After taking two days to recover from last Sunday afternoon’s thrilling 2-1 victory over the Fire, the entire squad was back on the training field this morning to begin preparing for the decisive second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series on Saturday night in Chicago. While everyone is pleased with the home victory in the first leg - and the one-goal advantage that came with it - every single player and staff member is fully aware that there are 90 more minutes (or more) of hard-fought soccer to be played on Saturday night before the job is done.

Having spoken with head coach Steve Nicol and a few of the players after training today (be sure to check the site for that video tomorrow), it’s clear that they’re not approaching this match from the standpoint of “all we need is a draw and we’re through.” That mentality always seems to get teams into trouble and everyone around here is fully aware of that. Plus, the Revs were in this exact situation in Columbus two weeks ago and pulled out a 1-0 win, so that experience could prove crucial, especially to those younger players who don’t have extensive postseason experience.

As for today’s training session, it was another spirited workout in the brisk fall New England weather. Following passing drills, the players were broken up into three teams and put through a series of small-sided games, with the third team working off to the side on fitness. The session ended shortly before 11:30 a.m. and many of the guys stuck around outside for a little bit to enjoy the sunshine.

Tomorrow’s session is the last before traveling to Chicago on Friday, so it’s expected to be a bit more focused on tactics and will most likely involve a full-field scrimmage. Check back tomorrow for a recap …