Individually, there isn't much that Michael Parkhurst hasn't accomplished in his MLS career.
He entered the League in 2005 after a successful career at Wake Forest University, capturing the MLS Rookie of the Year award after his first season with New England. He built on that success by winning the MLS Humanitarian of the Year award in 2006, then he took another step forward by being named the MLS Defender of the Year as part of MLS' Best XI in 2007.
Something else happened in each of those three seasons that perhaps isn't as positive to reminisce about, however. The Revolution was wildly successful as a club from 2005-2007. It finished with a combined record of 43-23-28 over those three seasons, never once finishing any lower than second place in the Eastern Conference. Despite the success, the club fell short of the ultimate prize each season -- in heartbreaking fashion. Parkhurst and New England lost the MLS Cup Final in each of those three seasons, once in extra time and once in penalties.
It's difficult to imagine a club or a player coming any closer to MLS Cup without winning it. Parkhurst can still recall every detail from each of the three defeats, admitting that he tends to remember the tough losses more. He says that he swaps stories on occasion with current Crew Assistant Coach Pat Onstad, who was on the opposition Houston Dynamo in both the 2006 and 2007 Final. He thinks about what could have gone differently in each of the three matches. Considering how close all three were, it's difficult to blame him.
"After you lose three in a row, you kind of think, 'man,'" said Parkhurst. "You understand that it is not going to happen every year, getting to the Final. You think, 'Shoot, I hope this wasn’t my last chance.'"
After returning to MLS following stints in Denmark and Germany, the Crew Captain indeed finds himself with another chance as the leader of this upstart Crew side playing its strongest soccer of the season at the right time.
"I am really grateful that we have the opportunity to make a run here in the Playoffs my first year back," said Parkhurst. "Even if it doesn’t work out, we have more years ahead and a bright future. I think that we want to seize the opportunity and hopefully I can relay that to the guys that these opportunities can be few and far between. You don’t know in soccer and you really want to take advantage of it. For sure, it's something that I want to check off the list because I remember almost every moment of those three games, and the feeling afterwards is terrible, so I would like to erase that.”
Parkhurst accounts for 14 of the Crew's 20 all-time combined MLS Cup Playoff appearances. That experience is both irreplaceable and invaluable. It's something that he plans to try his best to impart on the rest of the squad, many of whom weren't even in the League when this club last played in the postseason back in 2011.
"I hope that I can relay a little bit of what it's like, the memories that you can make and the fun experience that this Playoff run can be if we make it something special. As far as the severity of things, I think all of the guys understand that, so I’ll do what I can.”
Sometimes, in sports, they say you have to learn how to lose before you can learn how to win. Parkhurst certainly knows what that means firsthand. The journey and hard work to merely get to one Final is difficult enough, let alone three. It's shaped a mentality that has helped the defender become the player he is today.
"You take away how difficult it is to win a championship and what goes into it. The work throughout the season, the chemistry of the team, the run you have to get on in the Playoffs, you have to have a little luck here and there. Everything has to come together. We had some really good teams those three years and we probably deserved to win at least one, probably more. It just didn’t happen, so you never want to take it for granted when you get an opportunity like that, because it could be the only chance you get to win a championship. That’s the thing I take most: even though I have been there three times, I still haven’t felt that feeling of winning a championship."
Naturally, a fourth trip to the MLS Cup Final is nowhere near a given for Parkhurst. The Black & Gold aren't taking any round in the Playoffs for granted. Still, one thing's for sure: as one of eight clubs remaining, Parkhurst and the Crew have a chance to be champions come December.
"I have won trophies and accomplished some great things, but I still don’t have that in the trophy case, the MLS Cup. It is something I definitely want to add before my career is done.”
For the chance. For Columbus.
