FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The task is simple for the New England Revolution ahead of Thursday's second game of their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series with the Chicago Fire: get a result in a place where no Revolution team has gotten one before.
In five previous playoff games in the Windy City, the Revs have posted zero wins and zero draws. Chicago has scored 12 goals in those games and New England has posted just two.
"We know it's not going to be easy going into Chicago and getting a win," defender Michael Parkhurst said. "It's going to be tough."
The precedent is there for the Revs to break their duck. Chicago earned a point in Foxborough for the first time in seven tries with a 0-0 draw in the first leg.
In order for New England to repeat that feat, the Revs must carry over the successful defensive effort from game one.
"These are tight games, often on the uglier side," defender Chris Albright said. "A zero is kind of our goal."
The defensive struggles of the last two months were put to one side as the Revs stifled the Fire in game one. The tight back four didn't allow space to roam and defensive midfielders Jeff Larentowicz and Shalrie Joseph cut off Cuauhtemoc Blanco's supply of the ball.
"We were finally able to play a mistake-free game defensively," Parkhurst said.
Yet one game doesn't constitute a playoff run. Without Steve Ralston, Taylor Twellman and Adam Cristman, the Revs defense can't rely on an offensive explosion to bail them out.
"We have to go in thinking that (we need a shutout)," Albright said. "We have to be solid in the back. The offensive part will hopefully come after that."
The Revs struggled to create offensive opportunities in the first leg. Crosses went astray more often than not, while there were few attacks coming down the center of the field.
A lack of offensive continuity in the run of play places greater emphasis on taking advantage of set pieces and corner kicks in order to find a way to post that critical goal.
"If we can create a couple of chances and maybe bury one or punish a mistake on their part, we can reverse how it's been going," Parkhurst said. "If we're able to do that and hang on, then that's what we'll do."
With the offensive struggles in mind, Revs head coach Steve Nicol would prefer that his team doesn't have to try to play catch up.
"In the course of the regular season, you can afford to give games up by chasing the game because you have other games," Nicol said. "Playoffs -- particularly (Thursday) -- you don't want to be chasing the game. If you're chasing it, you're leaving holes and you're getting caught. It's tough to get it back."
The lack of offensive options leaves Nicol without the additional firepower he'd prefer if the Revs fall behind. With a healthy Twellman, Ralston and Cristman and an eligible Khano Smith, starting forwards Kheli Dube and Kenny Mansally and midfielder Sainey Nyassi might have been eligible off the bench instead of forced into a starting role.
"I guess that makes it even more important that we don't concede any goals," Nicol said.
Nicol will have to make one change to the first-leg lineup. Chris Tierney will miss the second leg after spraining his left knee in training on Tuesday. Gabriel Badilla is expected to return to the side to fill the vacancy after missing the first leg through suspension. The change won't impact how the Revs approach the game defensively, Parkhurst said.
"We know we're going to play four in the back now," Parkhurst said. "That's set. Personnel doesn't matter."
Smith remains unavailable as he serves the second match of a three-game ban.
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