“I thought one of these years I would definitely get it,’’ says New England’s dreadlocked interim captain, a finalist along with Los Angeles forward Landon Donovan and FC Dallas forward Jeff Cunningham. “But to be nominated this year because of my scoring is very funny.’’

Joseph may not be a forward, but he plays one on TV. This season, when Taylor Twellman was sidelined by severe whiplash and concussive symptoms and Steve Ralston tore up a knee, Joseph morphed into a sniper, leading the squad in scoring with eight goals and as many assists, which is eight times as many as he had all last season.

“Especially in soccer, the goal scorers get the acclaim and the fame and everything,’’ says Joseph, who tallied a total of 16 in his previous six seasons on Route 1. “This year, I just stepped in where they needed me, and the team needs me to score goals.’’

The biggest came in last weekend’s Eastern Conference playoff opener against Chicago at Gillette Stadium, when Joseph barged through a scrum and banged home the winner in the 75th minute to give the Revolution a 2-1 victory going into tomorrow night’s rematch at Toyota Park.

“It’s huge that we won at home,’’ says Joseph, whose teammates haven’t won a playoff game at Chicago in six tries. “Getting that first game makes so much of a difference. We needed those 3 points to put that team on their back heel. We know they can’t just sit back and play for a draw. They have to come out and play.’’

When the whistle blows, Joseph is all but certain to be back in his usual spot as a defensive midfielder alongside Jeff Larentowicz (“Red and Dread’’). As prolific as he has been up front, Joseph hasn’t developed a seven-year itch to become a striker and won’t be asking coach Steve Nicol for a starting job there.

“Nah, we’re not going to have that conversation,’’ Joseph says, laughing. “Forward is a position where they put me. It’s not my best position, it’s not my favorite position. I stay in the midfield because I like to bang, I like to get into things. Me and Jeff and all the guys in the midfield love being there.’’

As a Brooklyn guy, he’s comfortable amid the hurly-burly of soccer’s version of Grand Central Station, where he gets to play conductor.

“I control the game, I dictate the pace, I organize the midfield and defense,’’ says Joseph, the team MVP who’s perennially among the league’s best at his craft, earning six All-Star and three Best XI selections.

“He’s always been our rock in the middle,’’ testifies defender Jay Heaps, who has been Joseph’s colleague since he arrived before the 2003 campaign.

But when the situation dictates, Joseph is adept at moving forward, just as he did in his college days at St. John’s, where he scored 21 goals in two seasons.

“It’s like having a quarterback that you want to have catch passes,’’ says Heaps.

It was Joseph who scored the goal that produced the 1-1 draw at Chicago in May and ended the club’s streak of scoreless minutes at 269. And when Ralston tore his right ACL against Seattle in late September, it was Joseph who brought his mates from behind with a pair of goals on a penalty kick and a lovely 87th-minute header.

That might not have been his job, but necessity dictated that he take on the job.

“In previous years, having Taylor and Ralston and [Pat] Noonan and [Clint] Dempsey and [Andy] Dorman and some other guys, it meant that he could just button up things,’’ says Nicol, “but now he’s taken on more responsibility getting forward.’’

In a season when injuries made a hash of the lineup, Joseph’s uncommon versatility made him invaluable.

“If you want somebody to defend, he’ll defend,’’ says Nicol. “If you want somebody to pass the ball, he’ll do that. If you want somebody to assist, he’ll do that. And he’s been scoring as well. So he’s not doing bad.’’

What has been most remarkable about Joseph’s all-purpose skills is his ability to adapt in midgame, as he did last weekend, moving up front in the second half after forward Edgaras Jankauskas left the match with an illness.

“When I do it, you can hear people talking,’’ he says. “The defenders start saying: ‘Be aware, Shalrie’s coming up. Have to start watching him.’ They know when I’m up there, I’m going to be battling, I’m going to make it hell for them. It’s not going to be easy.’’

Not against a man who stands 6 feet 3 inches and weighs 180 pounds, who relishes knocking bodies around and who can hold the ball, dish it off, or slam it home.

“Shalrie’s always had a goal mentality,’’ says Heaps. “If he’s getting the ball, that’s all he cares about.’’

Joseph wants to be the man in the middle, wherever the middle happens to be. Skipping matches drives him nuts. In seven years, he has missed only 25 regular-season games. When a bruised right knee sidelined him in midsummer, Joseph badgered Nicol about getting back into action.

It is both the right and the responsibility of the “senior guys’’ to be on the field, especially when the club is struggling, as the Revolution were for most of the season. When Joseph signed on for the minimum $24,000 wage after playing for the New York Freedoms in the D3 Pro League, he didn’t figure on becoming a star-spangled lifer here, logging more than 200 games.

“I definitely thought I’d be here for two or three years and then move on,’’ says the 31-year-old Joseph, who once drew an offer from Celtic, the fabled Glasgow club. “With the Celtic deal and a couple of other things falling through, I’m still here, but it worked out great for me. We have great fan support, and people love me wherever I go. To be playing here, it’s definitely a privilege.’’

One thing that has kept Joseph here is a bit of lingering business. Three times he has played in the MLS Cup. Three times he has left with nothing more than a consoling pat on the back.

“I definitely don’t want to leave here feeling that I didn’t achieve anything at all,’’ Joseph says. “The individual awards are great - the MVP for the team, the Best XI.

“But at the end of the day, you play for a championship, and not getting that feels like I’ve left a lot undone if I don’t get that ring. So I’m glad I’m here. This year’s got to be our time to get the ring.’’

John Powers can be reached at jpowers@globe.com.