By Ridge Mahoney
Senior Editor, Soccer America
Both MLS conference finals will be played Sunday. The Eastern showdown will match two teams with a rich, if brief, history of playoff tussles, while the Western candidates have zero head-to-head postseason encounters but shared six goals when they met three weeks ago.
With crowds of more than 20,000 expected for each game, the league will set a record for attendance at its one-game conference finals, the current playoff format that was adopted in 2003.
RFK REVIVAL. D.C. United beat the Revs on penalty kicks two years ago after the teams played an epic 3-3 tie at RFK. Seven years ago, D.C. blew out the Revs, 4-1 at home, in the first game of a series it also won on penalties. A month ago, the Revs beat D.C., 2-1, at RFK.
If the Revs were in top health, they would hold an edge over a misfiring D.C. team in the conference final (4 p.m. ET, ESPN2), but with Pat Noonan still recovering from sports hernia surgery and Clint Dempsey hobbled by an ankle sprain, theyÆll need optimum performances from their other attackers to get goals.
Fortunately, Taylor Twellman netted a goal in game two of the conference semifinals, and Steve Ralston has the experience to find seams in midfield or get down the wing. In last yearÆs playoffs, Jose Cancela came on as a sub to rescue the Revs in the first round; he and Jose Manuel Abundis, who is expected to start in place of Dempsey, give Coach Steve Nicol additional options.
Still, New England failed to score in Chicago and was two goals down in the series before coming back. The Revs were 4-5-7 on the road this season and scored just 16 goals.
How many goals theyÆll need may depend on how fit is Jaime Moreno and how sharp is Alecko Eskandarian, a streaky scorer who is struggling through a lean spell. Stopping Christian Gomez is a tall task, but if Shalrie Joseph has regained his fitness, he and Jeff Larentowicz (a.k.a. unsung hero) can shut off the middle, leaving the back three to mark tightly and tackle judiciously. They can also drop deep to win balls in the air that Michael Parkhurst might not get to.
With both teams playing three in the back, who gets the ball wide and attacks incisively from those positions will probably determine which team wins. Josh Gros set up a goal for Gomez last weekend with an inswinging cross but the United flank play hasnÆt been consistently effective for more than a month. Where Joe Franchino plays on the left side and how effective is a crucial factor for the Revs, who also need a powerful game from Andy Dorman to control the middle and starve Moreno and Gomez of support.
Last year, the Revs won the regular-season conference title but labored through the playoffs before falling to Los Angeles, 1-0, in MLS Cup. This fall, D.C. has sputtered since clinching the conference crown: will it fall a step short of the final?
DYNAMIC MATCHUP. The Houston Dynamo has lost just eight games all season despite some sporadic defending and squandered chances, the very kind of lapses that Colorado can exploit.
The teams met on the final day of the regular season at Robertson Stadium, the site for the Western Conference final Sunday (7 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel). Three times Houston took the lead and three times the Rapids replied. The 3-3 tie was HoustonÆs 13th deadlock of the season.
ôThey are so resilient they actually annoy you,ö says Houston defender Eddie Robinson of Colorado. ôWhen we played them, weÆd score, and they came back each time. ThatÆs what they did against Dallas, they just donÆt give up.ö
Persistence carried Colorado past Dallas. The Rapids trailed 3-1 in aggregate in the first half of the second game, and rallied to tie the series, 3-3, to force overtime. Dallas scored two minutes into OT, and with six minutes left Colorado tied it again with a stunning Clint Mathis strike after heÆd earlier been denied a goal by a close offside decision.
Houston staged a rally of its own to eliminate Chivas USA, 3-2, after trailing, 2-1, on aggregate after the first leg. Brian Ching scored two minutes into stoppage time in front of a frenzied crowd of nearly 18,000; a much larger throng is expected for Sunday.
The pace and mobility of Brian Mullan, Dwayne DeRosario and Paul Dalglish and the flank play of Brad Davis will stretch the Colorado back line, but a former teammate of many Houston players must also be dealt with.
ôI donÆt think thereÆs another goalie in the league I dislike playing more than Joe Cannon,ö says Robinson. ôHeÆs just so good. HeÆs amazing, a fantastic goalkeeper.ö Cannon backstopped San Jose to its first MLS title in 2001 before he departed for Europe.
Injuries and suspensions have prevented Colorado from fielding its full roster during the playoffs but Coach Fernando Clavijo should have all hands available. Houston will be tested by an attack featuring the rampaging runs of Thiago Martins, the slick moves of Nicolas Hernandez, the crossing of Terry Cooke, and late runs out of midfield by Kyle Beckermann.
ôI said when I took this job one of my goals was to win a title in three years,ö says Clavijo. ''Now weÆre are two games away from achieving that goal.ö