MONTREAL – The New England Revolution have claimed a berth in the 2014 MLS Cup playoffs for second time in as many seasons under head coach Jay Heaps and for the 12th time in club history.
With today’s 2-2 draw at the Montreal Impact behind league MVP candidate Lee Nguyen’s chipped goal that tied the game, the Revs secured one of the Eastern Conference’s five postseason berths. Currently second in the East, the Revolution (15-13-4, 49 pts.) are three points back of first-place D.C. United, who play Sunday night at Houston. While the Revs are tied on points with Kansas City, the Revs hold the first tie-breaker – overall wins – against Sporting to claim the second position in the standings. New England has gone 7-1-2 in their last 10 games
The 2014 MLS Cup playoffs are set to kick off on Wednesday, October 29 or Thursday, October 30, when the knockout round is played between the fourth and fifth seeds in both the Eastern and Western Conferences.
The two-game conference semifinals – with series between the second and third seeds and number one seed and Knockout Round winner – will begin the weekend of November 1-2 and continue November 8-10. The lower seed will host the first leg of the series, and the higher seed will host the second weekend.
The conference championship series will be played November 22-23 and November 29-30. MLS Cup is set for Sunday, December 7, at the home venue of the remaining team with the best regular-season record.
In 2013, the Revolution qualified for the MLS Cup playoffs for the first time under then second-year coach Heaps, and for the first time since 2009. Heaps is now the second coach in Revolution history to bring teams to the postseason in multiple seasons.
This is New England’s 12th postseason berth (1997, 2000, 2002-09, 2013). The club has advanced to play in MLS Cup four times (2002, 2005, 2006, 2007).
Photo via Eric Bolte/USA TODAY Sports Images
