FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The only game in this countdown that wasn’t an Eastern Conference Championship, the second leg of the 2005 Eastern Conference semifinals was something special.
A 1-0 loss to the MetroStars in the first leg at Giants Stadium had the Revs in a hole in the return engagement at Gillette Stadium, and that deficit grew to 2-0 in the in the 59th minute when Youri Djorkaeff fired a shot inside the far post to push the MetroStars to the brink of a series victory.
But the comeback was on.
Jose Cancela cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 68th minute, and Pat Noonan equalized just five minutes later, setting the stage for one of the most dramatic goals in Revs’ history.
Khano Smith, who’d come into the game as a first-half substitute for the injured Marshall Leonard, burst down the left wing in the 83rd minute, latched onto a curling pass from Clint Dempsey, and fired a shot inside the far post past the ear of MetroStars goalkeeper Tony Meola.
From 2-0 down the 3-2 up in the span of 24 minutes.
The ensuing celebration saw Smith sprint toward the Revolution bench, past mounds of snow that had been cleared off the field prior to kickoff, to leap into the arms of assistant coach Paul Mariner and, shortly thereafter, the rest of his Revolution teammates.
It was an emotional victory en route to the first of three straight MLS Cup final appearances.
