lineup and played in place of Nick Rimando before he returned later in the season. By winning five of their final six regular season matches, D.C. United clinched the second-place seed in the Eastern Conference behind the Columbus Crew. In the Conference Semifinals, D.C. played host to their Atlantic Cup rivals, the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, who they had played in the final week of the season. D.C. United won 2–0 in the first leg at Giants Stadium on second-half goals by Earnie Stewart and Eskandarian. In the second leg of the series at RFK Memorial Stadium, D.C. defeated the MetroStars 2–0, with late goals scored by Moreno and Bryan Namoff, and advanced to the Conference Final on an aggregate score of 4–0. D.C. United faced the fourth-seeded New England Revolution, who upset the Columbus Crew in the semifinals, in the Conference Final at RFK Memorial Stadium on November 6, 2004. During the match, considered one of the best in MLS history, D.C. took the lead three times and New England responded with three equalizing goals. Eskandarian opened the scoring in the 11th minute on a defensive mistake, but Taylor Twellman leveled the score at 1–1 six minutes later with a volleyed shot from inside the box. Jamie Moreno restored the lead for D.C. in the 21st minute, curling a shot around the left post to beat goalkeeper Matt Reis; New England were awarded a penalty kick after the ball hit the arm of defender Brian Carroll, and Steve Ralston's shot deflected off the post and Nick Rimando before going into the net and tying the match 2–2 at halftime. Gómez scored D.C.'s third goal in the 67th minute, heading a cross from Earnie Stewart, but New England's Pat Noonan responded with a headed goal in the 85th minute that tied the match at the end of regulation time. Despite several attempts at goal, the match remained tied 3–3 after extra time and would be the first MLS playoff match decided by a penalty shootout. After an opening round in which neither penalty taker scored, five consecutive penalties were scored to give D.C. a 3–2 lead. In the fourth round, the shot by Jay Heaps for New England was saved by Rimando, but the follow-up by Moreno was saved by Reis to prevent the Revolution from being eliminated. New England's Shalrie Joseph scored his penalty to trigger a sudden death