Parkhurst ready for his best shot
TORONTO - The last Michael Parkhurst score before his half-field shot in the Revolution's 2-2 tie with FC Toronto yesterday was "my junior year in college."
Parkhurst had not attempted a shot in an MLS game before lining a drive over Kenny Stamatopoulos late in the first half.
"In my junior year [at Wake Forest], we were down a few goals, so I moved to the midfield and scored," Parkhurst recalled. "We lost, 3-2, at Duke."
The only other time a Revolution player has scored from near the halfway line was on a shot by Alberto Naveda in a 2-2 tie with the Colorado Rapids (Revolution shootout win) at Foxboro Stadium in 1996.
"We wanted to go into the playoffs on a high and we were cruising in this game," Parkhurst said. "That's the third or fourth time the other team has taken shots off the post and then they stick it in the goal."
The Revolution (14-8-8, 50 points) completed their second-best regular season ever, finishing second to D.C. United in the Eastern Conference.
"The real season is coming up, and we are still a confident group," Parkhurst said. "We still expect to go to the MLS Cup and we expect to win it. It's not a surprise they [D.C. United] are the favorites. They won the Supporters' Shield and the Cup is being played in their backyard.
"But that is not stopping us from being confident. We beat them there last year and, hopefully, we can use that experience to our advantage and this time take home the trophy. We know what it takes to go all the way.
"Our goal is to shut the other team out. If we do that, we will walk away with at least a point. The offense has given us leads but we haven't always held up our end of the bargain. We have given up a lot of goals and that's something we want to take care of going into the playoffs. We have good chemistry in the back, even though we've given up some goals."
Praise for Joseph
Revolution coach Steve Nicol has nurtured his key players and successfully campaigned for them to receive contract extensions. Midfielder Shalrie Joseph did not aggressively pursue a $1 million-plus offer from Celtic and last week finalized a contract renewal that could be worth $1.5 million over four years. Nicol, though, is also likely to receive consideration as a coaching candidate in Europe.
"At the present time, I am thinking only about New England," Nicol said. "Our goal is winning these games coming up and I am not thinking about anything after that."
Nicol seems committed to staying with the Revolution.
"I am delighted Shalrie is staying with us, to be honest," Nicol said. "Had he gone, it would have been a huge hole to fill. He's a guy any coach in the league would want and he is playing in a place on the park where he can make the biggest impact. The biggest thing about him is that any coach in the league would want him on their team."
Nicol has been impressed by Joseph's ability to focus while being wooed by a rich foreign club.
"He had a chance to move and didn't, and the fact is, on the field, it never, ever affected him," Nicol said. "I've been around a long time and I don't remember seeing a player who had gone through having a chance to go, then not move on, and going through all the other stuff - but on Saturday he has given it all to the team and his teammates. He wants to stay and win a championship. And that helps when you try bringing players onto your team.
"Every game he's in, it's professional pride. He wants the team to win. If we have 11 players who hate losing as much as he does, we have a chance."
It's not a drag
Joseph said the Revolution's three-game winless streak (0-2-1) to close the regular season will not negatively affect the team in the playoffs. "We just have to put this behind us and get ready for the playoffs," Joseph said. "This was like a playoff atmosphere and we know it's going to be crazy in New York. We learned a lot in the last three games. We are going to have a great week in practice and get ready for New York."
Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at f_dellapa@globe.com.
