FRISCO, Texas -- Though Brian Ching was declared Honda MVP of MLS Cup 2006, Houston Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad was every bit as important as Ching in his team's victory against the New England Revolution.
Onstad accrued four saves in regulation and one in overtime, including a dramatic first-half stop that prevented Revolution forward Taylor Twellman from putting New England up early. Onstad also saved Jay Heaps' penalty kick try to clinch the 4-3 victory in the penalty kick shootout and seal the Dynamo win.
Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear credited Onstad's first half save against Twellman with keeping Houston in the game.
"Pat made a good save on Taylor (Twellman) about 25 minutes in," Kinnear said, "and from there on it's a chess match."
Kinnear also credited the Dynamo defense with keeping bodies between the Revolution attackers and the goal, helping to limit the number of shots that New England was able to put on goal. Onstad agreed that Houston's defense performed well.
"Our guys have really tightened up in the back over the last five or six games," Onstad said. "Sometimes in the regular season we had lapses where we're giving guys space instead of making them beat us, but lately we've been playing very tight on defense."
Houston's defense was solid through more than two hours of play, and a number of players made big plays inside the box to keep Houston from falling behind. One of those plays came from Ching in the 86th minute, as he dove in front of Twellman's shot for what Onstad called a "game-saving tackle."
But all that defensive effort could have been wasted if not for Onstad's penalty-kick save to seal the win.
Onstad has a history of coming up big on penalty kick tries in the MLS Cup. In 2003, while playing for the San Jose Earthquakes, he saved a second-half penalty from Ante Razov of the Chicago Fire, preserving San Jose's lead and helping them hold on to win the Cup.
This year, Onstad lived every goalkeeper's dream by diving to his right to stop Heap's try and give his team the win in MLS Cup.
"I didn't have any clue what he was going to do," Onstad said of Heaps' kick attempt. "Before he hit it, I was planning on going left, but then I went right and the ball was in my hands. ... I think sometimes when guys are approaching the ball they give signs of which way they're going to go, and maybe I picked up on (a sign)."
The Revolution had already been through one penalty kick shootout in the 2006 MLS Cup Playoffs, beating Chicago 4-2 on penalty kicks to advance to the Eastern Conference Championship.
"I took a look at (the shootout in) Chicago, so I knew where three of those guys like to go." Onstad said. Onstad picked the right direction on all three of the Revolution players who also participated in the shootout in Chicago: goalkeeper Matt Reis, forward Pat Noonan and Twellman. Reis and Twellman scored, but Noonan missed by a hair, glancing his shot off the top of the crossbar.
When asked if he considered himself a penalty kick specialist, Onstad replied, "No, it just seems like I stop them whenever something big is on the line."
In addition to his penchant for big saves at the right time, Onstad brings some leadership and fire to Houston's game. After Twellman scored in the second half of overtime to give the Revolution a 1-0 lead, Onstad was pumping us his teammates, encouraging them not to give up.
"I saw the guys with their heads down, and I started yelling 'let's go!'" Onstad said. Less than a minute later, Ching scored the equalizer.
Onstad came into the MLS Cup confident that he and his team would perform well.
"I've been playing professionally for 20 years, so I've had lots of good (training) sessions," Onstad said. "I just felt very confident."
Onstad, one of MLS's elder statesmen, was playing professional soccer when some of his current teammates were still in youth soccer. Though he's been at it for almost 20 years, Onstad still wants to play, and hopes to return to play for Houston next season.
"I hope (to play next year)," Onstad said. "A good performance in the final certainly helps in contract negotiations."
Lucas Ogden-Davis is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
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