CHICAGO (AP) -- Chris Armas doesn't score many goals, but when he does they make an impact.

The Chicago midfielder, who had only two goals during the regular season, scored in overtime as the Chicago Fire defeated the New England Revolution 1-0 to win the MLS Eastern Conference championship.

"I don't score many," Armas said. "But I was glad I could give the team a goal tonight."

Justin Mapp and Damani Ralph set up the game-winning goal 10 minutes into overtime. Mapp carried the ball up the right side and around defender Marshall Leonard before centering to Ralph, who redirected the ball to Armas, who shot into an open net from six yards.

"I was waiting for a rebound, waiting for something," Armas said. "But it came right to me and I redirected it towards the goal."

Ralph, the leading rookie scorer, wasn't trying to pass. It was a shot.

"It was a mis-hit." he explained. "I think right now its the best mis-hit."

Chicago is 17-9-2 in MLS postseason play and 13-1-1 overall at home in postseason play. The Revolution, with a playoff record of 5-6-4, eliminated Chicago in the 2002 quarterfinals on their way to an overtime loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS Cup.

Entering the game, Chicago and New England had identical 9-9-4 records in six years of head-to-head matchups, including identical 3-3-0 marks in MLS Cup Playoff action.

Chicago goalkeeper Zach Thornton added to his own MLS record with his 11th postseason shutout. DaMarcus Beasley had a prime opportunity to score in the 30th minute, but his shot rolled just wide of the right post.

The game featured the two top-scoring rookies in the MLS. Chicago's Ralph with 11 goals and six assists leads all rookies, with New England's Pat Noonan close behind with 10 goals and seven assists for 27 points.

While both teams had trouble scoring, Chicago was clearly in control of the game. The Fire ended with 20 shots and nine on goal.

The Revolution got off seven shots with just two on goal as it played for a lone opportunity to win.

"We were looking for just that one break," Noonan said. "They had the better of us. They kept running it down our throats."

"We were hoping to get that one little counter there. We had a few chances, but just not enough."

The Fire moved one step closer to making American soccer history and becoming the first team to win The Triple. Chicago has already won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Championship and its first-ever MLS Supporters Shield as the MLS regular-season title.

Chicago and D.C. United are the only teams to win both the MLS Cup and the Open Cup in the same season.