New England Revolution rookie defender Kevin Alston might not have lifted the SuperLiga trophy last year with his teammates, but he certainly knows the importance of Wednesday night's semifinal clash with Chicago at Gillette Stadium.
"You're playing for pride, you're playing for money, you're playing for a bunch of different things," Alston said. "You never want to lose a game and this is a big game. We want to make it to the final and defend our championship from last year."
History has shown that defending a title is even harder than winning it the first time. If New England's season-long injury crisis is any indication, that mantra has proven true. Revolution head coach Steve Nicol has named a full complement of 18 players in just 10 of the team's 18 matches in all competitions this season, including just 16 players in Saturday's 0-0 league draw with Kansas City.
"The facts are the facts," Nicol said. "We just have to get on with and deal with what we have to deal with. We can't look at it in any other way. It's unlucky. That's what it is. We have to have the mindset that we're going out to win the game. If the team we have goes about things in the right way and everybody plays to their ability, then we've certainly got a chance of beating any team that's put in front of us."
Despite the adverse circumstances, Nicol navigated his threadbare squad through to the semifinals in style as Group B winners. New England racked up the most points -- ensuring home-field advantage through the knockout stages -- and scored the most goals during group play.
Even with momentum on their side heading into the semifinal, the Revs face a difficult task against a familiar foe. New England has played Chicago more times outside of MLS play -- this match marks number 16 -- than any other team and hasn't won in any competition against the Fire since winning the Eastern Conference Championship back in 2007.
"With us and Chicago, it's going to be a tough game, full stop," Nicol said.
Once again, the Revolution will approach a crucial game without its full complement of players. Nicol will have to somehow replace suspended central defender Emmanuel Osei despite a paucity of options. Jay Heaps is away with the United States at the Gold Cup, Amaechi Igwe is ruled out with a left hamstring strain and Gabriel Badilla, according to Nicol, isn't ready for a first-team game. Given the absences, the Revs boss might have to get creative when he fills out his teamsheet.
Fortunately for Nicol, that creativity might not extend to once again playing attacking fulcrum Steve Ralston in defense. After deploying Ralston at left back in Saturday's 0-0 MLS draw against Kansas City out of sheer necessity, Nicol now has the option of recalling Chris Tierney after the left back recovered from a left knee injury.
Tierney isn't the only one pushing for a recall. Revolution midfielder Shalrie Joseph declared himself ready to face the Fire as he continues his recovery from a right knee injury. Even though Joseph said he's ready to go, Nicol said he wouldn't be in the squad to face the Fire.
"I was hoping to get a little bit of time tomorrow," Joseph said. "I guess they're going to talk about it and then they'll say no, but I feel great and I wish I could play tomorrow. I'll be here supporting the team and hoping we move on to the finals."
In order to seal a spot in the final, Alston said the Revs will have to continue to believe they can overcome the obstacles placed in front of them.
"It's a similar challenge to the past few games we've had," Alston said. "We've had injuries throughout. L.A. is a prime example. We had a very young team, but I think we played well. We came out and we didn't back down from the challenge. We played with confidence. We just need to apply the same principles tomorrow night and play with that confidence. If we do that, we'll be all right."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
