{"id":31191,"date":"2020-12-06T20:57:42","date_gmt":"2020-12-07T01:57:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/?p=31191"},"modified":"2020-12-06T20:57:42","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T01:57:42","slug":"new-england-revolution-eastern-conference-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2020\/12\/06\/new-england-revolution-eastern-conference-final\/","title":{"rendered":"New England Revolution fall to Columbus Crew SC 1-0 in Eastern Conference Final"},"content":{"rendered":"

COLUMBUS, OHIO<\/strong> – The New England Revolution<\/a>\u2019s post-season run ended in the Eastern Conference Final Sunday, as they lost, 1\u20130, to Columbus Crew SC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

New England Revolution fall to Columbus Crew SC 1-0 in Eastern Conference Final<\/h2>\n

Columbus\u200a\u2014\u200aless than one year after changing owners and thwarting a proposed relocation to Austin, Texas\u200a\u2014\u200awill now face either Minnesota United or Seattle Sounders FC in the MLS Cup on December 12 and vie for their second title.<\/p>\n

The Revolution, who are still looking for their first championship trophy, will go back to the drawing board after a thrilling run that included last-second winner against the Montreal Impact in round one, upsetting the first-seeded Philadelphia Union in round two, and earning their first ever win at Exploria Stadium against Orlando City SC in the Eastern Conference semifinal.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the day, Columbus is the better team,\u201d Revolution head coach\/sporting director Bruce Arena said. \u201cI think they deserved to win the game\u2026better at anticipating plays than we were. On the day, in the middle third of the field, they were good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Columbus put pressure on New England in midfield<\/h3>\n

While New England came into Sunday\u2019s match with momentum and with players all over the field in good form, Columbus stifled the rhythm early, particularly in midfield.<\/p>\n

Revolution striker Adam Buksa hit the post off a breakaway in the 27th minute, but that was the team\u2019s last true chance on goal until after Artur opened the scoring early in the second half.<\/p>\n

Columbus pressed high and forced a slew of Revolution giveaways and miscues, which made playing through playmakers Carles Gil and Gustavo Bou challenging.<\/p>\n

Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner kept busy, too.<\/p>\n

He was called to action early. First came Luis Diaz, who rounded DeJuan Jones on the right side of the box and fired to the near post, where Turner went left to make the (6th minute).<\/p>\n

Turner then halted a bid by Lucas Zelarayan from the top of the box (30th) and sprawled right to block Pedro Santos right off a breakaway (39th). Zelarayan also crossed for an open Gyasi Zardes in the 58th minute, with Turner dropping low to parry the flick.<\/p>\n

Artur opens scoring for Columbus<\/h3>\n

The floodgates opened for the Crew just one minute later.<\/p>\n

Following a freekick, Zelarayan cut past Carles Gil and played defender Jonathan Mensah, who advanced into the penalty area and settled the ball for Artur with a swing of his left foot. Artur then ran onto the feed and tucked it into the lower right corner of the net with a swift, first-time shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great finish, so you tip your cap, but at the same time we created a set piece, didn\u2019t get close enough to the ball, and they crossed it,\u201d Turner said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBall-watching, layoff, nobody\u2019s there to block the shot. Credit to Artur, he put it in the bottom corner. I thought I read it well, though I saw it well, but at the end of the day couldn\u2019t get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arena added attackers introduced Tommy McNamara, Justin Rennicks and Kelyn Rowe after Columbus scored, and though the Revolution pressed for an equalizer, none came.<\/p>\n

Bou corkscrewed a shot from the top of the box (82nd) and Matt Polster lobbed a weak shot at Crew goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell off a freekick on the final play of the game.<\/p>\n

Now the Revolution look forward to what promises to be a short offseason and look toward another title run in 2021. After Sunday\u2019s game, defender Andrew Farrell said the team has embraced Arena\u2019s winning mentality.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know as well as I do Bruce is not happy with losing,\u201d Farrell said. \u201cHe loves to win. His winning mentality has been contagious with the organization and the Krafts also love to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great run and we\u2019re happy we made it this far, but Bruce isn\u2019t here to lose in the Eastern Conference final. You know he\u2019s here to win cups.\u201d<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>