(For the record... Pickens closely resembles John Krasinki's character Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom "The Office"... Thought you should know)

For the third consecutive season, the Fire have seen their MLS Cup hopes end at Gillette Stadium at the hands of the New England Revolution.

New England defeated Chicago on Saturday night, 2-1, in game two of the Eastern Conference semi finals. That result tied the aggregate goal count at 2, forcing penalty kicks.

New England defeated the Men in Red there as well, by the score of 4-2, thus eliminating Chicago from the playoffs.

Chicago stuck to its game plan and executed it well... at least in the first half. The Fire once again took the early lead with a Nate Jacqua goal in the 18th. Jacqua redirected a cross from midfielder Justin Mapp for the goal. Mapp blew past the New England defense for about 30 yards before catching Jacqua open on his left. The Fire took that lead into halftime.

Things looked good in the first. But aside from penalty kicks, that goal would be the only one the Fire offense would muster.

New England sub Pat Noonan got lucky from about ten out in the 58th minute for the game winner. He scored unassisted after striking off of the rebound of a blocked shot.

The real story in this game though was once again the strong play of New England forward, Taylor Twellman.

Twellman always does his best to thwart his New England rivals. Twellman tallied either a goal or an assist in four of the Revolution's previous five meetings this season with Chicago.

He tied the game at one on Saturday shortly before the half. He also tallied the game winning PK, assuring his team of a spot in the conference finals. (New England will take on D.C. United in game one of the finals on Sunday at R.F.K. Stadium).

Fire goalkeeper Matt Pickens was a pleasant surprise in 2006 with his play in goal during the absence of injured starter Zack Thornton. Pickens led the Fire to the 2006 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship and played well enough to keep the starting job even after Thornton regained his health.

On Saturday though, Pickens couldn't have been much worse during the deciding penalty kicks. Four of the five shots taken on him were converted by New England (including one by Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis!).

It's not out of the realm to think that his lack of experience cost his team their 2006 postseason. It's also not hard to believe that Zack Thornton could've made more than one save in such a crucial situation.

The Fire finished the season with an 18-12-6 record (13-11-6 not including U.S. Open or MLS Cup play), good enough for third in the Eastern Conference.

As arguably the hottest team in MLS after the all-star game, the Fire will look to build on the success it encountered when its young players were healthy come 2007.

Next season will rest heavily upon the performance of goalkeeper Matt Pickens, the continued strong defensive play of rookie Dasan Robinson, and the further development of potential offensive threat (forward) Calen Carr.

The health of forwards Chad Barrett and Chris Rolfe as well as midfielders Thiago, Justin Mapp and Ivan Guerrero will also be crucial.

Stay tuned for a more specific breakdown of the probable/hopeful 2007 roles of the aforementioned players next week.