Bermuda striker Khano Smith was the toast of New England on Saturday as he smashed home the goal which sent his Revolution side through to the Eastern Conference Championship of the Major League Soccer play-offs.

Smith?s strike, just seven minutes from time, gave New England a 3-1 victory over the MetroStars in their second leg match and a 3-2 triumph on aggregate after the MetroStars had won the first leg 1-0 a week earlier.

Jose Cancela had equalised and Patrick Noonan had put the Revolution out in front before the former Dandy Town frontman netted the all-important goal which takes his side into a championship match against Chicago Fire who last night blasted DC United 4-0.

The MetroStars had taken a 1-0 lead when Youri Djorkaeff scored in the 59th minute but Cancela tied it up in the 68th minute, Noonan scored in the 73rd and then Smith sparked celebrations with his decider in the 83rd.

In bitterly cold conditions, with snow on the ground, the lanky Smith set Gillette Stadium alight when he chased down a perfect through-ball from team-mate Clint Dempsey and ran some 40 yards before lashing the ball home.

?My first touch was good enough to set up the shot with my left foot,? said Smith, who hyperextended his left knee near the end of the game, but said it wasn?t as bad as he thought after the match. ?I was just fortunate it found a spot in the goal.?

?He just hammered the ball,? Revolution midfielder Steve Ralston told the MLS website.

?(Khano) was getting behind their defence quite a bit,? added Ralston. ?I don?t think they realised how fast he was.?

Revolution head coach Steve Nicol said: ?When Khano opens his legs like that and starts running, there?s not many people that can stay with him.?

According to the website report, Smith?s speed turned the game on its head after the Revolution had gone two goals down on aggregate.

Forced to play deeper than usual earlier in the game, Smith was pushed forward in the second half. Several of the balls he sent into the box failed to connect with either striker Taylor Twellman or Noonan, but Smith?s speed started to become a factor as the Revolution tried to get more width in their attack.

?In the first half, you just couldn?t do anything with the ball,? said defender Jay Heaps. ?You could just see the ball sticking to the snow. Once the second half began, though, we knew we could open it up a bit.?

Had the heaters below the Gillette Stadium surface not been turned on, Smith?s goal might not have been possible as Dempsey?s ball from midfield would likely have been held up. But with the field much more playable towards the end of the match, the pass fell straight into the 24-year-old striker?s path.

Said Heaps: ?I?ve seen him use those long strides in practice and how he can beat people on the run. It was just a question of the finish. I was standing at midfield and I knew from how it went off his foot that it was good.?

Smith?s goal not only sent the Revs to the final four in the MLS Cup play-offs for the fourth consecutive time, but it also kept alive the lengthy winless streak that the MetroStars have in Foxborough. It now spans a total of nine games and stretches back to the beginning of the Nicol era ? June 29, 2002

Smith admitted he wasn?t used to playing in the snow, although he had played in similar conditions when with Lees-Rae College.

?I remember playing in this stuff against Limestone College,? he said. ?It was in the quarter-finals of a tournament late in the fall. So I?ve seen snow and know what it?s like to have to play in it.

?But I?m not used to it, that?s for sure.?

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Galaxy and Colorado Rapids advanced to the Western Conference championship. Los Angeles drew with the San Jose Earthquakes 1-1 to win 4-2 overall while Colorado won the first shoot-out in MLS play-off history, beating FC Dallas 5-4 on penalties after their match had ended all even at 2-2 after extra time and on aggregate.

Shaun Goater?s Southend United went two points clear at the top of England?s League One on Saturday with a 3-0 victory at Goater?s former club, Bristol City.

Freddy Eastwood hit a hat-trick for the high-flying Shrimpers with Goater playing the role of provider for his strike partner?s second goal.