FRISCO, Texas -- While they gave everything they had Sunday in the MLS Cup Final at Pizza Hut Park, the New England Revolution were a team that showed the wear and tear of the MLS regular season, four playoff games and one U.S. Open Cup game -- 37 games in all.
The Revolution lost 1-0 to the Los Angeles Galaxy on a goal by Guillermo Ramirez during stoppage time of the first of two 15-minute extra-time sessions.
"I think we just played a game too far," Revolution coach Steve Nicol said. "We've been playing in the playoffs with a lot of guys with jabs and playing hurt. I guess the day got hold us of us, as much as anything."
Revolution midfielder Shalrie Joseph had the most visible wound coming out of the game. He was the last player on the team bus because he got one stitch to close a wound above his left eye.
"We had some injuries from me to (Daniel Hernandez) to (Steve Ralston) to (Joe Franchino)," Joseph said. "But it was the finals, it was just a big game and guys put that behind them."
The bruises and pain any of the players had might have shown up in the sluggish attack for much of the game.
"Our possession wasn't good," Nicol said. "I guess the one thing we did see in the playoffs was that the service to front guys could have been a lot better. They just defended well as a unit. We weren't at our best so we couldn't take them down."
Revolution forward Clint Dempsey, playing in front of many relatives from his hometown of Nacogdoches, Texas (not far from Dallas), probably had the best scoring chance for New England two minutes into the second extra-time period.
After substitute Andy Dorman pulled a long pass out of the air in the penalty area, he passed to an open Dempsey at the top of the area. But Dempsey pulled his shot about one foot wide of the right post.
The way the Revolution rebound next season will say a lot about how they played this season and in the final.
"It's a tough pill to swallow because you feel like we're a team that could have won and we didn't," Dempsey said. "Hopefully people have the right attitude to turn things around."
The players who did fight through whatever physical ailments gave virtually no clues that they may have been hurting.
"Those guys are tough," Dempsey said. "Having them on the field makes us that much more tough a team as far as the midfield goes. Danny (Hernandez) gave us everything he had out there until he couldn't anymore, then Andy (Dorman) came in and did a great job as a sub. I don't think it was our best game by any means but I thought everybody played hard and everybody gave it their best."
Robert Whitman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
MVP Pando scores: 
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