In a league where roster turnover and player movement has become a regular occurrence, the New England Revolution's first-choice strike partnership of Taylor Twellman and Pat Noonan stands out as much for its longevity as its success. The performance of this dynamic duo will go a long way towards determining the Revs' fate in Sunday's MLS Cup Final against Houston Dynamo.
Twellman and Noonan have led their team's front line for the last five seasons, notching 105 goals between them and vaulting both into the U.S. national team player pool. Longtime friends dating back to their childhood days in the St. Louis area, their time together has allowed them to develop an instinctive understanding of one another's tendencies and ideas.
"Usually you don't find too many partnerships that last this long," acknowledged Noonan after his team's training session at the RFK Stadium practice fields on Friday. "We've been fortunate enough, even with injuries, to have a lot of games under our belt and I think it shows when we're out there, because we have a good chemistry. A lot of times we don't even need to look up -- we'll know where each other is."
Since joining MLS in 2002 following an frustrating stint in Germany with 1860 Munich, Twellman has been astonishingly prolific around the net, scoring 91 career goals in the regular season and seven in the playoffs. In this year's postseason, the hard-working frontrunner continued to show a penchant for clutch scoring as he grabbed both of his team's game winners against New York and Chicago.
"Our team is set up to get balls into the opposing area and his forte is getting on the end of those balls," New England coach Steve Nicol. "Taylor is a guy that just wants to score goals. I have a problem trying to get him back for corners against [us] -- he just wants to stay up at the other end all the time. So he's only interested in scoring goals, he's only interested in getting the ball in the box for him, and to have a striker like that is huge."
A string of nagging injuries has bedeviled Noonan over long stretches of his career but when healthy, his intelligent movement and imagination on the ball matches up well with Twellman's finely honed nose for goal. That balance has strengthened their bond and tormented opposing defenders.
"He's kind of the opposite to Taylor: he's happier if he manages to take people away and create space and make passes for others to score, which is a great combination," said Nicol of Noonan. "You've got one guy who's busting a gut to put it in the net and you've got the other guy busting a gut to try and set it up."
Noonan has battled hamstring, back, hip flexor and sports hernia ailments in recent years and most recently, he's been limited by a groin strain, but the Indiana University graduate seems to be rounding into full health with the clock ticking down towards Sunday's final. Nicol certainly hopes so. The New England boss extols Noonan's capacity for invention and spontaneity, and believes that he is capable of turning a game at any moment.
"He's probably as fit as he's been in the last 12 months right now," said Nicol. "We just need to get the ball into his feet in and around the box, because that's where he's at his best. He has that 'N' thing that you're born with -- certainly we sitting on the bench are not quite sure which way he's going to turn or cut, and we see him every day. So I'm not sure how [defenders] are going to work it out."
Much of this week's media coverage has focused on the extraordinarily stingy Dynamo back line, a fearsome group which was beaten just 23 times in the regular season, destroying the league record for fewest goals allowed.
But it's worth noting that both Twellman and Noonan found the net against the Orange in a wild 3-3 draw at Gillette Stadium on July 22 -- one of only two games all year in which Houston surrendered more than two goals. With Twellman's predatory instincts, Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad and his back four will have little to no margin for error.
"Sunday is like any other game," said Twellman. "Obviously there's a cup involved and it's going to be a little bit tighter -- a team like Houston, they don't give up any chances, if any. It's going to be tough. You just do your job: you work hard, play good defense, help the team keep the ball and hopefully if there's a chance here or there, I'm getting it."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
