Destiny changes in a second. In Revolution midfielder Jeff Larentowicz's case, that second comprised six to eight inches.
The Revolution defensive midfielder, generally charged with breaking up the opposing attack and popping into the New England offense with long-range blasts, charged up for an 86th-minute corner kick with his team down a goal.
Larentowicz found some open space in the center of the penalty area and made his run. Andy Dorman's precise corner kick found the run.
"You expect the ball to come," Larentowicz said. "You just hope to catch it cleanly."
Larentowicz's head found the ball and sent it towards Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad. From less than six yards, there's no time for a goalkeeper to react. It's all instinct and luck from that distance.
"I saw a goal all the way," Dorman said, describing his view from his vantage point on the corner.
And going along with luck New England has experienced in MLS Cups past, the ball just didn't find the back of the net.
"It was three yards away and it just didn't go in," Steve Ralston said. "It just hurts. It wasn't meant to be."
By chance, speculation, or luck, Onstad's left leg stood between Larentowicz's header and the goal New England needed to send the match to overtime and sealed the Dynamo's second consecutive championship.
"It was an amazing save," Revolution head coach Steve Nicol said afterwards.
The save capped a series of frustrating near-misses for the Revs on the day. Pushing forward when possible, exploiting Khano Smith's pace on the left and using Steve Ralston's wanderings in the middle, New England created more chances than it enjoyed in previous MLS Cups.
But the chances never seemed to find the back of the net.
Pat Noonan sent a volley just over the bar and turned a header just wide. Smith's pass to a Taylor Twellman run within 12 yards of goal was too far behind Twellman, turning a clear goal into an easy save for Onstad.
Looking back on it, Larentowicz's chance is the one that got away, the one bit of misfortune to symbolize all that had plagued the Revolution in this game.
Nicol said his team could have had a couple of more goals and added it needed to take those chances in order to avoid the misery that seems to plague them in these contests.
"We lost because we didn't take our chances," Nicol said.
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
