MONTCLAIR, N.J. -- Shockwaves reverberated throughout all of Major League Soccer following the New York Red Bulls stunning 3-0 victory against the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium Sunday.
After ousting the two-time defending champions, the Red Bulls are now on the precipice, 90 minutes away from advancing to MLS Cup for the first time in the club's 13-year history. Standing in their way are Real Salt Lake, who are also looking to make their first-ever trip to the final.
"We have such a great chance to be part of history in this city filled with sports teams with a winning history," midfielder Dave van den Bergh said. "Finally the Red Bulls can make their mark and I'd love to be part of that. That is one of the goals I set for myself when I got here almost two years ago."
This is only the second time in club history that the Red Bulls have advanced to the Conference Championship. In 2000, New York lost to Chicago in what was then a three-game series in the Eastern Conference final.
"In the New York area, championships are what's expected," said John Wolyniec, a Staten Island, N.Y. native. "Fans want winners. To be able to give them that would be great. Obviously this franchise has been around for a little while now and it's finding it's way now, but it hasn't found that big step yet where they really put themselves on the map. This could be it."
The Red Bulls are no stranger to Rio Tinto Stadium, playing Real Salt Lake to a 1-1 draw there at the grand opening of the league's newest soccer-specific stadium on Oct. 9. A month earlier, New York defeated RSL 2-1 at Giants Stadium. In fact, the Red Bulls have never lost to Real Salt Lake in eight matches all-time, going 2-0-6 during that span.
But Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio is quick to point out that Real Salt Lake are not the Houston Dynamo. They play differently, they have different strengths. A win at Houston does not guarantee a win in Sandy.
"A lot of people talk about beating Houston and that's perfectly understandable and I agree we got a good result there, but now it's Real Salt Lake who have a very good coach, very good team and now we have to concentrate on 90 minutes of football," Osorio said.
"I think we're going to have a very difficult game," added Juan Pablo Angel, who scored in both legs of the Western Conference Semifinal Series. "Right now the mood is great, the team feels we can beat any team in the league on the day, but we know we have a very difficult task ahead."
After pulling off one of the greatest upsets in MLS Cup Playoffs history, the Red Bulls returned to training at Montclair State University with great confidence. There is a buzz around a team that has fought through adversity throughout its roller coaster season.
"The confidence is just boosting in the camp right now," said Dane Richards, who played a part in all three goals against Houston last Sunday. "The only one thing that can beat us right now is complacency and I don't see any so far. We just have to go there and work hard."
Although he went with the same starting XI in both legs against Houston, Osorio is considering tweaking his lineup, both because of injury and because of the different matchups Real Salt Lake presents.
"I am a methodical coach, a coach that believes in analyzing the opposition, looking at all the variables," Osorio said. "For good or for bad that is just the way I am. I am definitely considering what the best matchups are against Real Salt Lake because I think they are a very good team with a very good coach and they are a very offensive team."
The Red Bulls did not escape a hard-fought series with Houston unscathed. Central defender Andrew Boyens has a cast on his forearm that he injured late in the second leg and Luke Sassano missed training earlier in the week with an ankle injury. Both players, though, did train on Thursday, the club's last session at Montclair before flying to Utah.
If Boyens is unable to go, Gabriel Cichero might find his way back into the starting lineup. The Venezuelan international struggled late in the season and following a 5-2 drubbing in Chicago, he, along with prized midseason acquisitions Jorge Rojas and Juan Pietravallo, were dropped by Osorio.
With Cichero in the lineup, the Red Bulls are 3-5-0 with a 2.50 goals against average, without they are 4-0-2 with a 0.50 goals against average. Carlos Mendes, who came off the bench late at Houston following sports hernia surgery, is also an option.
"There is still one more training session tomorrow and I want to believe that those guys will be in contention, Luke definitely and Andrew most likely," Osorio said. "I'm confident whoever steps on the field will give 100 percent and will be prepared to compete against them."
Having won just one game away from home during the regular season, the Red Bulls defied logic with a 3-0 victory at Robertson Stadium on Sunday, only the second home loss for Dynamo and first ever in the postseason.
That win not only booked the Red Bulls ticket into the one-off Western Conference Championship, but it also was that definitive victory away from Giants Stadium the club was searching all season for.
"This helps and this gives us the confidence we needed in a one-game situation with this team," van den Bergh said. "We know that we can do it on the road, we know we can do it against any team at this point."
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