FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Revolution midfielder Shalrie Joseph said that his team isn't weary of facing the Houston Dynamo for a major championship.
But he sure is noticing the scoreboard after the Dynamo defeated the Revs twice in MLS Cup.
"They have two championships," Joseph said. "We're just trying to get one."
That one might not be MLS Cup right now, but SuperLiga is the next best thing. Both teams waded through the group stages and ousted venerable Mexican teams on their way to get here.
Now the only obstacle left for the Revs is a familiar orange one that they haven't really managed to conquer when the chips were on the line.
"They beat us twice in MLS Cup," Joseph said. "You could say they are up 2-0 in terms of titles. We know what we're going to have to do [Tuesday] to beat a good team. It's going to be a tough game. We're up to the challenge. We're at home, hopefully in front of a good crowd. That will energize us. We'll be ready from the starting whistle."
That challenge is complicated by a rivalry that Revs defender Chris Albright said was "good for the league."
Joseph won't dub it a rivalry, but said the stakes could impact how and if a rivalry develops.
"It's going to develop," Joseph said. "We've played together for the last two MLS Cup Finals. To be another final against them shows that both teams have some good quality players."
New England swept the Dynamo during the regular season, winning 3-0 in the opening match of the season at Gillette Stadium on March 29 and shocking the Dynamo 2-0 at Robertson Stadium on July 16.
Yet the injury-riddled Dynamo didn't have their full squad in either of those games, a point Revs captain Steve Ralston noted.
"They are a great team," Ralston said. "We have to realize that they have a lot of quality players. We were fortunate this year that we caught them on a couple of off days. We played them in the first game of the season, and we obviously had an advantage playing in that situation when it's cold. In the second game, they were missing five or six starters. They are a different team now. They have [Brian] Ching and [Dwayne De Rosario] back and they have a different team now."
The Revs have a different, healthier team themselves. The two critical losses for the Revs are due to non-health related absences: Michael Parkhurst is away with the U.S. Olympic team and Jay Heaps is suspended after picking up a red card after the 1-0 semifinal win over Atlante.
Without two of his three starting defenders, Nicol will have to chop and change at the back. Left back Amaechi Igwe will slide into the center of a four-man defense. Rookie Chris Tierney, who started the second group game against Pachuca, will play on the left side of defense.
"It's not ideal, but you have to deal with it," Nicol said. "There is no point in crying and moaning about it. You have to show the confidence in somebody and see how they react and then go from there. If we're groaning to everyone that we don't have any choices and we don't have any replacements, the guy who is going to play there isn't going to think. We're not going to camouflage anything. We're going to see what they are made of."
It's a difficult spot for the two young players, but Nicol believes they'll have what it takes to help the Revs bring home the SuperLiga crown.
"In some respects, it's a big game to be starting off with, but both guys have played there before," Nicol said. "Both guys are aware of what we are looking for. Both guys are capable of doing that. We're confident that they'll go ahead and do a good job."
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