The Chicago Fire crashed out of the MLS Cup Playoffs on Saturday night after Matt Reis saved a pair of penalties in the shootout to send the New England Revolution to the Eastern Conference Championship after the home side claimed a 2-1 victory on the night to tie the series on aggregate.
"This loss stings a bit," Fire captain Chris Armas said.
It was all about what could have been for the Fire after Chicago claimed the game's first goal through Nate Jaqua after 18 minutes to double the lead on aggregate.
"Our mindset was to win the game," Fire head coach Dave Sarachan said. "We wanted to get the first goal and we did. It's disappointing that we couldn't get the second."
"We felt really good about getting the first goal," Armas said. "They needed two to tie and three to win. As you know, the two-goal lead is dangerous."
But as Armas said, the perils of the two-goal lead came back to bite the Fire in the 41st minute as Taylor Twellman fired home from eight yards to bring the Revs within a goal.
"It was tough to give up a goal right before the half," Jaqua said. "It took some momentum away from us."
After Pat Noonan gave the Revs the lead on the night and a tie in the series aggregate in the 58th minute, the Fire gained the ascendancy in the latter stages of the second half but could not unlock Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis.
"For good stretches of the game, we controlled it," Sarachan said.
With the total scores level after 90 minutes, extra time beckoned. The Fire had chances through Calen Carr and Diego Gutierrez but could not turn possession and impetus into the deciding goal.
"I felt like we had more energy," Armas said. "We weren't playing for a shootout. We felt like a goal was coming."
Penalties loomed and Reis sent the Fire home. Momentum shifted when he saved Thiago's opening penalty, putting Chicago immediately on the back foot.
"Missing the first one gives them the advantage," Sarachan said. "The pressure's on you."
When Reis converted a penalty of his own and saved Ivan Guerrero's effort, it set the stage for Twellman's winner in the fourth round and ended Chicago's season.
Armas gave significant plaudits to the home side after the contest as the Revolution continued to claw and earned a trip to its fifth consecutive conference final.
"They pride themselves on fighting to the last minute," Armas said. "They were shorthanded without [striker Clint] Dempsey and [midfielder Shalrie] Joseph. Give them credit."
The loss left Armas to reflect on the Fire's season. Despite the pain that was etched on the faces in the Fire locker room after the contest, Armas believes his side has something in which to be proud during the offseason after the pain fades away.
"There were two trophies available to us and we put one [the Dewar Trophy for winning U.S. Open Cup] on our shelf," Armas said.
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
