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Rolling on Revolution tie Crew 2-2 to advance to MLS title gamePosted: Saturday October 12, 2002 7:56 PMUpdated: Sunday October 13, 2002 9:30 AM
FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) -- Team owner Robert Kraft congratulated his players after Saturday's win that put the squad one win away from the championship. It wasn't the New England Patriots. He also owns the New England Revolution, who reached their first MLS championship game by surviving a late collapse and tying the Columbus Crew 2-2. The Revolution needed just a tie in the rainy, windy conditions to win the first-to-five-points series. They entered the game leading 4-1, getting three points for a 1-0 win at Columbus last Wednesday and one for a 0-0 tie the previous Saturday. "He made an analogy with the Patriots," defender Rusty Pierce said of his on-field chat with Kraft. "He said it's just like how they started. You guys are defying all the odds." The Patriots started last season 1-3 and finished with nine straight wins, including the Super Bowl. The Revolution reached the title game by going 8-1-3 after a poor start. That will be played Oct. 20 in Foxboro against the Los Angeles Galaxy, which beat Colorado in the other semifinal. The site of the game was set before the season. The Revolution appeared headed for their fourth straight shutout with a 2-0 lead. But the Crew scored on two headers -- by Brian McBride in the 80th minute and Dante Washington, on a deflection off defender Carlos Llamosa, in the 85th. "We're slipping away right here. That was the initial thought," Revolution goalkeeper Adin Brown said. "But the season was slipping away from us three months ago and we still stepped it up." Had Columbus led after the 10-minute overtime, giving it three points and tying the series 4-4, a 20-minute mini-game would have been played. "The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory," said Wolde Harris, who gave New England a 2-0 lead in the 47th minute. McBride's goal was the first against New England in 373 minutes and Columbus' first in its last four games with the Revolution. "We're playing a team that's hot. We're playing a team that no one had faith in for three-quarters of the year," Columbus defender Brian Dunseth said. "This is a team that's got it all." With seconds remaining in the 10-minute overtime, Steve Ralston headed away Freddy Garcia's corner kick, ending Columbus' hopes. The Crew applied constant pressure after the Revolution went ahead 2-0 on goals by Ralston in the 17th minute and Harris. They outshot New England 24-11 and Brown had 10 saves to five for Columbus' Jon Busch. "As soon as they scored the first goal we had to make an adjustment" and use only two defenders," Dunseth said. "We couldn't play for a tie." New England had just one playoff victory in its previous six seasons and hasn't been over .500 for two seasons. The tie gave it a 15-15-4 record, including playoffs. But in their last 10 games, the Revolution have permitted just five goals, two of those on penalty kicks. The Crew reached the semifinals with consecutive 2-1 wins over defending champion San Jose but failed to score against the Revolution until McBride made it 2-1 on a header after Adin Brown punched out Washington's shot. Washington tied the game when his header off a corner kick by Brian West was going wide before it hit Llamosa. The Revolution played without MLS scoring leader Taylor Twellman, who sprained his right knee last Wednesday and may play in the title game. "With an eight-day break, good things can happen, so I'm praying," he said. The Crew was missing their second leading scorer, Edson Buddle, who fractured his right foot in the series opener. McBride's goal was the Crew's first in their last four games against the Revolution. Now the Revolution play one game for a chance to bring Foxboro its second championship and must stop Los Angeles' Carlos Ruiz, who led the league with 24 regular-season goals. "The momentum we have now that carried us in the playoffs is huge for our confidence," New England's Leo Cullen said. Scoring Summary: COLUMBUS CREW --Jon Busch, Brian Dunseth, Daniel Torres, Chad McCarty
(Kyle Martino 54), Eric Denton, Brian Maisonneuve, Duncan Oughton, Freddy
Garcia, John Wilmar Perez (Dante Washington 57), Brian McBride, Jeff Cunningham
(Brian West 68) N.E. REVOLUTION --Adin Brown, Rusty Pierce (Ian Fuller 84), Daouda
Kante, Carlos Llamosa, Joe Franchino, Steve Ralston, Leo Cullen, Daniel
Hernandez, Brian Kamler, Wolde Harris, Alex Pineda Chacon (Winston Griffiths
77) Referee: Kevin Stott; Assistant Referees: Nathan Clement,
George Gansner
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