FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (Nov. 8, 2007) The Chicago Fire saw their 2007 campaign come to an end in the Eastern Conference Championship with a 1-0 loss to the New England Revolution in front of 10,317 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Revolution forward Taylor Twellman put the home side ahead in the 38th minute with an acrobatic scissor-kick to give New England the lone goal it needed to seal the win.
Chicago pressured early in the first half, as a corner kick from Fire midfielder Cuauhtémoc Blanco in the sixth minute connected with defender C.J. Brown for a header that pinged off the left post for a goal kick. In the 13th minute, Chicago forward Paulo Wanchope found himself free with the ball eights 10 yards from goal, but his subsequent shot rolled pass the goalmouth and over the end line for a goal kick.
The Revolution threatened to score in the 17th minute with a pass out of the back from defender Khano Smith that found Twellman toward the right post for a header on goal, but a diving tip-save from Fire goalkeeper Matt Pickens kept the home side off the board. 20 minutes in, a misplayed ball by Chicago defender Dasan Robinson landed right to Twellman eight yards from goal, but his shot went high and wide left of the frame.
New England broke through in the 38th minute when Revolution midfielder Wells Thompson whipped a ball in from the right side of play to find Twellman double-teamed near the Fire's penalty spot. The ball hit off the head of Twellman and fell back down for the striker to bicycle-kick the ball past Pickens to give the home side a 1-0 advantage into halftime.
Chicago substituted defender Dasan Robinson out in favor of midfielder Diego Gutierrez during the break, as the Fire looked to push for an equalizer in the second half. The "Men in Red" offense picked up steam, as Blanco crossed a ball to Wanchope for a point-blank header in the 66th minute, but his effort hit the ground in front of New England goalkeeper Matt Reis for a routine save. In the 74th minute, Fire defender Gonzalo Segares struck from 25 yards out toward goal, but Reis was there again to make the stop.
New England nearly doubled its lead in the 83rd minute, as Revolution midfielder Pat Noonan's effort from 10 yards out forced Pickens to make a save on the ground to keep Chicago in the match. In the 90th minute, the Fire had its last chance on goal, as a ball from defender Wilman Conde over the top to forward Calen Carr was headed down just feet from the goal and into the hands of Reis.
"I think we had enough chances to at least score a goal and tie the game," said Fire head coach Juan Carlos Osorio." We always knew that New England is a very good team, and they always put crosses in. Twellman is very good finisher, he had one chance and he scored."
Fire Lineup: GK-Matt Pickens, D-C.J. Brown, D-Dasan Robinson (Diego Gutierrez 45), D-Gonzalo Segares, M-Logan Pause (Calen Carr 88), M-Chris Rolfe, M-Chris Armas (Captain), M-Cuauhtémoc Blanco, M-Wilman Conde, F-Paulo Wanchope, F-Chad Barrett (Justin Mapp 77).
Subs Not Used: Jon Busch, Floyd Franks, Bruno Menezes, Bakary Soumare.
Revolution Lineup: GK-Matt Reis, D-Jay Heaps, D-Michael Parkhurst, D-Avery John, M-Wells Thompson (James Riley 82), M-Shalrie Joseph, M-Jeff Larentowicz, M-Steve Ralston (Captain), M-Khano Smith, F-Taylor Twellman, F-Pat Noonan (Adam Cristman 86).
Subs Not Used: Doug Warren, Andy Dorman, Marshall Leonard, Abdoulie Mansally, Sainey Nyassi.
NE Taylor Twellman (Wells Thompson) 38'
NE Jeff Larentowicz (Caution, Reckless Foul) 36'
Referee: Kevin Stott
Referee's Assistants: Kermit Quisenberry, Craig Lowry
4th Official: Brian Hall
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 33 degrees