"We won't be doing it again soon," Nicol said. "We'll get our serious head back on and get ready for Sunday."
Asked if he was concerned about Twellman being injured in the session, Nicol replied, "He has as much chance of being kicked by a center back as he does by another forward."
Twellman's mood usually reflects his recent goal-scoring exploits. And he is certainly in good spirits, having scored 23 goals in all competitions this season, including both Revolution playoff goals as they have eliminated New York and Chicago.
Since returning to the United States from Germany in 2002, Twellman has generally been the personification of optimism. Twellman's time in Germany, with TSV 1860 Munich, was a humbling experience, and his return to MLS was further humiliating as he signed for the league minimum salary.
But Twellman turned out to be one of the league's best bargains, and early this year, he was finally rewarded with a contract worth the league maximum, nearly $400,000 annually with incentives.
Twellman's bicycle-kick score in a 1-0 win over Chicago Thursday was his 100th goal in 176 MLS playoff and regular-season matches. And the pure joy Twellman displayed in celebrating - a long run to the Revolution bench to embrace Nicol - was an excellent advertisement for the game, maybe even better than the spectacular goal.
"I played attacking midfield growing up," Twellman said. "When I went to 1860, they put me at right back for the first six months. That was a culture shock for me. Then one of their forwards got hurt and I went back to playing forward."
There were few positives in Twellman's Bundesliga experience, aside from a lucrative contract. Twellman's German heritage didn't help much, though he was able to easily learn the language.
Twellman might have understood the Germans, but they did not understand him. They used the best US-born goal scorer in modern history as a defender, and then, shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, the gulf in comprehension widened as Twellman decided to wear a black armband when he played.
