When the Chicago Fire and New England
Revolution meet in the first game of their Major League Soccer Eastern
Conference Semifinal Series on Sunday afternoon, they will not be strangers to
each other.
It will actually be the eighth time the two clubs have met in the postseason,
with the Revs owning a 4-3 advantage in the previous meetings.
The teams have also met in the postseason for five straight years, with
Chicago winning last year to break a three-year streak by the Revs. The Fire
will be aiming to start their own streak this time.
"It wouldn't be the MLS Cup Playoffs if we didn't have Chicago-New England,"
Fire coach Denis Hamlett said. "We know it's going to be two games that are
two battles. That's it in a nutshell. No secrets here."
Offense figures to be at a premium on Saturday, as the Revs allowed just five
goals over their final seven games of the regular season, and the Fire have
not allowed a goal in their last 228 minutes, spanning over their final two
regular season games.
"It tends to happen toward the end of the year," New England goalkeeper Matt
Reis told the Boston Herald. "Teams get tighter and teams know that they have
to take care of things at the back. If you're giving up easy goals, you're not
going to win a lot of games."
"The last two games, defensively, we're getting back to the mind set we played
early in the year," Hamlett said. "To win championships, you have to have a
good defensive mind set, and I think we can build on these last two games."
Most of the time, the first game of the total goals, home-and-home series will
be a feeling out process, with the fireworks usually coming in game two.
"It's going to be huge to stay strong defensively and try to get as many
shutouts as possible," New England defender Darrius Barnes said. "At the end
of the day, if you keep a team to zero, you'll always have a shot."
But the fact that Saturday's game will be played on the Gillette Stadium turf
means that it should be a faster game.
"You prepare yourself mentally for the first game because you know you are
playing on turf," Hamlett said. "The dimensions make things very tight. You
have to be alert because things happen fast."
New England will be without defender Chris Albright, midfielder Steve Ralston,
and forward Taylor Twellman, while defender Kevin Alston, forward Kheli Dube
and midfielder Jeff Larentowicz are listed as probable on the team's injury
report.
Fire defenders Tim Ward and Wilman Conde are listed as questionable.
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