Mutual success has fostered a heated rivalry between D.C. United and the New England Revolution in recent years, and blood will be boiling on both sides when the East's best meet again this Sunday with a trip to the MLS Cup Final on the line.
Work rate and passion could be decisive qualities as the two evenly-matched lineups clash in a high-stakes playoff setting. New England and D.C. split their season series down the middle, each team scoring four goals over the course of two draws and a win apiece.
"This is a big game this weekend," said United goalkeeper Troy Perkins. "I think this will be bigger than the MLS Cup."
A contentious history and several intriguing incidents have further intensified the showdown.
New England still remembers the heartbreak of their penalty-kick shootout loss to United in the 2004 Eastern Conference final at RFK Stadium, while ill will lingers more than a year after a June 2005 collision between Matt Reis and Alecko Eskandarian resulted in a concussion for the United striker, who missed the rest of that campaign due to the injury's lingering effects. And even after surging past Chicago on penalty kicks in the semifinal round, the Revs are still fuming from the controversial second-leg suspension of their inspirational midfielder Shalrie Joseph.
"It's a tough task to match up with '04, but it seems like when we get together with New England it's always a lot of goals, and a great battle we have," said D.C. midfielder Ben Olsen. "I think both teams match up pretty well - good midfields and good offensive weapons, so it's going to be a fun one."
While United looked decidedly off-color in their 1-1 draw with New York last week, the Revolution's intensity might be peaking as they enter their fifth consecutive conference final. Despite all that postseason consistency, New England have become the league's perennial bridesmaids, still in search of their first trophy after coming agonizingly close in overtime MLS Cup Final losses to the Galaxy in 2002 and 2005.
"We're going to have to match that," said Perkins. "We're going to have to pick our intensity up a lot. We didn't bring it on Sunday. We left it in the locker room, I think. ... We know what to expect from New England, we know what they like to do, and we've got to be able to not only play our game, but defend theirs."
United's boisterous fans created a dramatic atmosphere that inspired their team in the Red Bulls match, and the Black-and-Red believe a more aggressive approach against the Revs will maximize the effect of RFK's daunting confines.
"We're home - we've got to dictate the play of the game," said Freddy Adu. "We've got to pressure them, take it to them, give them no space to breathe. When you start a game slow, it's hard to bounce back from that. When you start with momentum from the beginning, you have that for the rest of the game, and hopefully we're able to do that."
Mental strength will be a crucial commodity on both sides as the toil and devotion of a long, draining season culminates in one winner-take-all match. New England is desperately hoping that key players like Taylor Twellman, Pat Noonan and Clint Dempsey will be fit enough to contribute, while D.C.'s Eskandarian and Olsen are playing through nagging lower hamstring and groin soreness, respectively.
"It's only one thing: just to believe in what we want to do at the end of season, what we're going to do on Sunday," said United coach Peter Nowak. "I think the group is ready - all nine months of hard work now is going to pay off."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
