1-0.
But this week's hosts and higher seeds face entirely different challenges in the second leg of their total goals series.
Top-seeded D.C. United must defend their lead against the fourth-seeded New York Red Bulls at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., while the No. 2 New England Revolution must find a way to overcome their deficit against the third-seeded Chicago Fire at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
The games could turn on who scores the first goal. For the Fire and United, the teams with a one-goal advantage, it could mean the series. For the Revs and Red Bulls, the first goal it will give them a fighting chance to get a win and move on to next week's conference championship.
If either series winds up tied, a pair of 15-minute overtime periods would be played after Game 2. If it's still deadlocked, a penalty-kick shootout will decide the winner.
As we learned again last week, a soccer game might be for 90 minutes (plus stoppage time added on), but it is decided on moments -- plays that last for mere seconds.
In the Fire-Revs encounter, it took a free kick by Justin Mapp -- his first playoff goal -- to give Chicago the win as a hot goalkeeper, Matt Pickens, made eight saves.
In the United-Red Bulls match, it took quick reactions and thinking by two impact performers -- Christian Gomez and Jaime Moreno -- to lift D.C. to victory, even though New York had some scoring opportunities.
The losers in both matches might have played well, but until the league starts giving out points for effort and close calls, it doesn't count.
Of course, the Revs and Red Bulls have another day in which to turn things around.
These total-goals series are really 180-minute games. So there's still hope for New England and New York.
And here's something else to remember: The higher seed has a 7-1-4 record at home in the second leg and has reached the next round eight of 12 times since aggregate goals have been used (since 2003).
Here's a quick synopsis on what has been and must be done:
No. 3 Chicago Fire vs. No. 2 New England Revolution, Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass. (Fox Soccer Channel)
The Fire is in the proverbial driver's seat. There is at least 90 more minutes of action, although coach Dave Sarachan isn't ready to celebrate just yet.
The best way to defend a lead is for a team to play its usual way until there comes a time in the match -- at halftime or midway through the second half -- to start moving back and defending more.
"We'll go into New England with a similar mindset as we've done all year when we're on the road," he said. "It doesn't mean we sit back and think we're going to win this 1-0. If you do, you're crazy. You have to go in with the mindset that it's 0-0 and take it from there."
While it is fashionable to throw out regular season results come the postseason, it certainly has to make Chicago confident that it won twice at Gillette this season -- 2-1 on April 30 and 1-0 on Aug. 20.
"We know what it feels like to go over there and win," Fire captain Chris Armas said, "so hopefully we go over there and win or tie."
If recent playoff history is a lesson, no one should count out the Revs. Last year they went into the 68th minute of the second leg trailing the then-MetroStars (now the Red Bulls) 2-0, before rallying for three goals en route to a 3-2 triumph. The Revs went on to defeat Chicago in the conference final.
And if the playoff history between these teams holds firm, New England should be able to at least force extra time. Chicago is 5-0 at home vs. the Revs, while New England is 4-0 at home vs. the Fire.
"The first thing is we have to be patient and make sure we go about it the right way," Revs coach Steve Nicol said. "It's not a cavalry charge. And obviously knowing that we've done it previously can only give us confidence we can do it again.
"We know we can create chances against them. We just have to take them. So as long as we're patient, we have the sense to go about it the right way."
The Revs created plenty of chances against Chicago last Sunday, but Pickens, the hottest goalkeeper in the Eastern Conference Semifinals if not the entire playoffs, made sure he either caught or knocked away the visitors' attempts.
Pickens' story has been nothing short of amazing. He made his MLS debut barely two months ago for the injured Zach Thornton and has improved each game. He stoned the Revs, stopping Steve Ralston from close-range early on and denying Taylor Twellman on a point-blank header.
Twellman, Clint Dempsey and company must rediscover their scoring magic for the Revs to make a game of it and advance.
The Fire's backline, which includes veterans Tony Sanneh, one of the heroes of the U.S.'s quarterfinal finish at the 2002 World Cup, and C.J. Brown, could wind up, ahem, under fire, especially if the Revs need a late-match equalizer or game-winner.
Pickens will need to continue his stellar play with Sanneh, Brown and company to remain cool, calm and collected under pressure.
The Revs will have to make do without Shalrie Joseph, arguably the best defensive midfielder in the league, who is lost for the match due to one-game suspension imposed by the league. Joseph's suspension came down Tuesday, two days after an incident in which he threw an elbow at Ivan Guerrero in first-half stoppage time. No red card was given at the time.
That will make the Revs' task that much more difficult, though not impossible. The hosts, however, certainly have their work cut out for them if they yet another memorable playoff comeback.
No. 1 D.C. United vs. No. 4 New York Red Bulls, Sunday, 6 p.m., RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. (ESPN2)
In contrast to the other conference semifinal, the home team needs only a tie to advance.
Given how United has fared at RFK Stadium against the Red Bulls/MetroStars through the years, there is a decent opportunity for D.C. to reach the conference finals for the third year in a row.
Even though United had struggled in recent weeks, D.C. is traditionally tough at home, especially against the Red Bulls.
The Red Bulls cannot afford to fall behind 2-0.
"The last thing we can do is give up an early goal," Red Bulls coach Bruce Arena said. "Then the game is basically over."
The Red Bulls face a balancing act. They must attack, but not be over aggressive and allow United to counterattack.
"We've got to be aggressive and smart and not panic," Red Bulls defender Carlos Mendes said.
Arena figured United would come out and attack instead of staying back and waiting for the counterattack. "My guess is they're playing at home with good support in the stands, they'll try to be very aggressive and try to end the series early," he said.
Here are some overwhelming numbers to chew on:
• United leads the all-time series at RFK 18-6-4 (which includes regular season, MLS Cup Playoff and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup matches).
• D.C. also has a 6-2-2 mark at home vs. the Red Bulls since Sept. 28, 2003.
• No MLS team has come back from a first leg defeat to win the second leg on the road (0-3). Somehow it's not surprising that the Metros played in two of those series.
D.C. played last Saturday's encounter at Giants Stadium perfectly. Needing only a tie to call the match a success with a home game on the horizon, the visitors struck in the 77th minute on a pretty give-and-go between Christian Gomez and Jaime Moreno.
"It was OK either way," United midfielder Ben Olsen said about needing a tie or win. "That's how you do this. You get your tie and hope to win at home. Fortunately, we snuck in the goal and the job's half done. We have to go out and win the next one too."
Incredible as it may sound for a team with the best regular-season record in the league, it was United's first winning shutout in MLS competition since a 1-0 win at the Columbus Crew on July 8 (which extended the team's unbeaten streak to 12 matches). That was 14 games ago and a day before the World Cup final.
"It was ugly, but it's the playoffs," Olsen said. "Teams are fighting and it's not that easy, especially on turf and a windy atmosphere, to play beautiful soccer. ... We came together as a team again for the first time in a while. We competed for each other and we played smart and we concentrated for 90 minutes. It's hopefully the first step in getting back our form."
The Red Bulls left the Giants Stadium field feeling they played well enough for a draw. But it came down to United's big-time players -- Gomez and Moreno -- coming through -- and the Red Bulls' -- Amado Guevara and Youri Djorakeff -- not.
Arena said he felt that Guevara played too far back in Saturday's 1-0 loss.
"Amado out-thought himself a little bit there," Arena said. "He maybe was a little out of whack. He's got to be more solid in those kinds of games. Our team's most experienced players are Amado and Youri. They need to perform as well as they are capable of performing if we have a chance of winning this game."
But the Red Bulls are buoyed by their 4-3 loss at RFK Sept. 23, when they solved United for three road goals.
"When a team takes three goals at home, it says something," midfielder Markus Schopp said. "I think we can go there and make the results. It is not a problem. We have to work hard."
United might not be the same team that captured the 2004 MLS Cup or the one that cruised to a 13-1-5 start earlier this season.
But playing in the friendly confines of RFK might be the perfect backdrop for United and might be too much for the Red Bulls to handle.
Michael Lewis has covered every MLS Cup Final and is editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He can be reached at SoccerWriter516@aol.com. Views and opinions expressed in this column are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
