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Sports

New England puts season on line against Seattle

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Foxborough, MA – New England's slim playoff hopes will likely evaporate this weekend and defender Chris Tierney admitted "it's just throwing caution into the wind at this point."

New England has to win its final four matches to have any chance of qualifying for the playoffs, but even with a victory over Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday at Gillette Stadium, it could be eliminated.

D.C. United, the Portland Timbers, and Red Bull New York must all also lose to keep New England alive - should it defeat Seattle.

New England (5-13-12) is last in the Eastern Conference entering the match, so the fact it's still in the playoff hunt is amazing as the regular season heads into its last month.

"Things are looking dire for playoffs," Tierney said, "so we have to go out there with a nothing-to-lose attitude. We have to go forward, take people on, and take chances."

The Revolution suffered a 3-2 loss to the Chicago Fire in their last game, and coach Steve Nicol said afterward, "the reason we lost the game was because we gave three bad goals away. Well, they weren't bad goals but ridiculous goals.

"We really hurt ourselves more than anything."

New England lost in Seattle, 2-1, earlier this year, but has won both previous matches against the Sounders at home.

Seattle (15-6-9) defeated Vancouver Whitecaps FC 3-1 last week and have sealed a playoff berth. With the U.S. Open Cup final Tuesday in Seattle against the Chicago Fire, the Sounders may field a weaker lineup this weekend.

Especially after it played in the CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday when it sealed a berth in the knockout stage with a 2-2 draw against Comunicaciones.

"We set it as a goal that we wanted to advance and to have assured us of advancement with a game to go, I couldn't be prouder and I think it's great for the organization," Schmid said.

Schmid's squad still has enough depth to compete with the Revolution, and are still in a clash with Real Salt Lake for second place in the West, so expect a a competitive match against New England.