FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- This SuperLiga final wasn't like the two MLS Cup Finals that the Houston Dynamo won against the New England Revolution.
There wasn't much rest. The Dynamo beat Columbus 2-0 on Saturday instead of having a week off to lounge around before the game.
There wasn't a neutral site. The partisan Revolution crowd screamed and chanted for most of the game.
But most importantly, there wasn't the same result. Penalty kicks, so helpful during the 2006 MLS Cup victory against the Revs, didn't favor the Dynamo this time.
Corey Ashe's penalty kick hit the bar in the eighth round of penalty kicks to give the Dynamo a feeling they hadn't experienced when facing the Revs in a final: loss.
"It went eight penalty kicks, so it just shows you that whenever these two teams meet in big games there is definitely not a lot between the two," Houston head coach Dominic Kinnear said. "I don't think we disappointed anybody with the performance tonight -- either team -- and I thought the teams showed their unity, together, before and after the game."
The Dynamo held the upper hand for most of a wide-open and entertaining game. Nate Jaqua's 18th-minute goal might have been aided by Amaechi Igwe's poor clearance, but the goal counted all the same.
"I was able to capitalize on a mistake by them," Jaqua said. "(Amaechi) Igwe was blocking (Matt) Reis, so I just hit it first time and I was able to sneak it in."
Kinnear said that Jaqua's goal pushed the tempo even higher as the two teams sought to press their perceived advantage as soon as possible.
"We got the early goal, sometimes when that happens -- especially in a final -- it can open things up," Kinnear said. "I could put our openness in the first half maybe down to a little bit of fatigue, we had a tough game on Saturday, but then the goals do open it up."
Once the second half hit, things tightened up, according to Kinnear. Extra time renewed the attacking spirit and substitute Kei Kamara put his team ahead again with a header in the 98th minute.
"After the ball was switched to the other side, I knew (Brian) Ching was going to take his time and look for something," Kamara said. "After he made that cut, that's when I decided to make that run, because I knew he was going to serve it. I knew (Matt) Reis was going to come out, but I had to still make my run in between them and go up for the header. It was a good cross, and I was just happy to put it in the back of the net."
The lead didn't stand for more than three minutes after Shalrie Joseph headed home a Steve Ralston free kick to send the match into penalty kicks.
Kamara said the lottery just didn't favor the Dynamo on the evening, despite the team's best efforts.
"(The Revolution) worked really hard," Kamara said. "We worked really hard. That's the game of soccer. When you go to penalty kicks, it's just the lucky team that wins there. They came out lucky today at the end of the game. Their penalty kicks went in the back of the net and ours didn't. That's just how it is."
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