MONTCLAIR, N.J. -- There is no chest-thumping bravado, no "guaranteed victory" statements like those uttered by legendary New York sports figures Joe Namath and Mark Messier.
No, the New York Red Bulls instead take a quiet confidence with them to Robertson Stadium in Houston for the all-important second leg of the Western Conference Semifinal Series on Sunday afternoon.
"I think there's definitely some confidence, you can feel it within the team, the group has good spirits," John Wolyniec said. "We're not looking at this as an uphill battle, we're looking at it as an even playing field."
The series is level heading into Sunday's second leg, meaning the winner of Sunday's match will advance to the Western Conference Championship next weekend and move a step closer to a coveted berth in MLS Cup 2008.
The Red Bulls were five minutes away from taking a 1-0 lead into Houston and putting the two-time defending champions on their heels, but second-half substitute Kei Kamara struck five minutes from full time and the Dynamo escaped Giants Stadium with a 1-1 draw last Saturday.
"We're taking this just as a football game to be won," Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio said. "We're just going with the same approach. Yes, you think about what they do and how good they are, but we need to be thinking about what can we do to win this game. Hopefully the guys can execute the plan and then we can get the good result."
All the Red Bulls need is a win in Houston, but road victories have been sparse this season. In fact, New York has won just once away from Giants Stadium this year, beating the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 on May 10. The Red Bulls' away record of 1-8-6 ranked last among the 14 teams in MLS.
Houston, meanwhile, enjoyed the best home form in the league, losing just one of its 15 games at Robertson Stadium.
The Red Bulls, though, are focusing on the "new season," as rookie Luke Sassano said, rather than mull over their regular-season road woes. And in the new season, the Red Bulls are encouraged by their performance in the opening leg of the series.
"As long as we keep fighting for it we stand a chance," Dave van den Bergh said. "This was a second chance in itself, the whole playoff thing. If we can have the same performance, I think Houston is going to have a tough game."
If Friday's training session, the team's final at Montclair State University before flying to Houston, is any indication, Osorio could go with the same starting XI as last Saturday's opening leg. That means once again the benching of South Americans Jorge Rojas, Juan Pietravallo and Gabriel Cichero for the midfield tandem of Sassano and Sinisa Ubiparipovic and central defender Andrew Boyens.
"I can only go as to what I see in the last two weeks and the last two weeks tells me there are other players on form that I need to think of," Osorio said, referring to his midseason acquisitions.
It's a chance that Sassano, who had a rollercoaster first season in MLS, is relishing.
"It's had its ups and downs, but opportunities will come when you least expect it," Sassano said about his rookie campaign. "We had (Seth Stammler) go down and (Carlos Mendes) is coming back from injury. I think me and Sinisa have been working hard at practice and coach told us he has confidence in us and we'll just go out there and do whatever it takes to get the win."
The Red Bulls are trying to avoid being knocked out of the first round of the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year. New York has advanced just once, when they beat Dallas in 2000 before losing to the Chicago Fire in the Eastern Conference final. One player who is acutely aware of the Red Bulls playoff history is Wolyniec, who hails from Staten Island and attended Fordham University.
"I played in New York for a number of years and being from the area, it's definitely a little bit more important for me," Wolyniec said. "Anytime you get into the playoffs it's a short run to the finals. We know that we have to take advantage of opportunities. We win this game and we're in the semifinals."
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