By Ridge Mahoney
Senior Editor, Soccer America
In both stadiums hosting MLS conference finals Sunday, the play was intense, the crowds raucous, and the results justified.
D.C. United outshot New England, 18-6, at a rowdy RFK lit up by flares and shrouded by smoke but were undone, 1-0, by an early Taylor Twellman goal, a few sharp saves by Matt Reis, and its own lack of belief.
A breakthrough goal for struggling Alecko Eskandarian never came, and the Revs' resilience jarred Christian Gomez and Jaime Moreno just enough to limit their influence at critical moments.
Waves of boisterous, orange-clad fans were stunned by an early Colorado goal at Robertson Stadium, yet the Dynamo replied seven minutes later, then relentlessly overpowered the Rapids, 3-1. Livewire striker Paul Dalglish scored twice within 10 minutes and after a nervous stretch during which Houston squandered numerous opportunities to clinch victory, Brian Mullan rammed home a volley from point-blank range.
New England thus qualified for its second consecutive MLS Cup and third in its history. Houston, which won the 2001 and 2003 league titles as San Jose, will also make its third appearance. They meet Sunday at Pizza Hut Park in Dallas (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
D.C. DOWNER. United created enough chances, but far too many of them dropped for Ben Olsen. In the second half alone, he hit a low, right-footed dribbler right to Reis, flicked a header that the keeper grabbed at full stretch, and ran into the box to flick a shot that Reis rushed out to smother.
In its first-round series against the New York Red Bulls, D.C. seldom dictated play and poor flank service stilted its attack. Freddy Adu, Josh Gros and Matias Donnet improved their crossing against the Revs, but the finishing stroke was missing. A masterful game by Avery John, a typically cool and decisive effort by Michael Parkhurst, and the robust midfield dominance of Shalrie Joseph blunted
Gomez's efforts to break free.
Revs coach Steve Nicol, deprived of an injured Clint Dempsey, deviated from his normal 3-5-2 formation, left a hobbled Steve Ralston on the bench, and started James Riley alongside
Parkhurst in a four-man back line. The resulting imbalance between midfield and defense unhinged his team, and he moved Riley into midfield to lend captain Joe Franchino, Andy Dorman and Joseph additional support.
United won a lot of midfield balls and pressed the pace to get an equalizer, only to run aground at the edge of the box or be denied by a Reis save.
Twellman scored with a first-time finish of a low cross by Pat Noonan, who'd been sent free down the right flank by a flighted ball from Jay Heaps. Twellman spun off-balance to tuck a low shot inside the far post for his sixth playoff goal in 16 appearances.
Aside from failing to track Olsen, the Revs defended their half of the field well and often had a second or even third man available to stop a dribble or contest a cross. They weren't brilliant, but played well enough to
knock off a United team plagued for the past two months by problems it never solved.
HOUSTON HYSTERIA. Can a match that produced just 11 shots be memorable? Yes, definitely. An orange state of alert enveloped Robertson Stadium and a buzzing crowd of 23,107. A team appreciated but unfulfilled in San Jose may have found a home.
Colorado took a 1-0 lead on a Jovan Kirovski penalty kick after Adrian Serioux had handled a cross, only be stung
twice by the finishing of Dalglish. A great through ball by Dwayne DeRosario sent him through to drill a shotunder Joe
Cannon, and he nodded in a bouncing ball Brian Mullan that knocked back from near the goal line following a deep Brad Davis cross.
Orange waves continued to sweep forward into the Rapids penalty area. Cannon dived at the feet of Brian Ching to block his shot a and Dalglish blasted over the crossbar after a Ching challenge forced another turnover deep in the Rapids half.
Colorado brought on a second forward, Thiago Martins, to supplement to efforts of Kirovski playing alone up front, but a
resolute Houston back line clamped down on Nicolas Hernandez, Clint Mathis, Kirovski and Martins.
Without the wide service of Terry Cooke, who missed the game through injury, Colorado's thrusts through the middle
were blunted by midfielder Ricardo Clark and central defenders Eddie Robinson and Serioux. Outside backs Wade Barrett
and Craig Waibel were very solid as well.
Hesitancy and indecision — glaring in the first leg of the conference semifinal against Chivas USA — were seldom in view. Davis and Mullan dominated the flanks and Clark excelled by ranging all over midfield to intercept or tackle the ball and then use it intelligently. DeRosario and Ching often playing supplementary roles, moving away from the
point of attack and drawing opponents to leave space for teammates that exploited it efficiently.
Davis triggered the sequence for the third goal by holding the ball against two defenders and then slipping it between them
for substitute Alejandro Moreno to float a cross that a gleeful Mullan, flying pell-mell through the penalty area, smashed
past Cannon.
On the final day of the regular season, the Rapids overturned three one-goal deficits at Robertson to garner a 3-3 tie that edged
them into the playoffs. They came back from 3-1 and 4-3 aggregate deficits in the conference semis against FC Dallas. On this
night, though, they ran out of rallies.