softer maybe I get a hand to it and push it to the front netting."
The winning penalty kick came about three minutes after Chivas pulled level with a penalty of their own, converted by Claudio Suarez.
"To give up a penalty less than three minutes later -- it's something in our end that shouldn't happen" Bradley said.
Still, Chivas can look ahead to the playoffs. They can take away some positives from Saturday's match.
"I think that our concentration and our mentality was good tonight," Bradley said. "On the other hand we need to get healthy."
Chivas has played the past two weeks without some of their key attacking players, such as Ante Razov, Juan Francisco Palencia. Juan Pablo Garcia was able to return for Saturday's game, but Chivas hope to be at full strength for the playoffs.
But for now it's time to celebrate a first for Chivas. The monkey is off the former expansion team's back.
Thomas Foote is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
