Revs Fire Back, Take SuperLiga Finals

FOXBORO, Mass – The New England Revolution became the inaugural SuperLiga Champions after defeating the Houston Dynamo in a shootout that capped off a wild affair Tuesday night in Gillette Stadium.

After 2 hours of play, the 2-2 tie sent the match into a shootout. In the eighth round of penalty shots while tied at five, New England defender Chris Albright put one through, and Dynamo midfielder Cory Ashe hit the crossbar to clinch it for the Revs. Bob Kraft, Head Coach Steve Nicol, and Revs were celebrating with the SuperLiga Trophy on a confetti-laden field at the stroke of midnight.

“We shouldn’t be surprised, our boys pride themselves on the commitment and the passion of the game and to each other, and that was really what got us through it,” Nicol said after the two hour and forty-five contest. “They backed each other up tonight and that is what got us the result at the end of the day.”

Nicol touched on pride and passion a few times in the post-game press conference, perhaps a telling sign of what the players feed off of in the finals of a tournament in front of 9,232 fans that some critics failed to legitimize. But perhaps even the harshest of critics might have conceded that the intensity of the game rivaled any other between the two rivals.

In the 18th minute a defensive lapse in front of New England’s net led to a Nate Jaqua unassisted goal putting the Dynamo up one early on. The Revs would continue the trend of fighting from behind for the rest of the evening.

Right before the conclusion of the First Half, at the 41st minute, Revs forward Steve Ralston caught the rebound of a Mauricio Castro shot, and tied the game at one a piece. No one would score until the two fifteen minute overtime periods began. Then just eight minutes in, Houston would regain the lead when Kei Kamara, who was subbed into the game, caught a pass from Brian Ching that he fired passed Revs Keeper Matt Reis. Steve Alston would contribute yet again. He had a free kick that was re-directed by Shalrie Joseph into the Houston goal in the 102nd minute.

The Revolution had fired the latest shot at the Dynamo in their latest encounter in what has become a storied MLS rivalry.

“Both teams kind of made each other, as far as that’s concerned, [they’re] great professionals, to a man,” added Nicol. “It must’ve been exciting to watch. If we could get a game like that in the MLS Cup Final, between the two teams, I would vote for that as well,” Steve Nicol.

Houston Head Coach Dominic Kinnear would too, he echoed the same sentiment, “I was saying [after the game], I hope we play them one more time this year, and that would be the MLS Cup Final…it would be a nice storyline.”