How a team reacts after a couple of tough losses can make a crossroads in a season.
The New England Revolution had lost two out of their last three matches. They were shut out by D.C. United 3-0, bounced back with a 1-0 win against the Los Angeles Galaxy, but then lost on Thursday to the Rapids, again by a 3-0 scoreline.
"After the last performance, we wanted to see whether we had the passion and the desire to play the game, to win the battle. And tonight you saw exactly what our team was made of," said Revolution coach Steve Nicol.
Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium, the Revolution refused to let that become a trend, defeating the Kansas City Wizards 1-0 in a key Eastern Conference clash.
"We've been frustrated obviously," said forward Taylor Twellman, citing the two losses. "What this team does well is bounce back from adversity."
Twellman provided the game's only goal on a classic counterattack. Shalrie Joseph won the ball in the midfield and played it wide to midfielder Khano Smith. He carried into the area before making a crisp pass that hit Twellman in stride as he ran toward the right post, sliding in to knock it into an empty net. It was Twellman's fifth game winning goal this season.
"Obviously Shalrie played a good ball wide, and Khano did a good job whipping the ball in and giving me a chance to finish," Twellman said.
Said Smith: "I just tried to put it in a good area for [Twellman] to get to and he got there."
The Revolution midfield, plus the back three, dominated this match. The Revolution just got off the plane from Colorado and went right to work, and Wizards coach Curt Onalfo said he was surprised with the energy the Revolution brought to the game.
"We had a practice yesterday and I think that helped," Smith said. "We just came on strong and tried to get on top from the beginning and then we got a goal. We protected after that and we got it."
Nicol thought the Revolution midfielders were the key to the club's counter-attacks.
"I guess it gets old but if you win the battle in the middle of the pile, and I think we did that," Nicol said.
Nicol and his coaches are up on the pulpit imparting lessons to this Revolution team. And in at least one area tonight, the Revolution earned an "A".
"You know we keep preaching to keep passing all the time. When it's done well it looks so easy, but it's so effective," Nicol said.
The Revolution apparently took that soccer sermon to heart. They had so many chances, but they kept hanging around. They took 11 shots, four on goal, and finally got what they were looking for in a bounce-back win.
Thomas Footeis a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
