Bowl and 1–0 at INVESCO Field in Denver, bringing the Galaxy to their fourth MLS Cup final. New England Revolution The Revolution failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2001, following several years of poor on-field performances that resulted in the worst winning record of the league's ten teams. Despite their league performance, New England finished as runners-up to the Galaxy in the 2001 U.S. Open Cup. During the 2002 preseason, the club acquired several players from the Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami Fusion in trades and the Allocation Draft following the contraction of the two clubs, including league MVP Alex Pineda Chacón, forward Mamadou Diallo, midfielder Steve Ralston, and defender Carlos Llamosa. New England also drafted forward Taylor Twellman in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft following a successful college career and a return from TSV 1860 Munich. Head coach Fernando Clavijo was fired after the seventh match of the season, with the Revolution only winning two. Assistant coach Steve Nicol was promoted to interim head coach on May 23 and completed a turnaround from last to first in the Eastern Conference, leading the team into the playoffs and earning the coach of the year award. New England finished the season with a six-match unbeaten streak and a total record of 12 wins, 14 losses, and two draws, scoring a league-high 49 goals. The team narrowly qualified for the playoffs on the final day of the season, with all three qualifiers from the Eastern Conference within one point of each other. New England played the seventh-seeded Chicago Fire in the Conference Semifinals, winning the first leg 2–0 at Gillette Stadium on goals by Twellman and Daniel Hernández. The Fire won the second leg 2–1, setting up a deciding match at Gillette Stadium on October 2. The Revolution won 2–0 in the third match, clinching their first playoff series win and advancing to face the Columbus Crew in the Conference Semifinals. The first leg at Gillette Stadium was a scoreless tie and the Revolution won the second leg in Columbus 1–0 on an early goal scored by defender Jay Heaps, who was later ejected for an altercation with Freddy García. After earning a 2–0 lead in the third leg, New England conceded two late goals to draw 2–2 and force overtime. Neither team could score the golden goal needed to clinch a series win outright, leaving the Revolution with 5–2 in points