A season that began with the New England Revolution gaining a modicum of revenge on the side that ruined their previous campaign, ended with the knowledge that next year it will be déjà vu all over again for Steve Nicol's side.
The game of the opening weekend saw the Revs head west, and thanks to Clint Dempsey, ruin the Los Angeles Galaxy's championship ring ceremony by taking all three points at The Home Depot Center. What price a road trip to Robertson Stadium in Houston for New England to open the 2007 campaign?
For the third time in five years, the Revs find themselves entering the offseason wondering what might have been. In some ways, defeat in the cruelest of circumstances against Dynamo was a fitting end to what had been anything but a straightforward year for New England.
By the end of the regular season, the Revolution had a respectable 12-8-12 record and the second spot in the Eastern Conference. However, for large periods on the road to that final mark, there were legitimate concerns as to whether Nicol's side would even make the postseason as poor form and injury continually bedeviled the side.
"We feel as though, throughout the year, we had things thrown in front of us all the time with different players," said Nicol. "We started the season with [Michael] Parkhurst injured. [Pat] Noonan was injured, [Steve] Ralston was injured, we lost [Daniel] Hernandez for four months, Clint [Dempsey] had the World Cup, Taylor [Twellman] was affected by not going to the World Cup. We lost [Joe] Franchino for a couple of months, we lost [Shalrie] Joseph at the end for a couple of months."
Inconsistency riddled the Revs until the final month of the season, when a seven-game unbeaten run locked up a playoff spot. After the initial win in L.A., the Revs did not pick up maximum points again until more than a month later, incidentally against the same opponent. The 4-0 win was the last game that Clint Dempsey played in before he headed to Germany for the World Cup, and following another victory a week later against Chivas, New England did not win again until the Texan returned in late June.
The loss of Dempsey did not just take away from New England one of its main attacking threats, but also had an adverse effect on the system the side was playing. Citing his desire to put his forwards in attacking spots where they could isolate opposing defenders, Nicol had opened the season with a 3-4-3 alignment. However, though it had its moments early on, the formation did not last.
Dempsey's absence removed the player from the 3-4-3 who seemed to benefit most from it, while Noonan's ongoing injury problems also saw him miss much time. Meanwhile, others that were tried in the attacking roles behind Twellman, such as midfielders Andy Dorman, Steve Ralston and Jose Cancela, struggled to adapt to the more advanced roles, leaving Twellman a frustrated figure up front. It was no surprise when Nicol re-adopted a 3-5-2 formation.
Dempsey inspired the side on his comeback, contributing goals and assists as the Revs won three out of four. However, another barren run was just around the corner as a 3-1 home loss to Real Salt Lake on July 14 was the catalyst for a six-game winless streak. A scrappy 1-0 win against Columbus at the end of August stopped the rot temporarily, until the Crew had their revenge in a 3-0 triumph that was the nadir of the Revolution's regular season.
On Sept. 9, the New York Red Bulls visited Gillette Stadium with Bruce Arena's side knowing that a win would see them leapfrog the Revolution into third spot in the East and push New England out of the playoff positions. Fortunately for Nicol, his side chose that evening to commence a run that would carry it into the postseason with no further losses.
Pat Noonan's goal was the difference that night in what was a scrappy win but the confidence gained was immediately evident as ties with D.C. United and Kansas City were interspersed with victories over New York (again), Colorado, D.C. (again) and Columbus.
Twellman was benefiting from having a regular partner in Dempsey, who showed better form after a period in which he was clearly unsettled by transfer talk and two separate suspensions. Meanwhile, Dorman remained on course to set new career highs in goals and assists from a midfield that featured the surprisingly effective Jeff Larentowicz.
The previous season, the Revolution had set a new club record for points gained and goals scored. While there was no danger of either mark being eclipsed this year, one new standard was set, as New England's defense set a record for fewest goals (35) conceded. Nicol realizes how vital his backline as throughout the year.
"I think if you look at [goalkeeper Matt] Reis and the back three, they were great," said Nicol. "Parkhurst showed that last year wasn't a fluke or anything else; he showed exactly what he is and that's a soccer player. [Jay] Heaps did nothing wrong all year. Avery [John] came in at the death and was real solid for us, he never put a foot wrong in the big games."
An opening leg loss in Chicago in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs was a setback, but the Revolution took heart from the way they played at Toyota Park. Even when the Fire doubled their aggregate a week later, there was no panic and New England methodically worked their way back onto level terms in the tie before Reis took over in the penalty shootout.
Having come from behind in the semifinal series, the Eastern Conference Championship game saw the Revolution demonstrate their capability of playing with a lead as D.C. United were held off for 87 minutes following Twellman's instinctive strike. With Reis in control behind it, that defense on which so much had been built held firm. In front, Joseph was impeccable.
Seven days later, the Revs only had to repeat their latest trick for seven minutes to secure the organization's first-ever MLS Cup. Of course, everyone knows what happens next and the ultimate denouement of New England's season left a somewhat hollow feeling for all concerned with the club, despite the strides it made to get to Pizza Hut Park in the first place.
"We battled against a lot of things all season and I thought we handled it real well (but) the only thing we wanted to do was win the championship," said Nicol. "I thought we deserved to get into then playoffs and more than deserved to win the games we won. Ultimately, I think we deserved to win that final but something that we really couldn't do anything about went against us and that's the way it is."
Now, the Revolution must face up to starting all over again in 2007. For Nicol, there are two main challenges. First, can he rouse the spirits of his mentally shattered side after such a devastating end to the season? Secondly, with some of those men set to move on, can the Revolution coach put together a new team that is capable of once again competing for the league's top prize?
"It's a big challenge; about as big as they come," said Nicol. "When you are losing players, if you are losing one then it is a better situation, but when you are losing multiple players, particularly your supposed better players, then that is really hard."
Andrew Hush is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
