Twellman’s bicycle kick lifts Revolution

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Taylor Twellman’s acrobatic goal put the New England Revolution in the MLS championship game for the third straight year in search of an elusive first title.

Twellman, who is third among the league’s career goal scorers, converted a bicycle kick between two defenders in the 38th minute, giving the Revolution a 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire in the Eastern Conference title game on a chilly Thursday night.

The Revolution advanced to the MLS Cup on Nov. 18 in Washington, D.C. They’ll play the winner of Saturday night’s Western Conference final at Houston between the defending champion Dynamo and the Kansas City Wizards.

Twellman put them there with his third winning goal in his past six playoff games and ended Chicago’s 10-game unbeaten streak (4-0-6).

Half the players wore gloves. Many of the 10,317 fans were huddled in their seats, wearing parkas and hats as the temperature dipped into the 20s.

But they stood and shouted when Twellman scored in Gillette Stadium, where the Revolution improved to 6-0 against Chicago in playoff games.

Wells Thompson started the play with a pass from the right corner. Twellman, standing between Dasan Robinson and Logan Pause, won the ball. With his back to the net, he left the ground and kicked it to the left of goalkeeper Matt Pickens from 12 yards.

But if they tried to play conservatively after going ahead, the Revolution did a poor job as the Fire had several excellent opportunities in the second half.

Calen Carr headed the ball from short range into goalkeeper Matt Reis’ hands in the 90th minute. And in extra time, Reis caught Wilman Conde’s hard shot seconds before the game ended.

The Fire also threatened in the 65th minute when Paulo Wanchope and New England’s Avery John went up for a ball to the left of Reis. All three collided and Reis fell to the ground, clutching the ball. One minute later, Wanchope headed the ball from about 12 yards but Reis saved it.