FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) -- Even the MLS scoring leader knows defense is critical. Taylor Twellman's teammates proved that as New England beat Chicago 2-0 in a rainy playoff opener Thursday night.

Tellman scored his 24th goal of the season and the Revolution posted their fourth shutout in five games, allowing the Fire only one shot on goal.

"Offense wins games, but defense wins championships,'' Twellman said.

The emphasis on defense paid off after the return of Carlos Llamosa from the U.S. World Cup team and the signing of Daouda Kante. The Revolution are 6-0-1 in their last seven games, outscoring opponents 15-3. Before that streak, New England was 7-14-1 and was outscored 46-36.

Teams get three points for a win and one for a tie. The first to reach five points advances to the semifinals. The Revolution can do that in Game 2 Sunday night in Naperville, Ill. A third game, if needed, would be in Foxboro on Wednesday night.

Revolution coach Steve Nicol said goalkeeper Adin Brown and the four defenders have been "solid as long as I can remember.''

Twellman scored in the 13th minute, Daniel Hernandez made it 2-0 in the 60th and the defense got tighter after that.

"It's not like they had many chances,'' Chicago coach Bob Bradley said. "The timing of their goals played a huge role.''

Twellman headed the ball past goalkeeper Zach Thornton from 12 yards out, converting a free kick by Joe Franchino that was awarded after a yellow card to Chicago's C.J. Brown.

Hernandez scored his fourth goal after Thornton made a save by punching the ball to him. Hernandez then shot from 25 yards from the right side.

New England controlled offensive threats Ante Razov and DeMarcus Beasley and concentrated on being in the right spots defensively since Nicol replaced the fired Fernando Clavijo on May 23.

"It's just been stuck in our minds the last two months where we need to be,'' Brown said. "And we're there.''

The Revolution qualified for the playoffs Saturday by winning their last regular-season game. New England won just one playoff game in its other six MLS seasons.

The Fire won the MLS championship in 1998 and lost in the title game in 2000. On Thursday, they lost most of the contested free balls.

"We've got to compete better,'' Bradley said. "We can't concede all those things.''