Crew not lacking in big game experience

COLUMBUS -- The Columbus Crew as an organization is making its first postseason appearance in four seasons. However, the players making up the team are not lacking in big games, whether it be in the MLS Cup Playoffs or other competitions.

"A lack of experience is not even a question," captain Frankie Hejduk said.

It might or might not be a factor when the Crew open their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series Saturday at Kansas City. The Crew had the best record in the league (17-7-6) to win the Supporters' Shield while the Wizards (11-10-9) won five of the final seven to earn the fourth seed in the East.

Although the Crew certainly have veterans with a wealth of experience domestically and internationally, the key to success could be those with limited or no exposure to playoff pressure.

Midfielders Brad Evans and Robbie Rogers and goalkeeper William Hesmer will make their postseason debuts and center back Chad Marshall's only two games came in 2004 when the Crew also won the Supporters' Shield but went out in the first round against New England.

On the other hand, forward Alejandro Moreno, defensive midfielder Brian Carroll and reserve defender Ezra Hendrickson have five MLS Cups between them.

"It's good to have those guys with the experience of winning it. It's good to have guys that have been there before," midfielder Duncan Oughton said. "It's also good to have fresh guys who are eager to get after it. We have a really good blend of people here. Even the coaching staff has been there."

Head coach Sigi Schmid is no stranger to championships, having won the MLS Cup (2002), the U.S. Open Cup (2001) and three NCAA titles at UCLA. His 16 postseason victories are the most in MLS history.

"He's prepared us. Even these last couple of weeks he's been telling us the playoffs are a different beast and let's be prepared. He's got it in our minds," Hejduk said. "The preparation and experience and all the stuff people talk about is out the door with the team because we know what we have to do and we've been doing it throughout the year consistently."

A look at the wide range of experience, not necessarily in MLS, for the top 20 players on the Crew:

• High. It seems ludicrous to classify 35-year-old forward Guillermo Barros Schelotto as a playoff rookie but that's what he is -- in MLS, anyway. The MVP candidate (7 goals, 19 assists) has more titles (17) than any Argentinean ever, including 15 in various competitions with fabled Boca Juniors.

He is conductor that makes the Crew train motor to the tune of 50 goals this season, second only to Los Angeles. His set pieces could be the deciding factor at a time of the year when goals are at a premium.

In terms of MLS playoff appearances, no one on the Crew has more than Hendrickson. He has 31 over a distinguished career and won on MLS Cup winners with LA in 2002 and D.C. United two years later.

Moreno was also on the champion Galaxy of 2002 coached by Schmid. That team was also the last to win the MLS Cup and the Supporters' Shield in the same season. Moreno, who has 15 playoff games in the bank, also started for Houston's title team in 2006.

Although forward Pat Noonan hasn't experienced the thrill of winning the MLS Cup, he played in the past three finals for the New England Revolution. He has five goals in 17 playoff games.

The stats say Hejduk has only nine postseason matches for Tampa Bay and Columbus since 1996 but his international resume can't be ignored. The defender is the only U.S. player to appear in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups and the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. He was named to the 2006 U.S. World Cup squad but could not play because of injury. He has also played more than 80 matches for the U.S. national team.

"Enough of us have played in big games that we know what's at stake," said Hejduk. "We know how to prepare ourselves for these types of games. We're trying to keep that steady keel."

• Medium. Carroll, acquired in the offseason from D.C, had 10 postseason matches with United and started all four matches when they won MLS Cup in 2004.

"You had a good feeling all throughout" the playoffs, he said. "Guys were bonding together, willing to fight for each other. You had a feeling it was your year. It feels that way again."

Oughton is the longest tenured Crew but the memories from his rookie year of 2001 are not pleasant. He played in 20 games and made 12 starts in the regular season but coach Greg Andrulis did not play him in the two losses to San Jose that ended the season.

Defender Gino Padula, 32, is another Argentinean veteran without any MLS playoff games but no one can question his credentials. After two seasons in his native country, he moved to Spain before playing at several levels of English soccer from 1999-2006, where he was involved in numerous cup competitions.

Midfielder Eddie Gaven falls in the mid-range of experience. Although he played six times in the postseason for New York, his last appearance was in 2005. He also helped the U.S. U-23s qualify for the Olympics this year.

Brazilian-born reserve midfielder Stefani Miglioranzi, 31, has never been the part of the MLS postseason but has extensive experience in the first, second and third English divisions for Swindon Town FC and Portsmouth from 1999-2006. He was also on St. John's 1996 NCAA championship team.

• Low or zero. Rogers is in his second season with the Crew so he has not yet experienced the MLS Cup Playoffs. That doesn't mean he hasn't been in big matches. He played in all three Olympic matches in Beijing this summer for the U.S. That's called performing before a world audience.

The same holds true for first-year midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo. His Nigerian team knocked the USA out of the Olympics and Ekpo eventually received a silver medal after losing to Argentina in the final match.

"Look at the starting 11, Guillermo's played in huge games. Alejandro's been on championship teams. Eddie Gaven's been in there. Brian Carroll's been a champion," Hejduk said. "Myself, I've played in some big games through World Cups and this and that. Chad's been in the playoffs before. There's plenty of experience. Robbie's been in the Olympics. He's played on a big stage. Gino had some big games with the clubs he's played for. There's no question all of us to some degree have played in big games."

Marshall started both games as a rookie four years ago and he, Oughton and Hejduk are the only remaining players from the Crew's last playoff excursion. Two of his four goals this season were against Kansas City.

Central defender Danny O'Rourke's only experience is one game with San Jose in 2005 but he was captain when Indiana won back-to-back NCAA titles in 2003-04. (Crew reserve defender Jed Zayner also played for the Hoosiers those seasons). O'Rourke will likely pair with Marshall against the Wizards.

Evans, in his second season, will get his initial postseason start after having the MLS goal of the week, a 30-yard strike on Sunday that gave the Crew a 1-0 win against D.C.

Rookie forward Steven Lenhart is looking to come off the bench for his first postseason appearance but won an NAIA title last year for Azusa Pacific.

Forward Jason Garey did not play in the postseason for the non-qualifying Crew his first two seasons but could get an opportunity over the next two matches as a substitute. He and Rogers helped Maryland to the 2005 NCAA College Cup title.

Rookie defender Andy Iro was a central figure on UC-Santa Barbara's 2006 NCAA championship. He would start for O'Rourke if Schmid decides to go with a taller presence alongside Marshal because the narrower field at CommunityAmerica Ballpark is conducive to a lot of service into the box.

Neither goalkeeper has played in the postseason. Third-year pro Andy Gruenebaum, who started the first 10 matches of 2007, helped Kentucky reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament as a sophomore in 2003.

Hesmer has started 49 of the past 50 matches over the past two seasons after coming over from Kansas City where he played three matches over the previous three years.

"I'm not reading too much into playing my old team. It's a big series for the whole Crew organization, the team," he said. "They've completely reshaped and retooled the team that I was a part of (at K.C.). They've got a lot of new players. I still have a handful of good friends there so it will be fun going up against them."

He isn't worried about lacking playoff experience.

"I don't see it being any different," Hesmer said. 'I've put pressure on myself and made sure that every week I've been in there counted. I don't see how I could have made it more intense for myself during the season. I took every game seriously. I'll just keep doing what I've done all year."

His coach echoes those feelings even though Schmid knows what Hesmer's counterpart can do. Kevin Hartman was in goal for the Galaxy's titles in 2002 and also in 2005 when Steve Sampson was in charge. Hartman has 14 shutouts in 42 playoff games.

"He and I are good friends. I've known him a long time. I coached him at UCLA and coached him with the Galaxy," Schmid said. "He's a competitor. He's really worked hard going into this season. He's as fit as he's been and as sharp as he's been in a long time. He's obviously, in my mind, a very good shot-stopper, but I'm very happy with our goalkeeper."

Leathers, Wizards look to slow Rogers, Crew

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- The challenge before Kansas City Wizards rookie right back Jonathan Leathers -- to stop the Columbus Crew's Robbie Rogers -- is vital to his team's success. And in the first match of their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series, Leathers kept the dangerous and pacy left midfielder off the scoresheet in a 1-1 draw at Kansas City.

"Every time I play against him, I have to give him a lot of respect," said Leathers. "But at the same time, I have to make it hard for him. We definitely made it hard for him last game, and hopefully we do it [Saturday]."

The Wizards will be taking on the Crew Saturday in the second leg at their fortress -- Crew Stadium -- where coach Sigi Schmid's side was victorious in 11 of 15 regular season matches while losing just twice, including winners of their last six.

Kansas City is playing the team that finished with MLS's best regular season record and with the second-most goals overall at home. But the best way to deal with such a challenge is to break it down. That's where the Leathers-Rogers battle comes in to play: the Wizards simply must win the individual battles to win the series.

One way to slow down the Crew is to get physical. Playoff soccer typically involves more fouls than a regular-season match. Match one last Saturday in the tight confines of K.C.'s CommunityAmerica Ballpark saw 32 fouls, 18 by the Wizards. But it's a fine line between being physical and putting yourself in a bind via resulting free kicks and even red cards.

"We have to balance it out," said Leathers. "We don't want to give them opportunity after opportunity, but, at the same time, we have to send a message that [the game] is not going to be easy."

Making things more difficult for Kansas City will be the absence of dynamic right midfielder Herculez Gomez after his straight red card in the 75th minute of the first leg. Kansas City head coach Curt Onalfo didn't want to reveal who will be taking Gomez's place in the lineup but emphasized his squad's quality in saying the Wizards "have a lot of really good options".

But the former U.S. national team assistant coach did reveal his selection criteria.

"We want to have somebody that's going to be a threat and [be] causing them issues on that side of the field," said Onalfo. "There's no doubt about it, [Gomez] has been very influential to our team, but it is an opportunity for somebody else to be influential."

Whether forward Josh Wolff will be an option in any maneuvering is also in doubt as the U.S. international did not train Tuesday and Thursday because of complications with his fibular stress reaction.

"He took a little bit of a turn for the worse Tuesday, so we rested him Tuesday and [Thursday]," Onalfo said. "We're going to see how he feels [Friday]. Based on that, we'll see if he's going to be available as a reserve."

The Wizards come into the match having lost only once in their last eight matches and having things their way in the first leg -- a defensive shutout and one-goal lead -- until the dying moments. And the last team to keep Columbus from winning at Crew Stadium was the Wizards, in a 3-3 stalemate July 17.

Capable individuals like Leathers make the Wizards capable of much together.

"If everybody plays his game, we'll be fine," said Leathers.

To a man, Onalfo has preached one battle cry.

"I told our guys [that] I want them to go out there and put it all on the line. If they give everything they possibly have and play every play like it's the last, they will have won regardless of what the score line is. That's what we ask them to do," said the second-year head coach.

"It's going to be a game that will come down to a play or two on either side of the ball that will be the difference," he continued. "We just have to be mentally tough and mentally right to be able to make those plays on both ends of the ball."

Communication key to Dynamo success

HOUSTON -- During their last training session before departing for New York on Thursday, the Houston Dynamo worked on a passing drill, and head coach Dominic Kinnear was right in the middle of it.

Any time during the drill there was a lack of chatter, Kinnear would quickly remind his team they were not talking enough.

Just like you might hear at a staff meeting anywhere across America, communication, pardon the cliche, is key. That was the message for the Dynamo in their last tuneup before they open the MLS Cup Playoffs against the New York Red Bulls Saturday in E. Rutherford, N.J.

Dynamo captain Wade Barrett agreed that talking to each other is a big part of what makes his team special. After all, the Orange are on a quest to become the first MLS team to win three consecutive league championships.

But there were other factors that Barrett talked about. The playoffs, he said, are a whole new season.

"Anytime you get in, you have to be disciplined and organized," said Barrett. "That is probably No. 1 for us, and as we get into this first round, every goal counts.

"And whether you are winning by one, or down by one, you have to maintain that discipline and shape. You can't just let a game get away from you, because it will just make the second leg that much more difficult. Especially in this first game, and I think it just comes down to us being organized, talking a lot and doing what we can to bring a good result back home."

Before this year, the Dynamo had entered the playoffs only as the No. 2 seed, and have never come home ahead in either of their first-round matches. In 2006, the Dynamo were down 2-1 after 90 minutes to Chivas USA, and last year, FC Dallas took control of the series with a 1-0 win in Game 1.

Houston, obviously, went on to win both series and thanks to favorable results in other playoff games, had the fortune of hosting both Western Conference Championship matches.

That experience helps the Orange realize there is no need to panic in the first half of the opening series. Even if they have to play the first leg on artificial turf, a playing surface on which their record this season is a poor 0-3-3 in all competitions.

All three losses resulted in a 9-0 scoring disadvantage, and the Dynamo have never won at Giants Stadium, losing twice and forcing one draw.

Kinnear just shrugged off the notion that turf affects his team. Dynamo right back Richard Mulrooney said he'll take that criticism any day.

"I think this year we had two games where we didn't play well, especially in New York," said Kinnear. "I think it had nothing to do with the turf; it was the way we played.

"Everyone around the league comments that they'd rather play on grass. It's common knowledge."

Said Mulrooney: "If that is the worst thing anyone can say about us, then I say let them have it. If that is our only weakness, then I am OK with it."

In their last visit to New York, the Dynamo were trounced 3-0 in a game that most players agree was easily their worst of the season. Goalkeeper Pat Onstad, who is easily one of the more vocal leaders on the team, said the team is aware of that Aug. 24 result and that the team needs to be ready for a challenging first 90 minutes of their playoff series against New York.

"We got spanked and thoroughly embarrassed up there in New York," Onstad said. "We feel that we didn't playing all that well, but having said that, they really to it to us as well.

"But we're cognizant of the fact that this is a 180-minute match. We are pretty confident that we are going to play pretty well at home, but at the same time you cannot dig yourselves too big a hole."

Barrett did not hesitate to say the match in New York in the summer has been left in the proverbial dust.

The steadfast captain almost seemed annoyed at the notion that his team -- arguably one of the best in North America in the last three years -- would let such a result rattle it just before the start of the postseason. "Actually this game has absolutely zero to do with that," Barrett said. "This is the playoffs and it's a completely new season for everyone involved, both us and them. The playoffs, hopefully, will bring the best out of both teams, and we are really looking forward to getting this thing started."

Task simple, history hard for Revs

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The task is simple for the New England Revolution ahead of Thursday's second game of their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series with the Chicago Fire: get a result in a place where no Revolution team has gotten one before.

In five previous playoff games in the Windy City, the Revs have posted zero wins and zero draws. Chicago has scored 12 goals in those games and New England has posted just two.

"We know it's not going to be easy going into Chicago and getting a win," defender Michael Parkhurst said. "It's going to be tough."

The precedent is there for the Revs to break their duck. Chicago earned a point in Foxborough for the first time in seven tries with a 0-0 draw in the first leg.

In order for New England to repeat that feat, the Revs must carry over the successful defensive effort from game one.

"These are tight games, often on the uglier side," defender Chris Albright said. "A zero is kind of our goal."

The defensive struggles of the last two months were put to one side as the Revs stifled the Fire in game one. The tight back four didn't allow space to roam and defensive midfielders Jeff Larentowicz and Shalrie Joseph cut off Cuauhtemoc Blanco's supply of the ball.

"We were finally able to play a mistake-free game defensively," Parkhurst said.

Yet one game doesn't constitute a playoff run. Without Steve Ralston, Taylor Twellman and Adam Cristman, the Revs defense can't rely on an offensive explosion to bail them out.

"We have to go in thinking that (we need a shutout)," Albright said. "We have to be solid in the back. The offensive part will hopefully come after that."

The Revs struggled to create offensive opportunities in the first leg. Crosses went astray more often than not, while there were few attacks coming down the center of the field.

A lack of offensive continuity in the run of play places greater emphasis on taking advantage of set pieces and corner kicks in order to find a way to post that critical goal.

"If we can create a couple of chances and maybe bury one or punish a mistake on their part, we can reverse how it's been going," Parkhurst said. "If we're able to do that and hang on, then that's what we'll do."

With the offensive struggles in mind, Revs head coach Steve Nicol would prefer that his team doesn't have to try to play catch up.

"In the course of the regular season, you can afford to give games up by chasing the game because you have other games," Nicol said. "Playoffs -- particularly (Thursday) -- you don't want to be chasing the game. If you're chasing it, you're leaving holes and you're getting caught. It's tough to get it back."

The lack of offensive options leaves Nicol without the additional firepower he'd prefer if the Revs fall behind. With a healthy Twellman, Ralston and Cristman and an eligible Khano Smith, starting forwards Kheli Dube and Kenny Mansally and midfielder Sainey Nyassi might have been eligible off the bench instead of forced into a starting role.

"I guess that makes it even more important that we don't concede any goals," Nicol said.

Nicol will have to make one change to the first-leg lineup. Chris Tierney will miss the second leg after spraining his left knee in training on Tuesday. Gabriel Badilla is expected to return to the side to fill the vacancy after missing the first leg through suspension. The change won't impact how the Revs approach the game defensively, Parkhurst said.

"We know we're going to play four in the back now," Parkhurst said. "That's set. Personnel doesn't matter."

Smith remains unavailable as he serves the second match of a three-game ban.

KC's Gomez moves on after red card

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- After his red card Saturday forced his team to play a man down in the first leg of its Eastern Conference Semifinal Series, Herculez Gomez could have avoided the situation entirely. Instead, he owned up to his mistake and tried to move forward, even after his Kansas City Wizards ended in a 1-1 tie with the Columbus Crew.

For the remaining 15 minutes after Gomez's ejection, his teammates held off the top-seeded Crew and kept Kansas City's one-goal lead. But then substitute Steven Lenhart tied the match, and the series, with a goal two minutes into stoppage time.

Gomez didn't see any of it as he sat in the locker room likely contemplating the foul -- a sweeping tackle on Crew left back Gino Padula in the 75th minute -- that had sent him there.

But when reporters surrounded him afterwards, Gomez didn't duck.

"The ball got loose. I tried to make a play on it, and just really put my team in a bad position regardless if it was a foul or not," he said with head down, speaking softly. "I put the referee in a position where he had to make a tough call. Unfortunately, it didn't go our way. I'm extremely disappointed for the position I put my team in. I definitely let my team down. I can't blame the referee, he called what he saw."

As he has been since he joined Kansas City on Sept. 3, Gomez posed a significant threat on the right flank as Kansas City looked to head into the second leg this Saturday in Columbus with a lead in the aggregate-goals series. Now, the Wizards will need a win in Columbus to reach the Eastern Conference Championship, and they will have to do it without Gomez.

div.articleCaptionEd { background-color:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; font-size:12px; margin:0px; padding:1px 2px; width:404px; font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;}

Herculez Gomez takes out a Crew player, drawing the red card.

"Certainly it's a big loss. He's been an excellent player for us. He's been a constant threat on [the right side] of the field, but every team has to deal with that kind of stuff," said Onalfo. "We'll find a way. We have plenty of other good players who can step in and do a good job."

"I have tons of faith in what we've done as a team lately and what we continue to do," Gomez said when asked if he was confident his teammates could pull out a win at Crew Stadium.

Who will take the place of the former MLS Cup champion (with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2005) in the starting XI in Columbus is unclear. Roger Espinoza could step into the starting lineup, as could Josh Wolff, who played the final 21 minutes at forward despite being all but ruled out of the postseason earlier due to a fibular stress reaction. If Wolff comes in, designated player Claudio Lopez would likely be switched to wide midfield. No matter how Onalfo rearranges his lineup, Gomez will be missed.

"It's going to affect the team. He's been a big part of things since he's been here, but we're not for a second going to put our heads down," said center midfielder Davy Arnaud, who scored the Wizards' goal in the 53rd minute off a Lopez assist. "We've got a game to still go and play and go win and that's our mindset."

"Whether it's cheerleader or pushing the guys on the other side of the ball, pushing the starters, whatever they need, I'm going to try doing it," he said Saturday, looking up for the first time after the match.

Eskandarian ready to return for Chivas

CARSON, Calif. -- After overcoming a groin injury that cost him nearly the first two-thirds of the season, Alecko Eskandarian was nonetheless a key part of Chivas USA's run to the MLS Cup Playoffs.

However, when the Red-and-White lined up to play their most important game of the season, Eskandarian was not even at the stadium.

A knee injury kept the MLS Cup 2004 Most Valuable Player out of Saturday's Western Conference Semifinal Series first leg at Real Salt Lake, and the one-time RSL player was none too happy.

"It was pretty tough to watch," said Eskandarian, who took in the game at home. "I felt like I could have helped the team and it's never fun watching your team struggling when you are sitting at home on a couch. It was frustrating for me to watch but when it's all said and done it's a one-goal lead that we have to overcome."

On Tuesday, however, Eskandarian participated in a full training session and had no immediate setbacks. With Chivas USA trailing 1-0 in the aggregate-goals series, Eskandarian said he intends to play at The Home Depot Center on Saturday.

"I'm looking forward to playing," Eskandarian said. "I wanted to even try and play last weekend but obviously there was no way that was going to happen."

Eskandarian picked up a knee injury in the regular-season finale against Houston. A clean challenge from Houston's Eddie Robinson caused the injury, Eskandarian said, as the two players went for a ball at the same time and Eskandarian's knee was damaged.

In the game, goalkeeper Dan Kennedy was sent off early in the second half. In order to fill the goalkeeper's spot with Zach Thornton, Chivas USA coach Preki took Eskandarian out. At the time, it appeared to have been purely a tactical decision but the injury might also have played a role.

"Right away I knew something was wrong but I kind of jogged it off," Eskandarian said about the injury. "It loosened up on me and it kind of felt better."

Once the game was over, however, Eskandarian said he felt discomfort.

"First half-hour the pain came back so I knew it wasn't the greatest situation," Eskandarian said. "The next day it kind of swelled up on me and I knew I was going to be in doubt for the Real Salt Lake game."

A week of limited training followed but the knee did not heal in enough time to play. Without Eskandarian, Preki tabbed rookie forward Justin Braun to start alongside Ante Razov. Roberto Nurse also appeared in the game as he replaced Braun late in the game. Without Eskandarian, Chivas USA had just three shots and one on goal in the game.

While watching his team play RSL, Eskandarian said he was pretty active himself.

"I couldn't sit down," he said. "I was sitting here in my house, I had the game on and literally every play I was jumping up and down and yelling. My roommate was probably pretty annoyed with how strung-up I was."

Still, such activity was preferable to risking further damage. Even though Chivas USA lost, Eskandarian said the deficit is not insurmountable. When Chivas USA tries to get the goal back, Eskandarian will be around to try and help out on the field.

"Taking the extra couple of days to just do rehab and treatment and rest it a little bit has really helped out a lot and I'm looking forward to playing on Saturday," he said. "No setbacks. First day back you are always a little hesitant to do things. It was a good day and hopefully I'll get better as the week goes on."

Despite lost lead, Wizards not worried

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- The Kansas City Wizards came within a minute of taking a much-desired lead to Columbus for the second match of their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series. But they aren't going to fret about it -- there's still another 90 minutes to go.

"It was a hard-fought game. We said from the beginning it's who the winner is after 180 minutes. After 90, it's even," said Wizards head coach Curt Onalfo. "It's like going into halftime 1-1 as far as I'm concerned."

Onalfo saw his team lose a 1-0 lead in the second minute of stoppage time while a man down. The Crew's Steven Lenhart put in a shot from 17 yards off a ball that had bounced around repeatedly in the Wizards' box.

The leveling goal came 16 minutes after Kansas City's Herculez Gomez earned a straight red card for a two-legged tackle on Crew left back Gino Padula. Sitting on the field after suffering a possible foul the moment before, Gomez tried to tackle Padula as he raced back up the field with the ball the other way, and after coming in late, earned his marching orders from referee Jorge Gonzalez.

The ejection came after the Crew had hit goalkeeper Kevin Hartman's crossbar twice in the 62nd and 65th minutes, through shots by Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Frankie Hejduk, but before that, the second half belonged to Kansas City.

In the 53rd minute, Wizards center midfielder Davy Arnaud gave his side the lead. Playing a slicing ball out wide for forward Claudio Lopez, Arnaud made a beeline for the goalmouth.

"I just wanted to get myself into the box to get another body in there because [Lopez] had pulled wide," said Arnaud. "I made a run, and Claudio played a great ball. I just had to get my head on it somewhere on target."

Arnaud surprised two defenders with his diving header that sailed over Crew goalkeeper Will Hesmer and punched the back of the net. Now that they had one goal, the Wizards wanted another. After the two shots hit Hartman's crossbar, the Wizards made a move to increase their own pressure.

"We wanted to try and continue [attacking], and that's why we put Josh in," said Onalfo of the 69th-minute substitution of Josh Wolff for forward Abe Thompson. "It was unfortunate we went down a man."

And for 16 minutes the Wizards held on, until Lenhart's goal.

"I'm disappointed because we should have walked out of here with [a win] and a one-goal advantage, but we didn't," Onalfo said. "Nobody ever said this stuff was going to be easy. We know we have a difficult challenge going to their place where they've been very, very good. But I believe in the guys in this locker room. We've been through worse, and we'll find a way to rebound."

The result, in an odd way, could be a blessing in disguise, according to goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.

"Now we're not going there to try and protect a lead, we're going there to try and win, which gives us a little bit more incentive, makes it so we're not playing tentatively," he said. "We look forward to it. It's going to be difficult, but to be the best, you have to beat the best team. We're ready."

"We wanted to win at home, but we didn't lose any ground," said Arnaud. "So we're going into next weekend even and with everything to play for."

Crew escape Kansas City with draw

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- It's been four years since the Columbus Crew have been in the MLS Cup Playoffs. But as the other opening games in the conference semifinal series were playing out, they knew what was coming Saturday night against the Kansas City Wizards.

"We knew it wasn't going to be pretty," said Crew defender Frankie Hejduk. "That it's going to be a tight game."

Into stoppage time, the Crew were down a goal. But rookie Steven Lenhart pounded home a shot for the tying goal in a 1-1 draw and showed the kind of resiliency the Crew have exhibited all season in winning the Supporters' Shield.

"It's been a while since our club has been in the playoffs, so there's always a little bit of apprehension and tentativeness," said Crew coach Sigi Schmid. "I think to get the first game under our belt knowing we didn't play our best game and being able to come out on equal footing at the end of the day, I think that was very important for our team."

It wasn't exactly a rope of a pass that Lenhart looped home for the tying goal. It was a long-range shot from Danny O'Rourke, a deflection, and then a bounce off the chest of fellow forward Alejandro Moreno.

"It was just a long ball that kind of went over my head and bounced back to me," Lenhart said.

Said Schmid: "Steve's a big body. We figured he could get in the box and get on the end of some crosses. The team sometimes calls him 'magnet' because the ball just seems to find him."

Both teams certainly had their chances, before a diving header from Davy Arnaud put the Wizards ahead in the 53rd minute. But the Crew's spirits of the team were definitely lifted when the Wizards went a man down after Wizards midfielder Herculez Gomez was sent off in the 75th minute.

"When they got the red card, it changed the whole dynamics of the game," said Hejduk. "We had a never-say-die attitude but that's not a shock. We've been doing it all year and we knew we were going to come back."

The Crew were able to put an extra man forward, and fresh off the bench, Lenhart got the right bounce to tie the match.

"We never, ever, at any point in the game, did we doubt that we were going to come back," Hejduk said.

Still, there was room for doubts. Guillermo Barros Schelotto saw an astounding effort come off the crossbar, and Hejduk also hit the bar, after the ball was tipped onto it by Kansas City goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.

"I thought we had a little more of the game and we were creating some chances, but we weren't putting the final touches on it," Schmid said. "I think the next game, at home on a bigger field, I think that will make it a little better for us."

Lenhart has learned quickly what it takes in the playoffs in his first season.

"A tie is good," he said.

Chivas face uphill battle after defeat

SANDY, Utah -- In Saturday's first leg of the Western Conference Semifinal Series between Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA, the hosts threw everything they had at the visiting Red-and-White.

A total of 20 shots and seven on goal had led to no goals for Real Salt Lake -- and Chivas USA nearly escaped with a draw.

But the result never came as Yura Movsisyan scored in the 90th minute to give RSL a 1-0 victory against Chivas USA, who once again have a deficit to overturn at The Home Depot Cetner.

"For a moment it was going to be one of those games where we escaped ... and put ourselves in a good spot going home. But one play on a throw-in and we fall asleep for a second and it's 1-0," Chivas USA coach Preki said. "We're in the same spot last year going home and hopefully it will be different for us."

A year ago, Chivas USA won the Western Conference regular season title, but after losing 1-0 to Kansas City in the first leg of their first-round series, weren't able to make that up at home.

Movsisyan caught the defenders napping on the decisive play. Javier Morales took a throw-in and carried into the penalty area where he sent a ball to the far post.

"It passed some of our guys and found its way to Shavar (Thomas) and Movsisyan," defender Jonathan Bornstein said. "From my angle it looked like it was going to go past both of them so I started to step back to clear it and at that last second Movsisyan got a backheel to it and just kind of spun it in back post. Definitely caught me off guard."

The goal spoiled an otherwise solid effort for the Red-and-White. Although RSL dominated the match and had done so prior to the goal, the visitors had done well to weather the 89-minute storm. Zach Thornton, who filled in for the suspended Dan Kennedy, made seven saves including a pair off Clint Mathis shots that kept Chivas USA in the game.

But the final sequence was one too many opportunities Real Salt Lake had in the game.

"They came after us hard. They pressured us hard," Jesse Marsch said. "Elevation becomes a factor when you are chasing the game."

RSL had the better of opportunities in the match and Chivas USA did little to take the momentum away from the hosts. Sacha Kljestan had a brief look from 18 yards out early in the first half but sent a shot wide of goal. It was not until the second half that the hosts relented on their attack.

"From the very first minute they were on us, pressuring us and making it hard on us and we could never get it going," Marsch said. "There were stretches in the middle of the second half where I felt that was our chance and we weren't good enough at times. It could have gone either way. They were on their heels a little bit for a period too."

Aside from Kennedy, Chivas USA were missing three other starters from a week ago. Claudio Suarez (knee), Atiba Harris (quadriceps) and Alecko Eskandarian (knee) were unavailable for the match and stayed in southern California.

But players said their missing teammates did not account for the club's lack of sharpness.

"You had new guys playing in different spots, Jonny (Bornstein) playing in center back, (Alex) Zotinca playing on the left midfield. It's kind of a juggled lineup," Kljestan said. "You've got to adjust. We've been doing that all year. We've done a good job of juggling the lineup. That's just the way it is. You've just got to react and do our thing."

Still, despite having come so close to achieving their objective in Saturday's first leg, players said they felt confident entering the Nov. 8 return leg.

"We were two minutes away from accomplishing what you set out to do when you go on the road," Marsch said. "It's unfortunate and we're disappointed and upset but it's halftime right now and we're going home. You'd have to score a goal anyway so we're going to take it to them at home like they took it to us here."

Movsisyan's late heroics give RSL win

SANDY, Utah -- Yura Movsisyan has perfected a method for working late-game heroics in the 90th minute.

One week after coming up with the equalizing goal at that juncture in Colorado that pushed Real Salt Lake into the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time, Movsisyan put in the game's only goal in the 90th minute on Saturday afternoon against Chivas USA.

His game winner -- a nifty flick off the inside of his right heel off a cross from Javier Morales near the endline -- handed RSL a 1-0 win at Rio Tinto Stadium in the first game of their Western Conference Semifinal Series. The second and deciding game will take place next Saturday at The Home Depot Center.

RSL came out of the gates in full attacking mode -- especially Morales. RSL outshot Chivas 9-1 in the first half and also did an excellent job of creating corner kicks for itself throughout the half, coming up with four while allowing zero for Chivas USA.

The Argentinean midfielder took his first crack at the net on a direct free kick in the third minute, but sent the ball too high. He then took a one-touch pass from Movsisyan a minute later and split three defenders for a nice shot that just skipped wide of the near post.

The Utah side did not dial back the intensity through the first half and got plenty of other good chances. Chris Wingert put himself in good position when he broke loose along the far sideline in the 10th minute. But Wingert hesitated as he entered the penalty area and it gave Zach Thornton enough time to gather himself and deflect Wingert's shot over the endline.

Clint Mathis nearly came up with the first goal for RSL in the 18th minute when he put a free kick perfectly on frame from 30 yards out. While Mathis had a shot that was true, the ball did not have enough of an angle to zip past the waiting hands of Thornton.

Another great scoring opportunity came on a corner kick during the 32nd minute. Morales swung the ball from the corner across to Jamison Olave at the near post. Olave headed it up to Will Johnson near the top of the area. Johnson unleashed a rocket, but the ball sailed way too high to seriously test Thornton.

Chivas created their only shot in the 14th minute when Justin Braun centered the ball to Sacha Kljestan and Kljestan delivered a rocket from inside the restraining arc. His shot sailed just wide of the far post.

RSL did not miss a beat with their attack early in the second half. Movsisyan set up Mathis perfectly in the 46th minute. The RSL Golden Boot winner backheeled the ball on a volley to him and, from there, Mathis tried to slot it past Thornton. Thornton barely got a piece of it as the ball bounced past, forcing it wide and over the end line.

Morales created another nice shot on frame in the 49th minute when he swung a corner kick out to Nat Borchers at the edge of the six-yard box. Borchers got his head under the ball and put it perfectly on frame. Chivas narrowly dodged the bullet when Alex Razov cleared it off the line.

Movsisyan appeared to finally put RSL on the board in the 63rd minute when he shook off former Real teammate Carey Talley and unleashed a rocket past Thornton. But the goal was waved off when Movsisyan was charged with a foul for taking Talley down near the top of the penalty area.

The Rio Tinto crowd showed its displeasure with the call by heartily booing Talley whenever he touched the ball until he was substituted for in the 68th minute.

RSL nearly cooked something up again in the 76th minute when Morales sent a free kick to substitute Robbie Findley near the goalmouth. Findley and Thornton went to head the ball simultaneously and it was forced over the endline. The play set up another corner kick by Morales, but nothing more came of it.

Findley got another solid chance on a ball fed to him in the 84th minute. He got loose on the break and uncorked a powerful shot. But the ball sailed wide of the far post.

RSL put an increased emphasis on the offensive end in the waning minutes of the half, going with four forwards -- Mathis, Movsisyan, Findley and Fabian Espindola -- to finish out the match. Espindola got a good look at the net in the 89th minute when Morales fed him the ball on the outside corner of the penalty area. His rocket, though, was easily roped in by Thornton.

Just it when it seemed as if RSL would be forced to settle from a draw from their home leg, Movsisyan popped up again to provide the late heroics and give Real an edge to protect at The Home Depot Center.

Movsisyan shows flair for dramatic finishes

SANDY, Utah -- For the second consecutive week, Real Salt Lake took the game into the 90th minute looking for a goal. For the second consecutive week, Yura Movsisyan answered the call.

In their last game of the regular season RSL needed a draw against the Colorado Rapids to advance to the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in club history. Already down a goal, in a game where RSL wasn't getting a lot of chances, Movsisyan saved the season by collecting a deflected save from the goalkeeper and putting the ball home.

Now in the playoffs, RSL was in a similar situation where they needed a goal. It wasn't vital, but certainly would help in their quest to advance to the Western Conference Championship. This difference this time was that they were dominating their opponent, but still couldn't find the back of the net.

Enter Movsisyan who, again in the 90th minute, delicately backheeled a cross from Javier Morales, landing it just inside the far post and sending the Rio Tinto Stadium crowd into a state of delirium. The goal was enough to give RSL its first victory in its first postseason game.

After scoring the all-important goal last week, Movsisyan felt that such a chance only came once in a lifetime. He's grateful to be a part of another very special goal in his career.

"I never thought, in my career, that it would ever happen to me," said Movsisyan. "I always thought I was going to earn every goal I scored. You've got to have some luck, too. I think it's the right time to get lucky.

"Last week is never going to repeat again. Just the amount of pressure that was on us, and just the amount of expectations ... but, we exceed everybody's expectations. And now, we're out to do more special things."

Even though he was able to pull off more last-minute heroics, it wasn't that Movsisyan wasn't creating chances earlier in the match. RSL head coach Jason Kreis pointed out that his striker was creating havoc for the Chivas defense all night.

"He really, really worked hard. He made things extremely difficult for their two center backs," said Kreis of Movsisyan. "I thought he got a couple of fouls called against him that would have turned into goals, that I thought were a little bit suspect."

One incident that Kreis was referring to happened around the hour mark with Movsisyan charging into the Chivas penalty area while battling with defender Carey Talley for the ball. Talley ended up on the ground just before Movsisyan fired a shot past Chivas goalkeeper Zach Thornton.

The crowd erupted, but referee Ricardo Salazar was quick to call the foul on Movsisyan. Whether he agreed with the referee, Movsisyan didn't say.

"It's the ref's job," said Movsisyan. "That's why he has the yellow jersey on, and not us. He makes the calls, and if he decides it's a foul, it's a foul. ... It's his job to call it, and if he calls it then what can we say? He's the boss on the field."

While Kreis rotated through his strikers for much of the season, looking for a solid combination, Movsisyan picked the right time of year to get hot. The RSL frontman scored all of his team-leading seven regular season goals since August, and has now scored in each of RSL's last three games. It's a pace Movsisyan looks to keep going through the postseason.

"Yeah, one day I decided that I wanted to start scoring," he said with a grin. "No, I guess it's just getting repetitions. Getting the games in and getting the minutes. Once you do that as a forward, all you need is confidence. Once you have confidence, you don't think anyone can stop you. Especially as a forward, especially with the team I have behind me -- look at all the guys -- everybody is a great player."

Kamara, Dynamo strike late for draw

E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Red Bulls were five minutes from taking a one-goal lead into the second leg of the Western Conference Semifinal Series, but Kei Kamara struck for the equalizer in the 85th minute to forge a 1-1 draw for the Houston Dynamo Saturday afternoon at Giants Stadium.

The aggregate series moves to Robertson Stadium next Sunday where the two-time defending MLS Cup champions have lost just once during the regular season, while the Red Bulls have one road win on the season.

And they have Kamara, who came on for Nate Jaqua in the 66th minute, to thank for that. Stuart Holden, another second-half substitute, tapped Wade Barrett's cross to Kamara, who put the ball past Danny Cepero from eight yards out.

Juan Pablo Angel put the Red Bulls in front three minutes into the second half, beating Eddie Robinson to a Wolyniec cross and heading it inside the far post from eight yards out.

Dave van den Bergh started the scoring sequence with a throw-in toward the corner, where Wolyniec touched the ball into the box with his left foot. Angel ran toward the cross, bent over and his header bounced inside the far post.

All three of Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio's midseason acquisitions -- Venezuelans Jorge Rojas and Gabriel Cichero and Argentinean defensive midfielder Juan Pietravallo -- were not in New York's starting XI.

Instead, Luke Sassano and Sinisa Ubiparipovic patrolled the center of the park together, the first time the two were in the same starting lineup since April 27, when the Red Bulls defeated San Jose 2-0 at Giants Stadium.

With Mike Magee out with an undisclosed illness, Wolyniec, who had eight goals in 12 reserve matches, started up front with Angel.

Osorio went with Leitch, Andrew Boyens, Diego Jimenez and Kevin Goldthwaite defensively, the same back four that were on the field when the Red Bulls defeated Houston 3-0 at Giants Stadium on Aug. 24.

Houston coach Dominic Kinnear went with the same starting XI that drew Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center in the regular-season finale a week earlier. Kamara was Kinnear's first change, coming on for Jaqua in the 66th minute. In the 71st minute, Holden replaced Mullan.

The first half saw no scoring, but plenty of physical confrontations as the teams combined for 23 fouls. In the 29th minute Richards was booked for plowing into Richard Mulrooney to be the first in referee Kevin Stott's book. Brian Mullan retaliated and was booked as well.

The two teams clashed briefly after Jaqua collided with Boyens in the 35th minute, although Jaqua escaped a yellow card. Two minutes later, Angel was booked for elbowing Mulrooney on a 50-50 challenge in the Dynamo 18-yard box.

The best scoring chance in the first half came when Ubiparipovic stripped De Rosario and took a bouncing shot that Onstad tipped away for a corner kick in the eighth minute.

The game came to life with Angel's first career playoff goal three minutes after the restart. Four minutes later, Cepero dived to his right to save Jaqua's header from inside the box in a bid to bring Houston level.

New York was unlucky not to have a two-goal edge when Dynamo 'keeper Pat Onstad came off his line in a race for a through ball, just beating Wolyniec. The ball caromed out to Dane Richards, who took a touch and fired a low shot from distance that had Onstad beat, but Mulrooney cleared the attempt off the line in the 53rd minute.

Three minutes later Robinson received the ball off a Brian Ching header, but he fired high and wide of the net.

Chris Leitch fired an ambitious attempt from 30 yards out that beat Onstad's dive but went off the outside netting in the 61st minute.

Then five minutes later, Dwayne De Rosario ran into space, but he rolled his shot wide of the far post from the left side of the 18-yard box.

In a bid to protect their precious advantage, Osorio brought on Pietravallo for Ubiparipovic in the 77th minute. But the plan backfired when two of the Dynamo's changes combined to give their team the equalizer.

Wolyniec then nearly gave the Red Bulls a dramatic victory, but Onstad dived to his left to push aside his shot for a corner kick in the 90th minute.

Real focused on toppling Chivas

SANDY, Utah -- Considering how many times Real Salt Lake have been burned by late game heroics in their short history, there was a moment of irony for them to enjoy with the 1-1 draw at Colorado that clinched that long elusive playoff spot last weekend.

For the first time in forever, RSL claimed a positive result on a late dramatic play of their own when Yura Movsisyan knocked in the equalizer in the 90th minute.

"We deserved it," defender Ian Joy said. "Let's face it: how many times has it happened to us -- especially this year?"

What RSL are hoping is that one good thing leads to another when they takes on Chivas USA in the first leg of their Western Conference Semifinal Series at Rio Tinto Stadium this weekend. Real are not satisfied with simply making the playoffs. Now that they are here, the club's sights have been rebooted and adjusted.

Simply put, RSL are in it to win the whole thing.

RSL coach Jason Kreis feels like his team is well prepared to make a playoff run. Kreis feels like his players have thrived while playing in a do-or-die situation for the past few weeks now, as evidenced by a five-game unbeaten streak.

"I don't think that this game in particular has any more pressure than the last three that we've played," Kreis said. "Our guys are almost comfortable in that setting."

Because the first-round format dictates a series winner through aggregate goals over two games, RSL know a strong offensive and defensive performance could snag a crucial victory going into The Home Depot Center next weekend.

If Real can get a victory, they can feel confident going to southern California. After all, Chivas is one of two teams they beat on the road this season. And that's a result that the team hopes will pay dividends in the postseason.

"It just gives us confidence that we're going to have a chance to win this series," midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "It's not like were playing Manchester United or anything. We're playing a team that we've beaten at their place."

Having the first game at home also offers RSL a chance to exact a small measure of revenge against Chivas USA. The Red-and-White spoiled Real's finale at Rice-Eccles Stadium by taking away the full three points and have generally been a thorn in the club's side in recent seasons.

The Utah side knows it will have to put forth a much better brand of soccer at Rio Tinto than what ended up being on display in Colorado, if they hope to make any sort of playoff run.

Beckerman thinks keeping composure will be important. He emphasized that scoring goals is a top priority, but that they need to play smart, control the ball and work on creating good chances for themselves.

"We just need to be patient," Beckerman said. "We need to just worry about playing good. The last game -- we didn't play that great, but we got it done."

For RSL, getting it done in the playoffs with add another must-read page in an exciting new chapter for the organization. The days of underachievement are behind them and the players feel confident that -- underdog or not -- they can be a factor in the race for the MLS Cup.

"This is a whole new season for me," Joy said.

Osorio's midfield gamble pays off

E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Juan Carlos Osorio rolled the dice.

Heading into the opening leg of the Western Conference Semifinal Series against the two-time defending MLS Cup champion Houston Dynamo, the New York Red Bulls coach kept his prized South American midseason signings on the bench and instead went with a pair of central midfielders with little in the way of big game experience.

Sitting on the bench Saturday at Giants Stadium were Venezuelan internationals Jorge Rojas and Gabriel Cichero, as well as Argentinean defensive midfielder Juan Pietravallo, while Luke Sassano and Sinisa Ubiparipovic started together in the midfield for the first time since a 2-0 win against the San Jose Earthquakes on April 27.

"I am not afraid to make changes and there are no automatic choices in this team," Osorio said. "Whoever is playing well and whoever is showing me that is willing to play for this team and they are willing to play 100 percent, then they will play especially today."

While not naming names, Osorio said he was especially upset following last Thursday's 5-2 drubbing at Chicago with the lack of effort shown defending a corner kick in that match.

"There were players not doing their jobs," Osorio said. "I thought that wasn't disciplined so I took them off the starting lineup, simple as that, because we couldn't concede any goals that easy."

Osorio approached Sassano and Ubiparipovic before Thursday's training session, broaching the possibility that the two would be in the starting lineup to replace Pietravallo and Seth Stammler, who that night had season-ending knee surgery.

"We're going to need you on Saturday," Osorio told Ubiparipovic. "We're going to need you to play hard and give us your best."

Sassano said he expected his heart to be in his throat when he heard the news, but instead he composed himself and did some homework.

"I went back and watched some of the games I played and you watch the good things you do to get your confidence up," the rookie said. "In a playoff game there's a lot more at stake, but you have to take it like it's just another game. You go through your motions, do your routine and you just have to come out and be confident."

For Ubiparipovic, it was his first start since Sept. 6 in a 1-0 loss at Chicago, while Sassano was in the starting XI for the first time since a 2-0 win against Toronto FC on Aug. 17. But the two have performed well for the Red Bulls reserves of late.

"I feel we have a really good chemistry with each other," Sassano said. "Today was kind of one of those games you just have to battle out there."

Sassano and Ubiparipovic, who had a combined 35 minutes of playoff experience coming into Saturday, had the unenviable task of trying to lock down Dwayne De Rosario and Ricardo Clark, arguably the best central midfield combination in the league.

Neither was intimidated and both showed well.

"I think they did a job against them and if you look at the battle, I think they probably won it, which is what we needed," Andrew Boyens said. "Luke cleaned up everything, worked hard and passed the ball well and Sinisa was really creative for us at times, but also did well to battle back and did a good job defensively."

Added John Wolyniec: "I thought Luke had a phenomenal game. His work rate was incredible, he cut off a lot of plays and kept the ball for us, which was great, and a guy like Sinisa, who hasn't played in a while, played well, got forward and created chances and really covered a lot of ground."

Sassano played the full 90 minutes of the 1-1 draw, while Ubiparipovic left the match in the 77th minute, replaced by Pietravallo in Osorio's lone substitution.

"I think tonight we showed that we can compete with the best in MLS," Ubiparipovic said. "I thought we deserved to win, but it's 1-1 and now we've got to get over there and it's not going to be easy, but we're up for it."

Big goal for Chivas? Second round

CARSON, Calif. -- In three-plus years of existence, Chivas USA have had plenty of achievements. The club won the Western Conference a year ago, had a player win Goalkeeper of the Year and two coaches walk away with Coach of the Year honors in successive seasons.

But there is one accomplishment the club must attain if the Red-and-White wants to achieve the ultimate level of success: the club must win a playoff series for the first time. Chivas USA will get their chance starting Saturday against fellow 2005 expansion side Real Salt Lake as the two teams will meet in the Western Conference semifinal.

"If we want to feel like it's a successful season we would have to say that getting past the first round would be necessary, especially with the way the year has gone and the way last year went," Chivas USA midfielder Jesse Marsch said. "It's been a battle for us for sure. I think that were trying to create a real winning mentality here and just getting to the playoffs can't be good enough."

In 2006, Chivas USA pieced together a competitive season for the first time and walked away with a playoff spot, helping earn then-coach Bob Bradley the Coach of the Year award. Though the end was disappointing -- Houston knocked Chivas USA out -- the club laid the foundation for future successes.

A year ago, Brad Guzan won Goalkeeper of the Year and Preki was named Coach of the Year but again Chivas USA crashed out of the postseason despite winning the conference regular season title.

This season, the club has reached the playoffs yet again. Beating Real Salt Lake in the playoffs would be an important and historic step for Chivas USA. Still, players tried to keep the focus on the task at hand.

"It's very important but we're not worried about making history, we're worried about making the best out of this season with this team," forward Alecko Eskandarian said. "We feel that we have a good group of guys that has a chance to do something special."

Eskandarian is one of several players on the squad that has been to the deep stages of the MLS playoffs before. In 2004, Eskandarian walked away with the MLS Cup Most Valuable Player award in a 3-2 D.C. United win against Kansas City.

Now, the former top SuperDraft pick said he needs to take on some added responsibility.

"I had a great experience when I was in D.C., all four years being in the playoffs," Eskandarian said. "It's a different game and maybe some guys who havent been in the playoffs might not be ready to expect that. It will be my job and the other veterans job to kind of pick up the pace in practice a little bit and show them what its going to be like."

In previous playoff failures, Chivas USA counted on a few former MLS Cup champions. This season, though, the team will have more experience than ever before and that, players said, will make a difference.

Among possible starters in Saturday's first leg in Real Salt Lake, the club could count on previous champions in Zach Thornton, Carey Talley, Marsch, Paulo Nagamura, Ante Razov and Eskandarian.

"You look on our roster and the one good thing about this year is that we have a bit more experience, we have some guys who have won some championships and have gone late in the postseason," Marsch said. "Hopefully we can bring a little of that experience to our team and hopefully it will add up to something that gives us a chance to win these big games at big moments." Chivas USA's goal is simple. The club wants to play a home game for MLS Cup. Beating Real Salt Lake and winning their first-ever playoff series thus is simply part of the task.

"If this team is looking for the championship, obviously," midfielder Paulo Nagamura said. "We are not thinking about just getting past Salt Lake. We are thinking about getting to MLS Cup. We have to play Salt Lake first and do a good job against them and then after that do a good job with other teams."

No matter what happens, Chivas USA players said they know that anything can happen in November.

"Our goal is definitely to get past that first round but with that said it's a crapshoot. It's tough in MLS. There are always upsets and things like that," Eskandarian said. "We just have to come out there and not worry about any extra pressure and winning for the first time and things like that. We just have to go in there and win the series against Salt Lake. They haven't made the playoffs either."

West favorites aim to avoid upsets

Playoffs in Major League Soccer tend to spill out more unpredictably than perhaps any other U.S. professional sports league.

Every year since 2003, at least one of the two top seeds has fallen right away.

Back in 2004, Columbus was a first-round upset victim. In 2005 the top-seeded San Jose Earthquakes, with just four losses in 32 regular-season matches, were dispatched in a stunner. The next year, Dallas was the unlucky Louie to be dismissed in the first round.

And then in 2007 both top seeds were tossed aside in opening-round upsets. Chicago crunched D.C. United on 3-2 aggregate while Kansas City needed just one goal over two matches to send an injury-bitten Chivas USA home early.

(Oh, and those matchups of Nos. 2 and 3 seeds: well, they are just a free for all. Nothing short of one team refusing to leave the locker room would be much of a surprise.)

So the road to MLS Cup 2008 is pockmarked with peril, even for the lead dogs on the sled. Five matches, starting with a pair this weekend, will decide the Western Conference representative for the 14th MLS championship contest, Nov. 23 at The Home Depot Center outside Los Angeles.

No. 1 Houston Dynamo vs. No. 4 New York Red Bulls

Dominic Kinnear's Houston Dynamo lost just once in its final 17 regular season matches. That kind of fantastic form looks especially salty when held up to the Red Bulls' wobbly stretch of late; Juan Carlos Osorio's team backed into the playoffs despite a nearly fatal loss on the final weekend of regular season play.

That's not the only contrast in this series. Houston's rate of postseason success and bountiful MLS playoff experience is unmatched in the 2008 playoffs. The Dynamo have prevailed in six consecutive postseason encounters with a lineup that has remained largely unaltered throughout. Meanwhile, 15 Red Bulls players have never been in an MLS playoff, including potential starters Andrew Boyens, Danny Cepero, Diego Jimenez, Juan Pietravallo and Jorge Rojas.

And if you think the Dynamo are anything other than fiercely committed to the playoff project, check out the lineup Kinnear set out in Tuesday's CONCACAF Champions League match, a contest Houston had to draw, at least, in order to remain in quarterfinal contention. It was packed with young reserves, who got the job done in a 1-1 tie in El Salvador, preserving the first-choice legs for Saturday's playoff opener in New York.

Playoff checklist: Houston Dynamo

Critical stat: The Dynamo are scoring goals at a rate of nearly two per game lately, with nine goals in five October matches in MLS. That's not bad at all. And it might be sufficient to overwhelm the Red Bulls unless Osorio's men can get it together on defense. They've allowed 18 goals in their last six matches, a frightening clip of three goals a game conceded.

Men of the moment: It's so hard to pick out such a figure on Houston's talent-strewn roster. But target striker Brian Ching has been a massive presence lately with three goals in five MLS matches in October. His 13 goals this season is a career high and landed him fifth among league scoring leaders. His five assists matched a career best.

X-factor: The well-drilled men of Orange understand how to play tight and tidy soccer under Kinnear, who demands execution and attention to detail. And they know how to play for draws when a win isn't in the offing. In 92 regular-season matches under Kinnear since the club moved to Houston before the 2006 season, 32 of those contests have finished in ties. In a home-and-away series, don't be surprised to see the Dynamo draw in New Jersey and then try to finish the job at Robertson Stadium outside downtown Houston, where the Dynamo know exactly how to maneuver around that tight pitch.

Pressure point: Center back Eddie Robinson, a finalist for 2007 Defender of the Year, simply hasn't been the same since coming back from injury late in the summer. The veteran defender has been prone to one or so big mistakes a game lately, and more than one of those has turned into goals. Out of 11 games in the postseason last year, nine were decided by a goal or less ("less" meaning a draw). So, Robinson simply afford make the game-changing mistake.

How they could win it: Despite Robinson's spotty play, Houston hasn't allowed more than one goal in an MLS contest since late August, a span of 10 matches. The offense, driven by attacking midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, target strikers Ching and Nate Jaqua, and service providers like Brian Mullan and Brad Davis, is likely to break through for goals in the series. If the Orange can limit the Red Bulls to a goal a game or less, the series will probably fall to the Texans.

Playoff checklist: New York Red Bulls

Critical stat: Houston doesn't seem to fancy the fake stuff when it comes to the field. The Dynamo are winless (0-2-2) on artificial surfaces this year, with losses at New England and New York.

Man of the moment: Juan Pablo Angel steals most of the headlines, and rightly so most of the time. But the "glue guy" this year, the man who has often held it all together, is Dave van den Bergh. The versatile Dutchman has played all over the field, has performed admirably in all the varied roles and, perhaps most importantly, has turned up with critical goals. Look for him along the left side, probably in midfield, where he'll be matched against workhorse Mullan. Then again, don't be surprised to see van den Bergh turn up in some sort of central role.

X-factor: While it's true that no team, not even Supporters' Shield winner Columbus, strung together a more impressive run of results than Houston in the season's second half, that does come with an asterisk where this series is concerned. Houston's one loss in that time was to the Red Bulls. And it was a quite a stunner, a sound 3-0 Red Bulls win at Giants Stadium, where little went right for the Dynamo. So Osorio's men have that to brace their confidence, at least.

Pressure point: The Red Bulls will have to get it done without two defensive mainstays: goalkeeper Jon Conway and defender Jeff Parke are both serving 10-game suspensions for use of a banned substance. While there's a bit of defensive cover, goalkeeper Danny Cepero is squarely on the spot. He has just two matches of MLS experience. And one of those was in last week's 5-2 loss to Chicago, a result that surely did nothing to prop up the young 'keeper's confidence. Something else that can't be calming for the young 'keeper: Gabriel Cichero or Diego Jimenez (or both) will probably be somewhere in the defense, and both had their struggles over the last month.

How they could win it: Red Bulls manager Juan Carlos Osorio is equal parts, scientist, chess master, master schemer and soccer manager. He thrives on studious attention to matchups, looking to exploit vulnerable spots while hiding and reinforcing his own team's soft areas through tactical arrangement and the careful deployment of personnel. The problem is, Houston has precious few weak spots. Perhaps the Red Bulls can catch De Rosario not transitioning into defensive support quickly enough, or maybe they can pressure Robinson into making another mistake.

No. 2 Chivas USA vs. No. 3 Real Salt Lake

These are big days, indeed for Real Salt Lake. The Utah club has just opened a lovely new facility. And with the champagne barely dry from the christening of Rio Tinto Stadium, RSL clinched its first playoff berth.

Now the men from Utah come to the playoff party with the boost of a five-game unbeaten run.

Ah, good times.

But reality comes crashing in Saturday, as the dream days fade into a home-and-away test against Chivas USA that's sure to be a bugger. It's a Chivas side that's been hardened by injury and driven hard all year by Preki, the Red-and-White managerial problem-solver extraordinaire.

Experience might be the deciding factor as Chivas makes its third consecutive visit, carrying a roster full of big-game vets. Steadfast midfield conductor Jesse Marsch has 35 playoff contests on his resume. Ante Razov has 10 goals and 11 assists in 33 playoff matches. Defender Claudio Suarez doesn't have that kind of MLS playoff experience, but it's safe to say he knows a thing or two about big games. El Emperador (The Emperor) has 178 appearances for Mexico's national team.

Across the field, Nat Borchers and Jamison Olave have formed a robust center back pairing, but they have just four matches of MLS playoff experience between them. And much of the Real roster has about the same.

Playoff checklist: Chivas USA

Critical stat: The Red and White are 8-3-3 over the years against Real Salt Lake.

Man of the moment: This was a breakout season for rising midfielder Sacha Kljestan. His passing, movement and late runs into the penalty area served as constant threats on offense. The third-year pro shared Chivas' team lead in goals (5) and led in assists (7). Plus, he was a key member of the U.S. Olympic team. Now, he can add to a memorable campaign by conjuring something special for the playoffs.

X-factor: The RSL midfield will be up against it, facing one of the league's most balanced foursomes. Marsch and Paulo Nagamura lead the way with guile and grit, while Kljestan mans a more attacking role from the right flank. Preki used Panchito Mendoza, Jonathan Bornstein or even Atiba Harris on the left, depending on the situation and player availability.

Pressure point: Goalkeeper Dan Kennedy's untimely ejection in Chivas USA's last (and meaningless) regular season match has big postseason implications. Backup Zach Thornton has plenty of MLS playoff experience. But at age 35 he's not the same goalkeeper he was for Chicago a few years back. So the pressure is on Preki's defenders to keep the heat off Thornton.

How they could win it: Experience can carry the day if Chivas can maintain the tight performances that have marked Preki's two-year reign. The side lost somewhere between 5-6 starters to injury per match in 2008, depending on whom you count as a first-choice selection. Despite that, Chivas finished second in the West through tight game management, role discipline, effort and timely contributions from guys like Alecko Eskandarian, who had five goals, or rookie Justin Braun, who had four.

Playoff checklist: Real Salt Lake

Critical stat: RSL is in the playoffs thanks to dandy play at home. Jason Kreis' team went 9-1-6 in Utah. But the flip side is pretty ugly; the side found just 10 of a possible 45 points on the road, suffering a rather unlovely minus-13 goal difference as a traveler.

Man of the moment: A 15-assist year would be big news in MLS, and would probably garner plenty of MVP mention. Unfortunately for Javier Morales, big seasons by Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Landon Donovan left the RSL playmaker's season partially obscured. Still, his stylish passing and ability to hold the ball are so important to RSL's attack, especially considering the relative lack of finishing power that hampered Kreis' team regularly in 2008.

X-factor: Kreis admitted that his team played perhaps its worst match of the year when it counted the most. RSL did squeeze out a late equalizer in the 1-1 draw against Colorado, securing the playoff berth. Still, this must be said: the men of Utah didn't manage that situation well. They lacked authority and seemed to be missing some leadership. They had better find a way to take command of the situation. Because going meekly into the playoffs is a recipe for a brief stay.

Pressure point: RSL can probably advance only by asserting themselves at home. They'll have the good support, for sure, but the typical home-field advantage is mitigated somewhat by the newness of the RSL's ground. The club has played at Rio Tinto only twice, winning once and drawing once.

How they could win it: Simply put, by being better around goal. Kreis' team is pretty solid in possession, with good spacing and adequate ball handlers around the park. But they aren't always so crisp inside the opposition 18. Yura Movsisyan has been on a run lately with four goals in five games to close the season, so that provides hope. And this would be a great time for versatile midfielder Kyle Beckerman, unafraid to shoot from the 20-30 yard range, to uncork one of his dandies.

Quakes hope to keep building blocks

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- For the San Jose Earthquakes, their return season in MLS was always going to focus more on laying a foundation for the future as opposed to winning games in the present. Yet with the 2008 campaign now completed, a new set of challenges awaits general manager John Doyle, and head coach Frank Yallop. And even as fans clamor for new acquisitions, the primary concern will be holding on to Scott Sealy and Francisco Lima, who were among the team's building blocks by year's end.

Both players were acquired in midseason, and both helped spark the team's turnaround, one that included a nine-game unbeaten streak. Sealy arrived in a trade with Kansas City back on July 14, and provided the kind of play with his back to goal that had been missing all season. Lima was signed on a free transfer four days later, and gave the Quakes increased bite in midfield.

Yet based on their reactions following Saturday's 2-0 win against Toronto FC, both players hinted that they could move on, with Sealy the more likely to leave.

The contract of the Trinidad & Tobago forward expires Dec. 31, and he's made no secret of his intentions to explore playing opportunities with European clubs. While Sealy said that the Quakes "had done everything possible to keep me here," it likely won't be enough to prevent him from heading overseas.

"I've got a family to support, and in Europe there are a lot of opportunities where I think they are going to offer me a lot of money," Sealy said. "I'm going to weigh my options, and then I'll make a sensible decision that's right for me and my family."

Lima's situation is a bit more surprising, in that he signed an 18-month contract when he arrived last summer. But the siren call of Europe, where he has spent most of his career, could see him move on as well. And Lima indicated through a translator that family considerations would also guide his decision.

While there is little that Yallop can do in Sealy's case, the San Jose manager is more optimistic about hanging on to Lima.

"I feel he may be back next year," said Yallop about Lima. "We want him to stay. I think him and Ramiro [Corrales], in midfield, were starting up a nice, strong partnership that I like."

At the same time, Yallop also stated that if Lima decides he wants to leave, he won't stand in his way, even though the Brazilian's contract still has a year to run.

"If [Lima] wants to go, it would be difficult to hang on to him," said Yallop. "You don't want to keep an unhappy player anyway."

As for who the Quakes might try to bring in for next season, Yallop indicated that the team has already begun compiling a list of potential targets, even though MLS rosters are frozen until after the MLS Cup Final on Nov. 23. Highest on his wish list is a forward who can offer more of a physical presence, the better to not only hold up the ball, but provide an aerial threat on set pieces. This need will become especially pressing if Sealy departs.

"We've already made calls on players to teams that are out of the playoffs," said Yallop. "We're just trying to find out interest on certain guys we like. I think if you make the call early, then it's in their minds ... and it's out there. We've made some good inroads on certain players. Hopefully we can get some answers soon."

Then the Quakes can complete work on the foundation, and start building the other parts needed to become a playoff team.

Williams helps push RSL to promised land

In the middle of the euphoric celebrations of the Real Salt Lake players and coaches following their 1-1 draw with Colorado last Saturday that propelled the club into its first postseason appearance, there was a brief moment that was missed by most of the thousands looking on.

Two of the team's originals, Jason Kreis who started at Real as a player and is now the head coach, and midfielder Andy Williams, found each other in the crowd and emotionally embraced. Out of everyone else celebrating on that field those two are among the few who have experienced the rollercoaster ride of RSL's first four seasons. And for them, the sweet taste of success was all the better.

"I thought last week was amazing," said Williams of RSL's 3-1 win against FC Dallas a week earlier, "but this tops it by far. It means a lot, not only to us -- me, Jason, Kenny [Cutler], and Clint [Mathis] -- the Checketts family, the front office, but most of all the fans. Four years of hardship, you can call it."

In an effort to overcome such hardship, at the end of last season Kreis challenged his players to an intense offseason program designed to improve everyone's fitness. Williams was one of a handful of players who decided to brave the Salt Lake winter and to work on fitness.

The result was having Williams show up to preseason camp in top physical condition. The Jamaican international has stepped up as one of RSL's leading veterans and provided an example of hard work to the younger players.

As this season has been the most positive for Real Salt Lake, players like Williams are not immune to the struggles of life. In July the Williams family were informed that Andy's wife Marcia was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia.

While taking care of his wife and helping raise money for her treatments, Kreis has noticed that Williams' dedication on the field has not faltered.

"It's been a very, very difficult year for Andy," said an emotional Kries following the Colorado match. "There's so much going on in his life. He's just continued to work hard. He's somebody who's shown so much commitment and dedication in the offseason ... to work as hard as he did."

His on-field role might have shifted during his time in Salt Lake, where Williams has enjoyed his longest tenure out of any of the other previous six MLS teams he has played for, but his presence is still vital to the team's success.

"Bomma" hasn't found the net a lot this season, but his lone goal was a memorable one, where he nearly ripped a hole in the with a blast over New England's Matt Reis that helped give Salt Lake a vital point on the road against an Eastern Conference team.

In the most crucial match of all, against Colorado on the final day of the season, it was Williams who came on in the second half to help recover the midfield from the Rapids.

The game, and season, seemed out of reach until the final minute. Williams saw Robbie Russell go up for a high ball in the Colorado box. He moved to where he thought Russell would flick it, and was ready to turn his defender. When the ball came Williams was in on goal and was able to force a save from Bouna Coundoul. Yura Movsisyan was there to collect the rebound at the back post and usher in history.

"The way it comes there, at the very last moment, and having Andy Williams involved in that goal, for me that's just unbelievable -- unbelievable," said Kreis. "To have him involved in that goal is just absolutely special. That stuff history's made of."

Davis: Crew attack overwhelming

This should, by no means, be meant as a volley of disrespect aimed at young Brad Evans, one of the less-heralded soldiers manning the front lines of Columbus' fantastic campaign.

But when a fellow named Brad Evans, a guy that few soccer fans outside of Ohio know anything about, is spankin' 'em in from 30 yards, you know that his team will be a powerful force in the upcoming MLS Cup Playoffs.

Evans' big strike, an absolute spot-on pinpoint effort Saturday, was enough to secure a win in the Crew's final regular season contest. It meant nothing in the postseason picture for manager Sigi Schmid and his men of yellow, who already had their playoff spot secure and had previously wrapped up the 2008 Supporters' Shield.

It was, of course, massively damaging to D.C. United, which had valiantly pressed the Crew in an effort to claim all three points and passage into the playoffs.

But for the Crew, Evans' strike was symbolic of something bigger, something that matters a ton forward into Major League Soccer's 13th postseason.

Indeed, this is a side that has Robbie Rogers regularly tearing up the left side. It has Eddie Gaven in a good rhythm on the right, a cop on the beat, getting up and down the flank and doing lots of useful two-way work.

And what can you say about Guillermo Barros Schelotto, among the league MVP frontrunners? The 19-assist man could surely have rested a bit more over the Crew's final two matches. But he went almost all the way in both, playing his way back into full fitness and form following a short injury absence a few weeks ago.

None of that even mentions first-choice striker Alejandro Moreno, who leads the team with nine goals.

And then there's Evans. With all that surrounding offensive chutzpah, it's easy to overlook the second-year midfielder, an Arizona native who appeared in four games for Columbus last year. And yet, he has five goals on the Crew's highly successful campaign.

Check out a partial list of highly respected MLS midfielders who have fewer than five goals in 2008: Brad Davis, Brian Mullan, Justin Mapp, Terry Cooke, Fred, Andre Rocha, Ronnie O'Brien and Amado Guevara. Again ... just a partial list.

Evans joins a couple of pretty darn good linkmen right on the five-goal rung: the Galaxy's David Beckham and Chivas USA's Sacha Kljestan.

Evans' Sunday strike was a classic. Running into space in the middle of the park, he took two quick touches to perfectly prepare the shot. He looked up to see United goalkeeper Louis Crayton, then expertly placed a curling, dropping shot that skimmed the inside of the left post. Perfect.

It secured the Crew's 17th win this year. Since 2001, only four other clubs have won more than half their matches. (Columbus' final 2008 record was 17-7-6.)

In the bigger picture, Evans' fifth strike is emblematic of Columbus' even scoring distribution, something else that makes Schmid's men so dangerous in the playoffs. Yes, Schelotto is the key to so much that goes on with the Columbus attack. Then again, the Crew took seven of a possible nine points in the Argentinean playmaker's three-match absence.

It's the distribution of scoring that helped Columbus so nimbly negotiate that stretch. Staring midfielders Evans, Rogers, Gaven and holding midfielder Brian Carroll contributed 15 goals this year.

Forwards, including Schelotto, who generally roams freely behind Alejandro Moreno, have 24 goals.

Chad Marshall has four of the six goals supplied by defenders.

The one contribution from center back Andy Iro was an important one, coming just before the break against New England back on Sept. 6. Columbus was dominating but couldn't quite turn the knife and the kill off the Revs. Iro's header off a Schelotto-supplied free kick in the 45th minute was surely a crusher for New England, which never came close to finding a way back after the break.

That game, an absolute back-alley beating, more than any other this year announced Columbus as perhaps the team to beat in 2008. Iro's moment was big.

So, 24 goals by forwards, 15 by starting midfielders, six by defenders, plus a couple of others from some of the versatile reservists. That means that Columbus will be difficult to shut down. Kansas City gets the first crack as playoffs begin this week.

TACTICAL CORNER

• Steve Nicol has even more head-scratching to do in New England regarding how best to align his squad for the home-and-away series with Chicago.

The lack of a suitable option at attacking midfielder, linked to Steve Ralston's injury, has caused problems at Gillette. Based on his recent set-ups, Nicol seemed to be leaning toward a 4-4-2 arrangement.

But Gabriel Badilla's ejection over the weekend will leave the back line a bit bare, most likely forcing Nicol back into a 3-5-2 alignment.

Otherwise, Amaechi Igwe or Chris Tierney, with just 10 starts combined this year, would be the options to join back line regulars Michael Parkhurst, Jay Heaps and Chris Albright.

Badilla's ejection could possibly be argued as harsh. But Khano Smith's dangerous and overly aggressive challenge on Herculez Gomez, apparent retaliation for an incident from a few moments earlier, can't be. Nicol admitted it was reckless. More importantly, for the playoffs, it leaves the Revs' manager with one fewer midfield option.

"Both players can't play," Nicol said of his two suspended starters. "We have to sort it out and find a way. We can cry all we like. I'll tell you this now, I'm not going to be crying between now and next Thursday. I'll moan about it tonight with you guys now straight after the game but after tonight it's gone and we start again and we kick on."

Mauricio Castro is likely to find a place in the lineup. With 22 starts the year, that's not a terrible place to turn. On the other hand, Castro has no goals and just three assists in that time -- not terrific production for such a skilled midfielder.

• Missing defensive midfielder Pablo Ricchetti, FC Dallas manager Schellas Hyndman turned to defender Adrian Serioux to fill the spot. The Canadian international has played that spot before, in few matches for Dallas and in spots for the Houston Dynamo two years back. These little tests are scattered throughout MLS at this time of year as teams assess and re-evaluate for important, looming choices.

Don't forget, the expansion draft happens Nov. 26 as Seattle looks for 10 players to pick off of 14 rosters.

• D.C. United manager Tom Soehn didn't wait long to make tactical adjustments as his team desperately hunted for a goal in the 0-0 deadlock in blustery Crew Stadium. Needing all three points, Soehn introduced Jaime Moreno -- a knee ailment had kept the recently retired Bolivian international from starting -- in place of defender Devon McTavish. But Soehn didn't change formations. Instead he kept the alignment but changed the personnel, favoring more attack-minded players.

Marc Burch moved from left fullback into the center to take McTavish's spot. And Ivan Guerrero retreated into the left back spot -- which put a more offensively skilled set of feet at that spot.

• Neither did Real Salt Lake manager Jason Kreis waste time to make his adjustments, as his men also stalked for the goal that would stamp their playoff passport. By the 56th minute, Kreis had added Andy Williams in place of the more defensive-minded Dema Kovalenko. Kreis later said he even contemplated making that move at halftime.

By the 72nd minute, the manager inserted forward Robbie Findley in place of defender Ian Joy, reconfiguring his team into a 3-4-3.

Interestingly, Kreis used all three subs and didn't have the late option of inserting Kenny Deuchar, Real Salt Lake's best aerial threat. As the minutes ticked away, an increasingly desperate RSL might have been better served to let Deuchar battle for earlier balls dropped into the penalty area.

Then again, it worked out pretty well for Kreis' side after all, as RSL turned up the goal that mattered and found a way into the playoffs for the first time.

Schmid's Crew have eyes on the 'double'

It's not easy to pull off the MLS version of the double. Just ask Dave Sarachan (Chicago Fire), Greg Andrulis (Columbus Crew), Dominic Kinnear (San Jose Earthquakes) and Tom Soehn (D.C. United). They coached teams in recent years that accrued the most points during the regular season en route to the Supporters' Shield, but failed to win MLS Cup.

The last team to accomplish that feat? Way back in 2002, when the Los Angeles Galaxy captured the regular-season title and their second MLS title.

Sigi Schmid was the coach of that team, the man who directed the Crew to the Supporters' Shield this season. So, he knows a thing or two about winning the double. And if the Crew manage to parade around The Home Depot Center with the new Philip F. Anschutz Trophy after MLS Cup 2008, Schmid would become the first coach to pull off that accomplishment twice.

"It's a great honor because anywhere else in the world you would be the league champion at this stage and you would have it wrapped up," Schmid said. "In our league [there is a] cup competition at the end of the year.

"The Supporters' Shield proves over 30 games you are the best team, especially where we've come from in the last couple of years. To be able to accomplish that this year is something that I know the players are very proud of and the organization is very proud of."

Winning the league and the MLS Cup Playoffs are essentially trying to bag two different animals. Over the long haul of a 30-game season, the winning team is awarded for its consistency. In the short run of a four-game playoffs that is played over three weeks, the hot team at the time can win, which is not necessarily the best team for the entire season. That's the way sports are in North America.

"A lot of times the team that secures the Supporters' Shield, as we did this year, with a couple of games to spare," Schmid said. "As a result, even though you don't want to, subconsciously, the foot goes off the gas pedal a little bit. So the teams that are fighting to get into the playoffs just get into a rhythm and sometimes you run into that team that has had to play for the last three or four weeks and they're in a real tough state of mental mindset and focused. Now you're trying to regain your focus a little bit. If you don't catch a break here and there, all of a sudden you find yourself out."

With a shorter season in the playoffs, one loss, one mistake at the worst time can doom a team's championship quest. And then there's MLS' parity.

"The only thing is that it's a one-off," Schmid said. "Our league has a lot of parity. When you look at the top five or six teams in the league, on any given day, any of them can beat anybody. When you get into a playoff situation, an old English coach said to me, 'The FA Cup or Open Cup is like Fantasy Island. Everybody's dream can true.' Once you enter a cup competition at the end of a season, if a team gets hot, if they find a hot player at the right time, all of a sudden they're winning and they're playing for championships. And the team that was more consistent is out because it is a one-off type of game."

As a veteran MLS coach and having been through the Supporters' Shield, Schmid has learned from his and other's experiences. He gave several players on his team the game off on the penultimate weekend of the regular season in what turned into a 3-1 loss at the New York Red Bulls. For last Saturday's 1-0 home win against D.C. United, Schmid primed his team as though it was a playoff encounter. It worked.

"I could have stood on my head," he said of the Red Bulls game. "I wasn't trying to get my guys as motivated as they would be if they were playing for the playoffs. It was silly to try that. We had some guys with a few knocks and we were going to go play a game on [artificial turf], which is not the best surface to play on. We had some guys who play in midweek internationals. So it just made sense to basically to allow those guys to rest a little bit."

That Schmid and the Crew were in a position to be the best regular-season side in MLS and to win the MLS Cup is a testament to the patience of the Hunt family, the owners of the team. The Crew missed the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, including the last two under Schmid. For most coaches in the league, that would mean a pink slip and a quick exit.

"The Hunts were very patient with me," Schmid said. "The first year I remember telling my wife, that all the good fortune I had all over the years at UCLA and with the Galaxy everything came back in one year as bad luck. In that first year I never had as many injuries on a team that I have coached. It was a phenomenal amount of guys. It was far beyond what teams are experiencing this year. The second year I felt we were close. We were happy where we were preseason, Then we just got out of the gate slow. We recovered, but obviously we did not recover enough. That year there was a turning point our game in Kansas City. If we had won that game, we would have been OK. In retrospect, that disappointment turned into a plus for this year because the team knew we were good enough to be in the playoffs last year, but we gave it away and spent a lot of time talking about that.

"The Hunts ... gave us an opportunity to build the team. I think along the way, I think they saw we were trying to do the right things and the pieces we were putting together were correct. And we weren't trying to do it on a hit-and-miss strategy. We weren't trying to do this and this and see if it works. We stayed true to our plan to try to build a nucleus from there of a good players, to build a nucleus of younger players, to add some key veteran players. We stayed with the plan and now we were bearing the fruits of it."

So, after finishing at the top of the heap, ahead of 13 other teams with a 17-7-6 record and 57 points, did Schmid think the Crew would be this good? He knew Columbus would be a playoff team.

"Did I feel we would win the Supporters' Shield? I can't say 100 percent for sure going into the season we would win the Supporters' Shield," he said. "I also felt we were going to be a playoff team and we weren't going to get into the playoffs by the back door. I felt very confident that we had enough talent. I think we showed that at the end of last year with the games we had played. It was just a matter of building upon that."

Prior to the season, except for the most optimistic Crew supporter, not many fans, media or soccer observers gave Columbus much chance of qualifying for the postseason, let alone being a dominant team. Schmid wasn't going to gloat over his team's success.

"I mean, fans are fans and that's what they do," Schmid said. "When a team is playing well, they're going to be there and be there for you. When a team is struggling, they're going to be very critical. That's just part of it. The hardcore fans that we have are pretty loyal and true to the team. The skeptics out there and the press, a lot of people predicted us last in the division and didn't think we had improved ourselves and all of those things. I knew we had a good team at the end of last year. We had to improve in a couple of areas. We did that with Brian Carroll and Gino Padula. I knew that if the team would get off to a good start, the team gained confidence and we'd be OK. I think everybody on the team was very satisfied and were happy to prove all those critics wrong."

While a number of players have enjoyed very good or career seasons, there is usually one player that stands out on a successful or championship team. It's no surprise to Schmid that Argentinean midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto, an MVP finalist, was the key to the Crew.

"Guillermo is a tremendous competitor," Schmid said. "He knows when the lights go on and he knows when the crowd shows up. He knows when it's time to perform. He might not be as good in rehearsal, but he knows when it's time to perform. So that's certainly been an important element to our team. The other aspect to Guillermo, him being here all season, and having Alejandro [Moreno] here from the beginning, the guys know what their roles are. Alejandro knows what his job is, Guillermo knows what his job is. [Robbie] Rogers, [Eddie] Gaven, everybody knows what their job is as it relates to each other. And that comes from being able to play as a unit and understanding Guillermo.

"There's a lot of little things. Today at practice when they were jogging, it's Guillermo, Gino Padula and Robbie Rogers. And they're talking the whole time. He's not demonstrative where you see him pointing and waving and going over and here's how you need to play. He's been very good, especially with Robbie and some of the young guys, dropping a word there and saying, 'Hey, when you do this, this is what you need to do. When you see me have the ball here, just go and I'll find you.' And being able to coordinate those things with them. That has helped our team as well. He certainly is an more important part of our team because the guys seem now pretty thoroughly how to play with him."

Not surprisingly, Schmid likes his team to win it all.

"Because we've just been team that's got a pretty even keel all year," he said. "We haven't gotten too high and we haven't gotten too low. We had a good streak to begin the year. We had a good streak to end the year. The guys kept putting it away during those streaks. In the middle of the season there was a 10-game run where some people became concerned, but the team never became concerned."

Schmid felt his team gave a consistent effort game in and game out, its longest league losing streak three games (though there was an Open Cup victory in between). And, there was the versatility they showed.

"The other thing is we've won games different ways. We've won games in shootouts, like against Chivas, 4-3. Or like when we came back against Kansas City and tied, 3-3, after being down, 2-0. We've also won games when we're playing a man down against the Colorado Rapids and we're basically doing the Muhammad Ali rope-a-dope," he said. "They found different ways to win games, which is also a good sign."

Schmid remembered showing his UCLA team tapes of the Italian Serie A powerhouse A.C. Milan during the Marco van Basten era nearly two decades ago. The first game was a 5-3 victory.

"It was like soccer from heaven," he said. "It was so artistic, so offensive, so free-flowing. It was great. And in next game there was their 1-0 win over Inter. It was the biggest dogfight and kick-fest you've ever watched. I said there's a great team because of whatever was needed they knew how to win."

Starting against the Kansas City Wizards in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Saturday, we'll see if the Crew will continue their very fine regular season and see if the team knows how to win in the playoffs.