While Houston Dynamo were celebrating on the Pizza Hut Park field, the New England Revolution were left to reflect on yet another MLS Cup disappointment. Pat Onstad's save from Jay Heaps' penalty in the shootout that followed a 1-1 tie condemned the Revs to their third championship game loss in five years.
In 2002, the Revs were beaten by Carlos Ruiz's golden goal for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Last year, the same side broke New England's heart again. Those defeats were hard to take, said Steve Nicol. This one, the Revolution head coach added, was the toughest pill of all to swallow.
It had all looked so different when Taylor Twellman struck a left-footed shot into Onstad's net in the 113th minute. However, just seconds later, with their small pocket of fans believing that the promised land was finally here, the Revs were stunned as Brian Ching rose to head home a deflected cross from Brian Mullan.
"I guess the key was losing the goal right after we had scored," said Nicol. "That has really been our downfall. I really did expect us to be solid but the cross got a deflection to Ching and it was a great header. The service has come off a head. It wasn't really a great ball. When you score, the one thing you expect is to that you will be tight."
Stunned, the Revolution went into penalties no doubt thinking that a shootout should not have been necessary. Nicol agreed that being pegged back in such a way had an impact on his team but added that he believed Ching's goal did not decide the game.
"I don't think it helped but, at the same time, their penalties were well-taken," Nicol said. "I think Matt went the right way every single time and unfortunately for Heapsy, the goalie saved it."
Heaps took New England's fifth penalty, following successful conversions from Shalrie Joseph, Reis and Twellman. Pat Noonan saw his effort bounce off the top of the crossbar and over, only for Reis to cancel that out by saving from Brad Davis.
The Revolution 11 that ended the game was not ideally set up for a shootout. Two men -- Daniel Hernandez and Jose Cancela -- who were in the list of five takers against Chicago earlier in the playoffs, were not among the eligible players, while two more candidates -- Steve Ralston and Clint Dempsey -- were not fit enough to step up.
"Ralston's groin was a problem," said Nicol. "Dempsey's ankle was a problem so we had to rethink them."
A final that burst to life only spasmodically saw the Revolution create chances to win the game in regulation. The best opportunity fell to Twellman in the first half, when the striker met Joe Franchino's fine cross with powerful header, only to direct the effort straight at Onstad. The rebound fell to Twellman but he could not react in time to shoot into the open net.
"We started badly and then got better," said Nicol. "We created some chances. We've played better, we've played worse but it's all about the result at the end of the day and we didn't get it. When you get an opportunity, you have to take it. I don't think there is anything more to it than that."
New England had two possible claims for penalties turned down by referee Jair Marrufo. In the 19th minute, Shalrie Joseph got beyond the Dynamo defense, and as he was ready to shoot on goal, went down under the challenge of Adrian Serioux. One minute into the second half, a Steve Ralston corner appeared to hit Eddie Robinson's hand. Again, there was no call. Nicol said he was not sure whether his side had been hard done by.
"I wasn't convinced that Shalrie's was a penalty from where I was sat," Nicol said. "On the handball, the guy's back was facing me so I don't really know whether it was a handball or not."
In the midst of his dejection at missing out on a championship again, Nicol did take time to congratulate Houston and, in particular, Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear.
"If we weren't going to win it then I am glad that Dominic won it,' said Nicol. "We are good mates but one of us wasn't going to win today. Congratulations to them."
Nicol's words had a somber tome that will take some time to be removed from his voice. The Revolution have been here before and bounced back. The coach answered that he "didn't see why not" when asked whether his squad had the mental strength to fight back from this crushing loss.
"I can't tell you how bad it feels," said Nicol on behalf of an entire organization and its fans.
Andrew Hush is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
