by Jeff Dieffenbach

On Friday night, the New England Revolution found themselves sitting ninth out of ten in a playoff table designed to reward only the top eight. Twenty-four hours later, at the close of play on Saturday, they sit poised to capture the Eastern Conference crown and the number two playoff seed overall.

How did such a scenario come to pass? Everything that could possibly have gone right for New England over the weekend did go right … with one exception.

The Revolution took care of business, beating Dallas 2-1. Reportedly plagued by a stomach bug, the only thing that first year phenom Taylor Twellman threw up was a pair of goals. The first came on a justly awarded penalty kick after referee Brian Hall unjustly showed his red card to Dallas defender Ryan Suarez, whose only intent was self-protection.

Twellman leads the league in scoring by two points, trailing Galaxy forward Carlos Ruiz by a goal but leading him by four assists. To be sure, Twellman excels in receiving the ball, not dishing it out. While eleven different Revolution players have assisted on Twellman goals thus far this season, by far the best of his partners has been Steve Ralston, eight of whose league-leading nineteen assists have been to the Revolution’s league leader.

The second goal was classic Ralston-Twellman. Ralston received the ball on the right wing, then calmly crossed it through the six yard box. Twellman muscled his way over/through teammate Jay Heaps for a diving header that temporarily tied him for the league lead in goals with 22.

How good have the Revolution been of late? With 4 wins and a tie in five games, they’ve never had a better stretch of play, certainly never at a better time. Only 4 consecutive wins in 1996 comes close. Owner Jonathan Kraft told the Boston Globe before this latest win,  “These have been the best four games the Revolution have ever played in a row.”

Their play of late should not surprise the Revolution faithful. New England tends to finish the regular season relatively well, never having failed to earn at least a quarter of their points in the final quarter of the season (this year they could top 40%).

This year, recover they have. Two weeks ago, this observer had them written off: “Show coach Steve Nicol the door or sign him on for 2003, but either way, start the lineup experimentation.” Nicol has been able to have his cake and eat it too—lineup experimentation (most notably, Wolde Harris up front as Twellman’s strike partner) and a run of wins to boot. He’s earned the right to stay.

The Revolution entered the Dallas match knowing that a win and another against the MetroStars in the season finale would guarantee them a playoff berth. With their own task complete and 35 points in hand, it was time for the scoreboard watching to begin.

Kansas City, starting the evening with 35 points but victims lately of their own uninspired play, lost 2-1 to Colorado on injury-plagued John Spencer’s fifth goal of the season. The Wizards’ final game is at Colorado, who have already secured a playoff spot. With two wins over the Revolution this year, the Wizards own the tie-breaker should they finish even.

The Crew hold the Eastern Conference lead with 38 points after a 2-0 victory at home against the slumping Fire (34 points). Of the teams near New England in the standings, the Crew are the only ones over whom the Revolution own the tie-breaker. A Revolution win this coming Saturday over the MetroStars coupled with a Crew loss in Chicago would give New England the Eastern Conference title.

Paradoxically, while a Fire win over the Crew gives New England the crown in the event of a Revolution win, it’s a Fire loss that guarantees New England a playoff slot. The one outcome they can’t stomach is a loss coupled with a Fire win. They won’t know whom to root for until Sunday, however—the Crew-Fire match is the last contest of the regular season.

Perhaps most spectacularly, a late season MetroStars implosion against DC United (a 1-0 loss Thursday night and a second 2-1 on Saturday) has boosted the Revolution’s chances. Going into their final match together, the breaks appear to fall New England’s way—at least on paper.

The Revolution host New York/New Jersey (“New Jerk?” a wag once said) in the friendly confines of Gillette Stadium. More importantly, they do so against a depleted roster.

Goal scorer Mamadou Diallo is nursing a tender ankle and a resulting lack of match fitness. At least he’s likely to see some playing time, unlike two of the MetroStar’s brightest stars, current national team standout scorer Clint Mathis and future national team standout goalkeeper Tim Howard. Both earned red cards in the DC United match, and won’t see playing time until the playoffs … or Spring of 2003.

Weakened MetroStars line-up or not, the Revolution are yet to earn a point from them this year (three losses in as many outings), so they have their work cut out for them. And they’ll have to do that work despite the one exception to their miracle weekend. Steve Ralston’s 62nd minute yellow card against Dallas earned him enough caution points to sideline the league-leading assist machine.