MLSnet.com

October 3, 2007

Revs aim to grab trophy in Open Cup
Despite much success, Revs' trophy case empty
By Steve Hunt / MLSnet.com Staff

FRISCO, Texas -- FRISCO, Texas -- For all the success that the New England Revolution have had in Major League Soccer, the club still has yet to claim a major honor. The Revolution are looking to change that Wednesday when they will face FC Dallas in the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final at Pizza Hut Park.

While this will be FCD's third trip to the USOC final, the Revs have only been there once before. That was in 2001, when they fell 2-1 to the Los Angeles Galaxy at Titan Stadium in Fullerton, Calif.

"It means everything to us," said Revolution head coach Steve Nicol. "It's the oldest competition in America. With the history behind it, it's something that we want to win." New England's run to this year's final saw them beat three USL sides along the way. In the third round, they handed USL-1 Rochester a 4-2 defeat with two goals each from Steve Ralston and Taylor Twellman. In the quarterfinals, goals by Andy Dorman and Twellman propelled them to a 2-1 win against USL-2 Harrisburg City. And in last month's semifinals, USL-2 Carolina took them to overtime before Pat Noonan's 93rd-minute tally proved to be the game-winner.

The Revs will have to make do without the services of stalwart midfielder Shalrie Joseph, who will miss the final through suspension after being sent off in the semifinals. Nicol knows what a big loss it will be for his side.

"Clearly, it's a loss," he said. "I think Shalrie would be a loss to any team in the league. I said that we're not going to make any radical changes. We're going to do what we always try to do. The only change will be a change in personnel."

This will be New England's third trip to Frisco with a championship at stake. The Revs played in, and lost the last two MLS Cup Finals at Pizza Hut Park but definitely want a better result this time around in north Texas.

"As a team, we have been in a couple of finals and have gone to overtime in all of them," defender Jay Heaps said. "So, it's important for us to win this in regulation. We have played well but haven't finished games. That's the direction that we want to go. We want to prepare to win this game. We've been there before in Dallas twice and know what to expect. So, it's going to be a good routine for us."

This season, the Revs have beaten the Hoops twice. They came into Frisco back on April 29 and thanks to an early goal from Twellman, left Frisco with a 1-0 win. And in the return match at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 15, they got two goals from Noonan and a goal and two assists from Ralston to hand FCD a 4-2 defeat.

Even though his side has come out on the losing side of the ledger in their last two trips to Frisco with title implications, Nicol isn't hitting the panic button and changing his team's routine around by switching hotels or other things.

"No (we aren't doing anything like that)," he said. "All these things at the end of the day are rubbish. It's what you do on the field and your preparation for that that counts. All that other stuff is a lot of nonsense."

In league play, New England has been one of the top sides away from home as they are one of only three teams with six road victories. For Heaps, the reason for that success is simple.

"I think what we've done is stayed consistent in what we do," he said. "... I think for us, it's about keeping our legs fresh when we travel. We've been able to do that and that's been successful for us."

Heaps knows that FCD will have the services of the always-dangerous Carlos Ruiz but also realizes that the Guatemalan international isn't the only offensive threat wearing Hoops that he and his mates will have to keep close tabs on.

"Dallas can come from different angles," he said. "Defensively, I think it's important that we match up, play smart and keep them in front of us. They are going to get in behind us and it's just a matter of keeping them in front of us."

On the New England side, no player has been a bigger thorn in the Hoops' side in recent history than Twellman. He has 14 regular season goals against them, more than any other team and the former Golden Boot winner has led the Revs in USOC play this year with three goals.