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| Wednesday, October 16, 2002 21:49 EST |
Revs are Red, White and Brown
By Marc Connolly
[ESPN.com]
NORFOLK, Mass. -- It was only about three months ago that the pecking order of goalkeepers in Major League Soccer went something like this:
Adin Brown has four shutouts in six postseason games. |
1. Tim Howard
2. Tony Meola
3. Joe Cannon
4. Nick Rimando
5. Zach Thornton
One could have flip-flopped the order to their heart's content or even thrown L.A. Galaxy's Kevin Hartman in the mix. No matter how you figured it, there was no way New England keeper Adin Brown was on that radar screen.
Say that to Brown, standing there at 6-5 with a beard that both Dan Fouts and Grizzly Adams would be proud of, and he purses his lips and shakes his head in agreement.
Did he have the potential? Of course. After all, he was the backbone of the squad that qualified for the 2000 Olympics, and the No. 3 pick overall (Colorado Rapids) in that year's MLS SuperDraft.
But there was no reason to talk about Brown, who had only recently beat out Juergen Sommer for the starting job, as one of the league's best.
Until now.
Led by the stifling goalkeeping of Brown, the Revs have grinded their way through the MLS playoffs and are now sitting pretty with a home game against the L.A. Galaxy in the MLS Cup on Sunday. Stranger things have happened in soccer, as seen this summer with stunning runs of the Americans, South Koreans and Turks, but not in MLS.
"If you would have told me earlier this year that we'd be in the final and playing at home, I'd have blown you off," said Brown after the Revs' short practice held indoors at Fore Kicks due to torrential downpours that came through on Wednesday afternoon. "It's been a magical ride."
If the Revolution truly have magic on their side, then Brown is David Blaine, pulling all the strings and rubbing the lamps.
Throughout their run through both Chicago and Columbus, no one has shined brighter than the 24-year-old goalkeeper. After shutting out the Fire twice in the first round, Brown truly stood on his head against Columbus. Making a total of 22 saves, Brown recorded two more shutouts in letting up two goals in three games against a potent Crew attack featuring Brian McBride and Jeff Cunningham. One of the goals was an own-goal off the foot of defender Carlos Llamosa, as well.
"He has shown that he's not only a good goalkeeper, but a superb one," said Revs "interim" head coach Steve Nicol, who was named MLS Coach of the Year on Wednesday.
Think of the greats runs by NHL netminders such as Patrick Roy, Dominik Hasek and, most recently, Jose Theodore. Or perhaps the few weeks Tony Meola had for the Kansas City Wizards back in 2000 when he practically willed them to the MLS Cup title behind five shutouts and a 0.55 goals against average. That's the type of playoff run Brown is having. He leads all MLS keepers with four shutouts, 36 saves - many of them sprawling to his right from close range against Columbus - and with a 0.64 GAA.
"I can't say enough about that guy," said captain and left back Joey Franchino. "Adin has been huge … he's the backbone of this team."
Backbone? He wasn't even the left pinky bone earlier this season. All one has to do is look at a Major League Soccer media guide to see that he's not listed among the fifteen "key players" for the Revs. Still recovering from injuries suffered in the offseason playing in Norway, Brown was backing up former U.S. keeper Juergen Sommer all spring after signing with New England in January after the Tampa Bay Mutiny vanished into the land of contraction. The Pleasant Hill, Calif., native knew that it would be competitive with a solid player like Sommer, and he welcomed it, but he was unhappy nonetheless.
"I have a lot of respect for Juergen and I think he's one of the top four or five goalkeepers ever for the U.S., but it was frustrating to not play," said Brown. "I came in and was told I could fight for the starting spot, but injuries and other things held me up. It was the first time I ever sat on the bench."
That's no lie. In fact, no coach had ever even thought to bench a can't-miss prospect like Brown as he ascended through the youth National Team ranks and lit the college soccer world on fire as a four-year starter and two-time All-American at William & Mary.
Former Revs coach Fernando Clavijo stuck with Sommer, though, even when Brown got healthy and the team wasn't going anywhere. It was in late May when Brown's fortunes changed with the firing of Clavijo and anointment to interim coach of assistant Steve Nicol. Four games into his tenure as Revs manager, Nicol finally gave Brown his chance.
"We believed in his ability," said Nicol, yet still admitted that he never thought it would turn out so good for his club. "We expected him to play well, and that's exactly what he's done for us. Look at the numbers (9-6-1 regular season record with five shutouts). They speak for themselves.
"The defense has confidence in him. Having Adin, they sleep very well at night."
It's apparent in their play, as well. Brown's defense isn't the most talented unit in the league, but they give strikers fits every minute of the game and play as a unit that plays with a collective intelligence and savvy, which starts at the back.
"As a goalkeeper, I feel I'm the leader of the team from a defensive standpoint," said Brown, who deflects most talk of his exploits to the play of Jay Heaps, Rusty Pierce, Franchino and Llamosa. "When the defense plays well, it's easier for me. And they have been playing with so much confidence and heart that it's been hard to beat us."
It'd be hard to get a shot by Brown right now no matter who was lined up in front of him. He's been so impressive with not only his saves but also his positioning and timing that it's surely caught the attention of U.S. National Team coach Bruce Arena, who'll be assembling a new squad to take on El Salvador on Nov. 17 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.
Wearing the red, white and blue seemed a stretch the past few years, but Brown never lost hope on one of his biggest aspirations.
"I don't think I ever gave up on it," said Brown, who noted that he's never talked to Arena. "It's always been a goal of mine. I never lost sight of that, although it did seem a little tough to maybe reach at some points. It'd be an unbelievable honor to get called in and maybe I can show him something he hasn't seen out of me yet. It's a long road, though."
Playing in Europe is also something he'd love to do - who wouldn't? - when the time is right, and he's always wondered how he'd stack up against the great goalkeepers in England and Germany. The Boston Globe even estimates his price tag at $1,000,000 across the pond. But Brown won't talk specifics until after the season is over. He does realize that being a top American goalkeeper now carries a certain cache over there with the success of Brad Friedel (Blackburn) and Kasey Keller (Tottenham).
"Both of them are in the top five goalkeepers of the EPL (English Premier League)," said Brown. It helps out the younger guys like Tim Howard, myself and Nick Rimando to get more exposure over there."
For the time being, Brown is enjoying the fact that his team is once again an underdog in its match against L.A., and that it will be playing in front of what should be 40,000-plus Rev-friendly spectators at the Big Razor.
"I've never played in front of a crowd that size," he said.
Anyone who has watched the Revs keeper as of late knows it certainly won't be his last time performing on such a stage.
Marc Connolly covers soccer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at shaketiller10@yahoo.com.
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