FC Dallas had every advantage any team could hope for in the second leg of Major League Soccer's Western Conference semifinals against the third-seeded Colorado Rapids. Playing with a tied aggregate at home against a weak road team and up a man for most of the second half, second-seeded FC Dallas still lost. After finishing regulation and overtime tied at 2-2, the Rapids topped the Hoops 5-4 in a penalty shootout.
"I thought that it would be difficult," FC Dallas manager Colin Clarke said. "Things get cranked up, and the little things mean a whole lot more. We did a very good job in the first game and got it back to where we needed. It was up to us to win tonight's game, and we didn't do that."
In contrast to Game 1, both teams started their top goal-scorers and came out swinging. Colorado backed off its pace after going down to 10 men, but FC Dallas never slowed down. By the end, FC Dallas registered 37 shots to Colorado's eight.
However, at the end of the day, it's not how many shots you take; it's how many goals you score.
The Rapids got on the board first with a header from Jeff Cunningham, beating Dallas goalkeeper Scott Garlick in the 19th minute for the first half's only goal.
Entering the second half, FC Dallas came out determined. The Hoops took full advantage of a questionable red card given to Rapid's midfielder Alain Nkong by scoring a goal 12 minutes later. Carlos Ruiz collected the ball in front of the goal from a Bobby Rhine pass. With a man at his back, Ruiz faked left, spun and scored.
At end of regulation, the game and aggregate stood at 1-1, sending the game into a 30-minute overtime. Ruiz looked to be the hero of the day after scoring his second goal of the evening with a minute to go in the first half of overtime.
The Rapids, however, surprised the over-elated Hoops 30 seconds later, as Ritchie Kotschau beat three defenders to even the score.
With nine minutes remaining in the contest, Ruiz was taken down in the box and awarded a penalty kick. Not having missed a penalty kick all year, the Hoops seemed assured of advancing to the conference final. Then the unthinkable happened. Ruiz missed his mark, hitting the left post.
In the shootout, Rapids goalkeeper Joe Cannon, who made a flurry of world-class saves at the end of overtime, came up big by stuffing Roberto Mina's fifth-round shot. With Jean-Phillipe Peguero converting the Rapids' fifth kick, the Hoops' quest for their first MLS Cup appearance came to an end.
For many FC Dallas players, this was their first MLS playoff experience and had them looking for positives in the loss.
"I think that for the fans, this was a great experience, despite the result," FC Dallas midfielder Simo Valakari said. "This is what soccer is all about; you go from the joy to sadness and all the different emotions with every kick, and that made for a great night, but unfortunately our holiday starts now."
Colorado advances to the Western Conference final, playing host to a surprise opponent in the Los Angeles Galaxy.
The fourth-seeded Galaxy, coming off a .500 season, staged the biggest upset of the playoffs by knocking off the first-seeded San Jose Earthquakes in San Jose at a packed Spartan Stadium. Finishing Game 2 with a 1-1 draw, the Galaxy won the series with a 4-2 aggregate.
San Jose closed the aggregate to one on a first-half Brian Ching goal. Midway through the second half, however, the Galaxy sealed the result thanks to a Ned Grabavoy goal. It was Grabavoy's first goal of the season.
Asked on how he and the rest of Earthquakes felt, defender Kelly Gray replied, "I don't even know what to say right now. I'm shocked. It just doesn't feel right. We accomplished a lot, but we didn't accomplish the one thing that we really wanted."
The only team to finish the season at .500 and win the MLS Cup was the '96 D.C. United squad, the inaugural season of MLS.
In the Eastern Conference, the fourth-seeded Metrostars came in leading the top-seeded New England Revolution on a 1-0 aggregate.
On a snow-covered field at Gillette Stadium, midfielder Youri Djorkaeff scored in the 60th minute to give the Metrostars a 1-0 lead in the game and a 2-0 lead in the aggregate. New England, though, played like the No. 1 seed and scored three unanswered goals in the final 30 minutes to take the series on a 3-2 aggregate.
New England hosts the Chicago Fire in the Eastern Conference final next Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN2.
On Sunday, Chicago beat defending champion D.C. United in a 4-0 thrashing at RFK Stadium. Ivan Guerrero led the Fire with two goals. His second, a 21-yard blast, came seconds the half.
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