Revs join New England party, eliminate Fire
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Revolution rode Taylor Twellman's bicycle kick into the MLS championship game and closer to a destination that may be tougher to reach.
A prominent place on Boston's sports pages.
Twellman's acrobatic goal in the 38th minute gave the Revolution a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Fire in the Eastern Conference final on Thursday night and sent the Revs to their fourth MLS Cup game in six years and third in a row. They haven't won any of them.
"The only way we'll get mentioned in Boston is if we won one," Twellman said with a laugh. "The Celtics have played three games and we can't even get a lick."
The Revolution's win came 11 days after the Red Sox won the World Series, four days after the New England Patriots improved to 9-0 and one day after the Celtics went to 3-0. Boston College is 8-1 and ranked eighth going into Saturday's game at Maryland.
Is it possible to beat Boston in any sport?
"I certainly hope not," said New England coach Steve Nicol.
The Revolution managed to control star playmaker Cuauhtemoc Blanco throughout Thursday's game.
The 34-year-old Blanco, the Mexican League MVP in 2004 and 2005, joined the Fire on July 29 with a three-year contract that guarantees him $2.7 million this year. Three weeks earlier, Juan Carlos Osorio had replaced fired coach Dave Sarachan.
Since Osorio and Blanco had been together, the Fire went 7-2-7 after going 4-8-4 and clinched a playoff spot in their last regular-season game. That roll ended Thursday.
The Revolution eliminated the Fire for the third straight season, having beaten Chicago in the conference final in 2005 and the conference semifinal in 2006.
The Revolution advanced to the MLS Cup on Nov. 18 in Washington. They'll play the winner of Saturday's Western Conference final at Houston between the defending champion Dynamo and the Kansas City Wizards.
Only 10,317 showed up on a chilly night, many bundled in parkas and hats as the temperature dipped into the 20s. But they stood and shouted when Twellman scored.
Nicol said it was the first time his team won on a bicycle kick. Osorio said he never lost a game that way.
"Taylor is a very good finisher," Osorio said. "He had one chance and he scored."
Twellman, third among the league's career goal scorers, converted the kick between two defenders. It was his third winning goal in his past six playoff games.
But he chastised himself for missing other chances.
"I was frustrated," Twellman said. "I should have scored the head ball right before that."