After losing such a heartbreaker in the MLS Cup Final, the gloom in the New England Revolution's locker room at Pizza Hut Park was expected.
The Revs have to wonder what they have to do to take that final victory lap around Pizza Hut Park -- or any stadium, for that matter.
They're certainly not a bad team. They're good, damn good. After all, they've reached the Eastern Conference Championship five consecutive times and the MLS Cup on three occasions in the past five years.
Whether it's psychological, plain bad luck or something else, New England just can't get over the hump in the Cup Final.
"It's not meant to be," a sullen and upset Taylor Twellman said while sitting at his locker. "It's easily our best played final."
But on a breezy and cool North Texas afternoon, even the Revs' best wasn't good enough against Houston Dynamo, which prevailed 4-3 in a penalty kick shootout after playing to a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes.
Like it or not, these Revs could be considered the best team never to secure an MLS title.
They came close two times prior, losing in extra time to the Los Angeles Galaxy -- 1-0 both times, in 2002 and 2005.
"We've lost the final in every possible way," Twellman said.
In 2002, in front of a partisan home crowd of 61,316 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., the Revs fell on a Carlos Ruiz golden goal in the 113th minute.
In 2005, New England went down again by the same score at Pizza Hut Park on a goal by little-used Guillermo "Pando" Ramirez in the 107th minute.
On Sunday it was more torture as the soccer gods teased New England late in the match.
This time the Revs took the lead on Twellman's third goal in as many playoff games, only to see it fly out the window some 71 seconds later on Brian Ching's equalizer.
"Any coach will tell you: After you score, don't let your guard down," midfielder Daniel Hernandez said. "The perfect example is the worst day in the world you want to do it and we did it today.
"You can't let stuff happen like that, not in the final. You can't give people second chances. We just handed it to them. We let it slip away and that's what makes it more disappointing."
Hernandez wasn't the only Revolution player who felt that way.
"Obviously, it was very tough. The ball was in our court," Twellman said. "We had seven minutes to defend.
"It was not meant for us to win that game."
Goalkeeper Matt Reis realized how fleeting a championship appearance can be.
"It's hard," he said. "There are so many things that go into a season. You never know where you're going to have a chance to play for a championship. There are no guarantees next year. Any chance you waste is one that hurts bad."
Now, the old gang might be breaking up. U.S. World Cup hero Clint Dempsey and Shalrie Joseph, arguably the best defensive midfielder in the league, are considering taking the great leap across the Atlantic to play in Europe.
"We knew we wanted to win this one because a lot of guys wouldn't be around next year for whatever reason," Joseph said. "We really wanted to win this year."
Depending on who coach Steve Nicol places on the protected list, the Revolution could lose another front-line player to Toronto FC in Friday's expansion draft.
And there might be more.
Twellman, who scored a goal in each of the Revs' final three playoff matches, admitted he might consider playing elsewhere.
Asked if he would be back next year, Twellman replied: "You've got to ask Sunil that."
Twellman was referring to Sunil Gulati, president of Kraft Soccer, which owns the Revolution.
Or perhaps a return to Europe is an option. Twellman played for 1860 Munich for two years prior to joining the Revolution in 2002.
"I'm at the stage now where I'll sit down with my family and make the best decision for us as a family," he said. "Obviously, financially, I think it's the time for me to make that right choice."
Perhaps Joseph summed it up best.
"This one hurt a lot," he said. "I don't think we deserve to go to three finals and not win it."
He and some of his teammates might not get a fourth opportunity to try.
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.
