Revolution History: 2002

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Carlos Llamosa

MLS witnessed a massive shake-up in the early weeks of the year, during which two teams – the Tampa Bay Mutiny and the Miami Fusion – folded operations, leaving their former players available to the remaining 10 MLS teams in the Dispersal/Allocation Draft on Jan. 11. The Revolution, holding three of the top six selections, chose forward Mamadou Diallo, defender Carlos Llamosa and midfielder Steve Ralston in the first round of the Allocation Draft, and then selected midfielders Jim Rooney, Shaker Asad and Alex Pineda Chacon in the Dispersal Draft.

Less than one month later, the Revs selected forward Taylor Twellman with the second overall pick in the 2002 SuperDraft. With a revamped roster and the eagerly-awaited opening of a brand new home – the $325 million Gillette Stadium – the Revolution seemed destined for a banner campaign.

Such promise, however, did not materialize immediately. The Revs went 1-2-1 on their season-opening four-game road trip before hosting the Dallas Burn on May 11 in the first-ever event held at Gillette Stadium. Twellman immediately endeared himself to the home fans, tallying both Revolution goals in a 2-0 victory – two of his club-record 23 goals during his rookie campaign.

The Revolution, however, failed to garner any momentum from Twellman’s memorable home debut performance, and on May 23, one day after a 5-2 loss to the Colorado Rapids, head coach Fernando Clavijo was relieved of his duties, replaced on an interim basis by assistant coach Steve Nicol. The next day, the Revs and the MetroStars completed a six-player trade, with the Revolution acquiring Diego Serna, Daniel Hernandez and Brian Kamler in exchange for Diallo, Ted Chronopoulos and Andy Williams.

Steve Nicol

Although the Revs continued to struggle through much of the season, on Aug. 24, newcomer Daouda Kante scored the game-winning goal in the 89th minute against the Chicago Fire, becoming the unlikely offensive catalyst to kick-start a dramatic run to the conclusion of the regular season. With Adin Brown – a goalkeeper who was left unwanted by most teams during January’s Dispersal Draft – patrolling the net behind a revitalized backline, the team allowed just two goals during the final five games of the season.

Against the MetroStars in the regular-season finale at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 21, the Revs rattled off three first-half goals to clinch a playoff berth and capture the Eastern Conference crown, earning the second overall seed in the MLS playoffs.

2002 Postseason
Riding the momentum they established in the final quarter of the season, the Revs captured a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Fire in the first game of their MLS Cup Playoffs quarterfinal round series with goals by Twellman and Hernandez. Undaunted by a 2-1 loss in Game Two in Naperville, Ill., the Revs made franchise history on Oct. 2, winning a playoff series for the first time and advancing to the semifinals.

The Columbus Crew stood between the Revolution and a spot in MLS Cup 2002, which the Revs were hosting at Gillette Stadium. In game one, the teams played to a 0-0 draw in Columbus, but in game two, the Revs rode a third-minute Jay Heaps goal all the way to the finish, taking the series lead with a 1-0 victory. The Revs needed to secure a result in game three, which New England did – earning a 2-2 draw to advance to the league’s championship tilt.

The hype during the week leading up to MLS Cup translated into a record-shattering soccer crowd of 61,316 at Gillette Stadium. Never before had that many people seen MLS Cup – or any soccer game – in Foxboro live.

Although the league’s two leading scorers – Twellman, who won the Budweiser Scoring Championship with 23 goals, and Carlos Ruiz, the MLS Most Valuable Player behind his 24 goals – were on the field, neither team was able to post a score in regulation. MLS Cup went into golden-goal overtime, and for the first time ever, the championship game reached double overtime. Ruiz ensured penalty kicks would be avoided, however, by tallying the championship-winning goal in the 113th minute.

After earning MLS Coach of the Year honors and leading the Revs to their first-ever MLS Cup, the Revolution rewarded Nicol by removing the "interim" from his title and naming him head coach of the team on Nov. 6.

2002 MLS Cup at Gillette Stadium

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