52 -- than anyone else.
As we all know, playoffs aren't about the regular season records (although it certainly can't hurt to get a higher seed for home-field advantage in the second game of the semifinal series and to host the conference finals), it's about who's hot and who's playing well at the moment.
At the moment New England is hot, and United is not.
Those two will grapple in a winner takes all match at RFK Stadium on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET (ESPN2). The survivor books a trip to Frisco, Texas in the 11th MLS Cup, the loser goes home to stew over the winter.
A few intangibles to consider:
The regular season: Yes, I just wrote that the regular season gets thrown out the window in the playoffs. But just in case you're wondering how these rivals fared against one another, they finished dead even at 1-1-2. The Revs managed a 2-1 win at RFK Oct. 7 during D.C.'s late-season swoon and their recent surge, after United prevailed in the nation's capital June 3, 1-0. In Foxborough, Mass., the clubs played to 1-1 draws on June 17 and Sept. 3. Clint Dempsey led the Revs with two goals, while Taylor Twellman pitched in with a goal and assist. Andy Dorman had a goal and two assists. Jaime Moreno led United with two goals and one assist, while Christian Gomez and Josh Gros each contributed a goal.
Overall playoff history: United is a four-time MLS champion, the only team from the Eastern Conference to win a league title, believe it or not (the rest have come from the Western Conference, or the Central Conference when it was around). The Revs have reached MLS Cup twice -- 2002 and 2005 -- losing both times in shutouts, and are in their fifth consecutive conference final.
Personal playoff history: The last time these two sides met in the postseason, the result was a classic. United survived a thriller for the books: a 3-3 tie in regulation and extra time, followed by a six-round penalty-kick shootout in which D.C. prevailed 4-3. It would be unfair to expect these two teams to duplicate such an effort Sunday. But we can always dream, can't we?
The coaches: Both coaches have been around the block in MLS. Nowak is a much more rigid coach in his strategies and philosophies. Nicol, who has the longest coaching tenure among current coaches (2002), is more flexible, willing to switch from a 3-5-2 to a 4-4-2 when necessary.
The benches: Nicol has much more to work with. The Revs demonstrated how deep they are, winning an important match last weekend without the injured Clint Dempsey and the suspended Shalrie Joseph. Bermudan Khano Smith, Mexican forward Jose Manuel Abundis and Jose Cancela are offensive threats coming off the bench, and the Revs also have available defensive midfielder Daniel Hernandez, who made his first start Sunday since May 6.
The subplot: United forward Alecko Eskandarian blames Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis for a concussion he suffered last season when both players collided while going for the ball. The situation has never been resolved.
The TV booth: OK, this has nothing to do with anything directly on the field. But yours truly is looking forward to New York Red Bulls coach Bruce Arena sitting in the same TV booth as Eric Wynalda, who has used the former U.S. national team coach as his personal verbal punching bag. This will be Arena's debut as a TV commentator and as we all know he doesn't pull many punches with the writers. Will he with Wynalda?
Regardless who walks away the winner, RFK Stadium should be rocking. In United's second-leg elimination of the New York Red Bulls Sunday, the stadium exuded an atmosphere second-to-none in this league. Just wish every game felt like that one.
D.C. United
Nowak does have a point about being the underdogs.
"I don't think we've played this bad in a long time," midfielder Freddy Adu said. "We lost a couple of games toward the end of the season, but we didn't play this bad."
United looked sluggish in both games against the Red Bulls, who Arena undoubtedly will remind people would never be considered the second coming of Barcelona or Chelsea.
So, what's wrong with United? Well, there's Nowak's refusal to rest key players as United secured the Supporters Shield. Local media has speculated that the United players don't get up for big games for Nowak as they did in the past.
You have to wonder how long United will be able to survive on its one-man scoring show. Midfielder and leading MVP candidate Christian Gomez scored both D.C. goals in the series, including the dramatic series winner in the 86th minute Sunday. Gomez, who has scored six of D.C.'s last nine goals, is good, very good, but no team has survived in the MLS playoffs on the scoring accomplishments of just one player.
"We're walking a thin line," goalkeeper Troy Perkins said. "But you look past this game and other guys are going to step up I think. You look through the whole season and, yeah [Gomez] has done a lot for us, but there are a lot of guys on the field that have done a lot too. But we do rely a little too much on him I think."
So, the likes of Jaime Moreno, Alecko Eskandarian and Freddy Adu have to find a way to make an impact into the attack.
Of course, it would be nice if the distribution from deep-lying midfielders Brian Carroll and Ben Olsen's improves tremendously from the Red Bulls affair.
On the plus side, Perkins has been solid to very good in the postseason, making a key save on former Austrian World Cup captain Markus Schopp in the 25th minute last week.
The backline, however, showed cracks against the ordinary Red Bulls attack as Bryan Namoff was forced to bail out his teammates. Facundo Erpen, who made several key mistakes Sunday, and company must step up or they'll be sitting down in front of the TV watching the proceedings at Pizza Hut Park come Nov. 12.
New England Revolution
The lesson learned in the last two Eastern Conference semifinals is never count the Revs down or out, even when they face a two-goal deficit in the second game.
Faced with a 2-0 disadvantage in the final 22 minutes of regulation against the MetroStars (now Red Bulls), the Revs stunned the visitors with a three-goal rush to emerge 3-2 victors.
This year, as we all know, the Chicago Fire, which already enjoyed a 1-0 lead after the first-leg win, doubled it in the first half before the hosts rallied for two goals for a 2-2 tie in regulation, forcing the shootout that had Reis producing his heroics and Twellman converting the winning penalty.
"They've always been a team and they pride themselves in fighting, and fighting to the last minute in a good way. They don't quit," Fire captain and midfielder Chris Armas said.
The Revs could very well live and die with Reis, who again demonstrated why he is considered one of the best in the league. He saved two penalties in the shootout and also converted his attempt, a rare try by a goalkeeper.
"Reis is the X factor in penalties," Twellman said.
It also was encouraging to see Twellman come up big when it really counted. First, he scored the series' equalizing goal in the 41st minute -- breaking a personal playoff scoreless streak of five full games and 624 minutes stretching back to the 2004 postseason -- and punctuating the shootout by converting the game-winner.
On a team that boasts Pat Noonan, Steve Ralston, Dempsey, Twellman, Reis and Joseph, it is easy for the backline to get lost in the shuffle. The likes of Jay Heaps, Michael Parkhurst, Avery John, Joe Franchino and rookie midfielder Jeff Larentowicz might not make anyone's MLS Best XI list, but they manage to get the job done.
What gives the Revs the edge over many teams is their deep bench. Nicol, who has been able to keep a lot of talented players happy, can trot out a number of experienced performers who seemingly make impact.
And there's a good chance he will have to use his depth Sunday. Dempsey, who missed the second leg of the Fire series with a right ankle sprain, was "extremely doubtful," for United, Nicol said. Ralston, who sustained a calf bruise, was listed as probable.
Noonan, who saw his first action in the second leg since Sept. 9 and who underwent sports hernia surgery in October, came on as a second-half sub -- that depth again -- and connected on the series equalizer in the 58th minute.
On the flip side, Joseph, arguably the best defensive midfielder in the league (you'll get no argument here), returns from that suspension. He still isn't 100 percent due to a hand injury. It is interesting that Gomez has one goal and no assists in four games against the Revs with Joseph in the lineup.
There is extra motivation: Getting an opportunity to put the ghosts of MLS Cups behind them and the fact this team could have a different look come April 2007 with Dempsey and Joseph looking across the Atlantic for their next challenge.
A never-say-die attitude, a deep bench and perhaps one last chance at MLS Cup glory could be the determining factors that take the Revs to a second consecutive trip to Frisco, Texas next Sunday.
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..
