The Revolution were sent home, ending their three-season streak of appearances in the MLS Cup and six-year stretch of berths in the Eastern Conference final.
Earlier in the season, the Revolution were viewed as the team to beat. But by the end, they were underdogs because of injuries that made any shot at a seventh straight berth in the Eastern championship game dismal.
Last night, New England started the match keeping up with the Fire despite its depleted roster. But in the 36th minute, another injury claimed another Revolution player as midfielder Jeff Larentowicz was tackled by John Thorrington, which resulted in a yellow card for Thorrington.
Larentowicz (right ankle) limped off the field in obvious pain, helped by teammate Chris Albright and a staff member. The Revolution already were working with a thin lineup: Leading scorers Steve Ralston, Taylor Twellman, and Adam Cristman were all out with injuries.
And those playing weren't necessarily in the best health as midfielder Shalrie Joseph played through a knee sprain.
"Sometimes you just can't overcome what is in front of you, no matter what you do," Revolution coach Steve Nicol said.
Losing a player like Larentowicz was a "killer," Nicol said, and the Revolution fell behind not long after in the final seconds of the first half.
Fire forward Cuauhtemoc Blanco took a shot from the left side that was blocked by diving Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis. The ball dribbled away from Reis, and Chris Rolfe was left open to chip in the goal from the left side.
"It really was a shame to give up that goal before the half," Revolution defender Jay Heaps said. "We had to play the series perfectly to advance, just the way we're shorthanded in terms of our firepower. So we had to play the perfect series, and giving up that goal in the last 30 seconds was kind of a tough one."
In the second half, the Fire increased their lead on Wilman Conde's header off a pass from Justin Mapp in the 49th minute. Gonzalo Segares added No. 3 in the 74th.
"It's a big relief to win this series because they have knocked us out of the playoffs so often," Fire coach Denis Hamlett said. "New England has shown a consistency of being a good team, but [last night] our guys showed the will to move on."
Last season, the Revolution knocked the Fire out of the conference final, 1-0, on a bicycle kick by Twellman. But in that match, home-field advantage worked in the Revolution's favor.
New England faced an uphill challenge on the road in front of a festive crowd of 17,312 at Toyota Park last night.
"You have to look at the end of the year, and we were disappointed that we didn't finish stronger and get home-field advantage and you saw [last night] what home-field advantage does," Heaps said. "It turned to where the odds were against us."
