Twellman is forward-thinking

WASHINGTON -- Taylor Twellman struck before the fans settled in, before their chants hit their peak and D.C. United got its legs. In a bout with so much build-up, Twellman dealt an early blow from which United never recovered yesterday.

But unlike a prizefighter, Twellman handed the credit for the Revolution's 1-0 win in the Eastern Conference final to others.

"The goal was early, it set the tone, but obviously the team I'm on, it's amazing to play with these guys," Twellman said. "I don't deserve any of the credit. It's all the defense."

Twellman's fourth-minute goal shocked RFK Stadium. Pat Noonan ran under a long pass from Jay Heaps on the right wing and sent a cross into the penalty area.

Twellman halted his sprint toward the net, reversed course, and pivoted to pull off a right-footed volley. It couldn't have been placed any better, bending inside the right post. It was the only shot the Revolution had on goal in the game.

"I was just going the wrong way," Twellman said. "I just tried to hit it hard on goal. Fortunately, it went in."

He was asked several times to describe his goal. Each time it sounded more ordinary, which couldn't be farther from the truth. Twellman doesn't rank goals. Each is as important as any other, he said. But his teammates realized how amazing the shot was.

"You don't get any better inside the box than Taylor," Heaps said. "When you see a ball go in there like that you almost expect him to score. He has a nose for the goal like no one else I've seen before."

It was Twellman's second goal of the 2006 playoffs. He scored against Chicago last weekend in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals before scoring the decisive goal in the shootout.

The reigning MLS Most Valuable Player had 17 goals last year but only 11 regular-season goals this season.

"Everybody said I had a tough year," Twellman said. "In my eyes, if 11 goals is a tough year, then so be it. I'll take that."

His production on the field wasn't the toughest part of Twellman's season. After scoring four goals for the US national team, he was left off the World Cup squad. To make matters worse, his grandfather, Jim Delsing, who played 10 seasons of major league baseball, died two days after the team was announced.

"It's just one team, one tournament," Twellman said. "Unfortunately I didn't make it. The way I view it, it was the US's loss. My grandfather was very instrumental in my life and made me realize you're as good as your last game. Don't look at the past or the future. Take care of the present."

Accordingly, Twellman wouldn't look back on yesterday's goal just hours afterwards or on his team's failures in championship games in 2002 and '05. It was just about now.

"One more, just one more," he said. "The five of us who have been here for five years realize there's one more game and we need to win it."