Clash of titans as D.C. meets Revs
Clubs with best records in MLS meet in showdown
MLSnet.com Staff
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MLS Career: 68 games; FC/gm: 29.8; Y/gm: 3.6; R: 9; pens: 19
Games involving United: P10 W3 L5 T2; FC/gm: 34.3; Y/gm: 4.4; R: 2; pens: 4
Games involving Revolution: P14 W8 L3 T3; FC/gm: 26.4; Y/gm: 4.1; R: 0; pens: 2 INJURY REPORT: D.C. UNITED - OUT: FW Jamil Walker (Achilles rupture); GK Shawn Crowe (meniscus tear); QUESTIONABLE: MF Josh Gros (concussion) ... NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION - OUT: MF Joe Franchino (R peroneal tendon surgery);QUESTIONABLE: DF Kyle Helton (R ankle sprain); PROBABLE: MF Miguel Gonzales (R groin strain); DF Jay Heaps (L calf strain); DF Marshall Leonard (R hamstring strain); FW Pat Noonan (R groin strain); MF Wells Thompson (R ankle sprain); FW Taylor Twellman (flu-like symptoms) SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: DC: Christian Gomez, Bryan Namoff, Greg Vanney ... NE: Jeff Larentowicz, Khano Smith, Wells Thompson
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: DC: Bobby Boswell, Fred, Josh Gros, Jaime Moreno, Ben Olsen ... NE: Andy Dorman, Jay Heaps, Avery John, Shalrie Joseph, James Riley
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (46 meetings): United 23 wins (4 shootout), 68 goals ... Revolution 17 wins (3 shootout), 56 goals ... Draws 6
IN WASHINGTON: (23 meetings): United 14 wins (2 shootout), 44 goals ... Revolution 6 wins (1 shootout), 31 goals ... Draws 3
• This is the third of three league meetings between the clubs this season, the second meeting of the year on East Capitol Street. The teams played to a 1-1 draw in Washington in May, before took a 3-0 win in the lone game in New England a month ago.
• A season ago, the teams evenly split their league series, with each club taking a victory in the two meetings in the nation's capital while playing to a pair of draws in Foxborough.
• It was the first time since 1999 the teams split their season series. Since 2000, United has won the season series three times (2001, '03, '04) and the Revolution three times (2000, '02, '05).
• Of course, the teams also met in the Eastern Conference Championship at RFK Stadium on Nov. 5, the Revolution getting an early goal from Taylor Twellman and hanging on for a 1-0 victory and a return trip to the MLS Cup Final. It was the second time in three seasons the teams had met for the right to play in MLS Cup; in 2004, also at RFK Stadium, United advanced on penalty kicks after a 3-3 draw through 120 minutes.
• The Revolution have won on three of their last six trips to RFK Stadium, including that Eastern Conference title game last year.
• Coaches record: Tom Soehn v NE: P2 W1 L0 D1 ... Steve Nicol vs. DC: P23 W9 L8 D6
2007 (MLS):
5/3: DC 1, NE 1 (Moreno 51 pen - Dorman 46)
8/5: NE 0, DC 3 (Gros 22; Emilio 31, 76)
• D.C. United played with a man advantage for the final half-hour, but couldn't find a go-ahead goal as the teams played to a 1-1 draw on MLS Primetime Thursday on May 3 at RFK Stadium.
• After a quiet first half, the Revolution took the lead barely seconds into the second. Taylor Twellman's first-time effort was parried by a diving Troy Perkins. But the rebound fell to Andy Dorman, who tapped in the opener. But United pulled level just five minutes later. Jaime Moreno was bundled over by a shoulder charge from James Riley in the penalty area and subsequently converted from the spot.
• The game then turned in the 59th minute when Sharlie Joseph clattered into Ben Olsen in the midfield while challenging for the ball, and Vaughn sent him off with a straight red card. The Revolution nearly weathered the entire storm without much danger, until the final seconds of stoppage time, but Olsen had a shot hit the face of the bar and Matt Reis remarkably stopped a flick header from Emilio.
• United came away with a resounding 3-0 win on a trip to Gillette Stadium on Aug. 5. Hard work gave the United their opener. Clyde Simms flighted in a shot from the right, and Matt Reis got down easily to make the save. But he allowed the ball to barely roll away, and before he could reclaim it, Josh Gros stormed in to poke it home.
• Nine minutes later United doubled their lead. Luciano Emilio drifted off his marker's shoulder in the Revolution area and Guy-Roland Kpene sent in a perfect defense-splitting through ball. Emilio latched onto it and slotted home past Reis.
• United put the game away 14 minutes from the end. Emilio was fouled at midfield, grabbed the ball and quickly played to Ben Olsen in the center circle. Olsen sent the return pass behind the New England defense and Emilio raced to get on the end of it, coming in alone on goal before sliding his shot past Reis.
• Here's Nicol's team (3-4-1-2): Matt Reis - Jay Heaps, Michael Parkhurst (Avery John 37), James Riley - Steve Ralston, Jeff Larentowicz (Wells Thompson 72), Shalrie Joseph, Khano Smith - Andy Dorman (Adam Cristman 46) - Taylor Twellman, Pat Noonan. Substitutes Not Used: Bryan Byrne, Gary Flood, Brad Knighton, Marshall Leonard
• Here's Soehn's team (4-3-1-2): Troy Perkins - Bryan Namoff (Domenic Mediate 78), Bobby Boswell, Devon McTavish, Marc Burch - Ben Olsen, Clyde Simms, Joshua Gros - Rod Dyachenko - Luciano Emilio, Guy-Roland Kpene (Jaime Moreno 46) (Brian Carroll 74). Substitutes Not Used: Christian Gomez, Jeff Carroll, Jay Nolly, Greg Vanney D.C. UNITED
D.C. United saw their MLS season-long six-game winning streak come to an end, but still came away with a point against one of the league's hottest teams, playing to a 2-2 draw with Chivas USA on MLS Primetime Thursday at The Home Depot Center. United now have 43 points on the season, most in the league, a point ahead of the New England Revolution for both the best record in the league and in the Eastern Conference.
LAST MATCH
• It was a meeting of the two hottest teams in the league on MLS Primetime Thursday, as United came in with a six-game winning streak, all since the beginning of August, while Chivas USA were winners of three in a row and five of their last six.
• United got off to a dream start. A terrific touch from Christian Gomez found Jaime Moreno, who slid the ball to Luciano Emilio at the top of the area, and he cracked a rising blast into the upper left corner to give United a third-minute lead.
• In the 26th minute, United had doubled the lead and Emilio had doubled his haul. This time Emilio sprung Moreno on the right, who ripped a bounding blast from the corner of the area. Chivas 'keeper Brad Guzan was able to parry the shot, but the rebound fell right to Emilio in the goalmouth and he hooked it high into the goal for his league-leading 16th goal on the season.
• But Chivas got some good fortune to start their fight back six minutes later. Troy Perkins came out of the area to clear a rolling ball - and drove it right into Ante Razov. The ball bounced off Razov's back and past Perkins, trickling back to the goal and over the line just before the United 'keeper could pull it back.
• On the hour, Chivas completed their comeback. A long cross was chased down by Sacha Kljestan on the right, and he cut to goal before laying back a pass for Lawson Vaughn. The defender hit a low shot that took a deflection on its way to goal, leaving Perkins helpless as it found home for his first professional goal.
• United head coach Tom Soehn kept his team the same as the one which defeated FC Dallas 4-0 at Pizza Hut Park the Saturday previous.
• Here's Soehn's team (4-3-1-2): Troy Perkins - Bryan Namoff, Bobby Boswell, Greg Vanney, Marc Burch -Ben Olsen (Domenic Mediate 82), Clyde Simms, Fred - Christian Gomez - Luciano Emilio, Jaime Moreno (Brian Carroll 76). Substitutes Not Used: Nicholas Addlery, Stephen deRoux, Guy-Roland Kpene, Devon McTavish, Jay Nolly
• "We started out well," said Soehn. "We had about 20 minutes of soccer in us and you could see it wasn't the same throughout the rest of the game. They had chances. We'll take it."
TEAM NEWS
• Some people were touting the contest as a potential MLS Cup matchup. "It's too early to say there's a lot of soccer left to be played before we get to that point," Soehn said. "We beat them in our place so right now we won the series. We won one and we tied one. They've come a long way -- they are a good team but we won the series."
• The latest version of United's "Magic Triangle" - now consisting of Jaime Moreno, Luciano Emilio and Christian Gomez - combined for both goals against Chivas. Evocative of the originally named trio of Moreno, Raul Diaz Arce and Marco Etcheverry in the early years of the club, of Emilio's goals, Gomez has assisted on three and Moreno two.
• "Jaime (Moreno) and Christian (Gomez) and I have worked on a lot of give and go plays, and we're always looking for each other," said Emilio. "That's helped me score a lot of goals."
• Said Soehn: "It's more than just Luciano. Luciano is the beneficiary of a lot of good players around him. He creates a lot of opportunities, he is opportunistic. When he gets a chance he finishes it off. You name it -- he's got a lot of supporting cast."
• But United were still left rueing a chance to take the full three points, which they felt started with Razov's fortunate deflection. "We stopped for a little bit. We've got to do a better job in killing off a game; keeping the ball and making them work to find it and be a little smarter with and without the ball," Perkins said.
• Said Bobby Boswell: "If we don't give that goal up, their heads are down going into the locker room. Every goal is important, especially later in the season against better teams. We've got to learn from it and move on."
• In the end, there was nothing to separate the two teams who are perhaps playing the best soccer in the league right now. Perkins saw definite similarities between the squads. "At home, they press really well," he said."They play with a lot of energy and passion at home and that's always tough to play against. It's the same as we are at home."
• United saw their six-game winning streak come to an end - which matched the season-high from a year ago when they also won the Supporters' Shield - but still took a point which pushed them to the top of the MLS overall standings. "They actually brought the game to us pretty well, but you expect that on the road," said Boswell. "We can't get down about it; we got a point on the road, so it's not the end of the world." NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
The New England Revolution won back-to-back games for just the second time since May, a late own goal giving them a 2-1 victory against the New York Red Bulls in their last game, Aug. 25 at Gillette Stadium. The Revolution have 42 points from 23 games, now one point behind D.C. United both in the Eastern Conference race and the battle for the Supporters' Shield.
LAST MATCH
• The Revolution had alternated 3-0 losses with 1-0 victories in their last four games while staying atop the East, while the Red Bulls had allowed seven goals in two games, seeing a two-game winning streak snapped when they started their road trip at midweek with a 3-1 loss to D.C. United.
• Sharlie Joseph was given a glorious opportunity to put the Revolution ahead in the 19th minute when Adam Cristman was pulled back in the box and referee Baldomero Toledo awarded a penalty kick. But Joseph flashed his effort outside of the left-hand post.
• The Red Bulls took advantage of the opening to score the first goal on the half-hour mark. Jozy Altidore took the ball in midfield and played it forward to Juan Pablo Angel, who laid a sublime pass back into Altidore's path as he raced in free behind the New England defense. Then from the top of the area, Altidore flicked a low shot with the outside of his foot past Matt Reis for his eighth goal on the season.
• Yet just seconds after the second-half restart, the Revs pulled level. A long punt from Matt Reis sailed over the Red Bulls back four and Taylor Twellman controlled it with yards of space around him, strolling into the box before slotting home for his 11th goal, third in four games.
• Then a grievous error 10 minutes from the end gave the Revolution the win. Carlos Mendes slid over to claim the ball on the left touchline, some 40 yards from goal, and turned and knocked a long back pass toward his own goal. But goalkeeper Jon Conway misjudged the ball and saw it skip past him inside the far corner.
• Revolution head coach Steve Nicol made two changes to the team that defeated the Kansas City Wizards 1-0 in their previous game. Jay Heaps was forced off at halftime of that game, and James Riley again replaced him in the first XI. But Steve Ralston was again available after a bout with the flu, and he came in for Wells Thompson in a wide midfield role.
• Here's Nicol's team (3-4-1-2): Matt Reis - Avery John, Michael Parkhurst, James Riley - Steve Ralston, Jeff Larentowicz, Shalrie Joseph, Khano Smith (Wells Thompson 60) - Andy Dorman - Taylor Twellman, Adam Cristman. Substitutes Not Used: Gary Flood, Kyle Helton, Amaechi Igwe, Marshall Leonard, Chris Loftus, Doug Warren
• "I am kind of divided to be honest. I think that we made some chances but I don't think we particularly controlled the game -- not that they did either. It was a wee bit scrappy out there, to be fair," Nicol said. "But it is getting to that time of the year where it is points that matter more than anything else and we got three tonight. We would have liked to have been a lot more fluid, but we won and got three points. An unusual way to get it, but we'll take it."
TEAM NEWS
• The Revolution could have found themselves behind by more, but not through a lack of effort, Nicol said.
• "The effort was there. I don't think that we started particularly well. The first 10 minutes we didn't do much. (Matt) Reis made two pretty huge saves tonight," Nicol said. "A few weeks ago, we were talking about the mistake that he made at D.C., and one of the reasons why we don't lambaste him for that is because of what you see tonight, as well. He is going to come up strong for you more times than he is not."
• The Revolution had begun the month of August with their only previous consecutive wins, defeating Kansas City after a win against Real Salt Lake.
• "We knew going in it was going to be tough. That's a lot of games to play and a lot of traveling thrown in there, as well," Parkhurst said. "But we're happy with that eight-game stretch. We had a couple real poor performances that we weren't pleased with, but we seemed to bounce back every time after a bad loss like that. It was good to follow up last weekend's victory with this weekend's victory and go into our break on a high note."
• The Revolution have become known for their late-season charges, and while one won't likely be needed to earn a playoff berth this year, the club would still like to go flying into the postseason. A year ago, the Revolution went unbeaten over their final seven regular season games, winning their last three, on the way to an eventual MLS Cup Final appearance.
• "The way we've been lately is we've had one good game and one horrible game. We want to be able to put together a run of good quality soccer, and I think a couple years ago we did that," Steve Ralston said. "... I think there's been some really bright spots, but also a few too many of those hiccups so far. We have to get more consistent."
• On Tuesday, the Revolution reached the U.S. Open Cup Final for the second time in club history, defeating the USL First Division's Carolina RailHawks 2-1 in extra time in New Britain, Conn.
• Anthony Maher gave Carolina the lead on six minutes with a side-foot finish to the right side of Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis. After Shalrie Joseph and Connolly Edozien saw red after a 42nd-minute confrontation, New England drew level in first-half stoppage time through Jeff Larentowicz. Neither side broke the deadlock in the second half, forcing the match into extra time with New England up a man after David Stokes was dismissed for hauling down Adam Cristman on his way to goal 10 minutes from time. Pat Noonan, who had seen shots go off the post twice on the night, fired the Revolution ahead three minutes into extra time against the nine-man RailHawks to secure the victory.
• Gambian under-20 international Sainey Nyassi made his debut on the evening and made the run that started the move that led to Noonan's goal. Nyassi, along with Abdoulie Mansally, have been added to the Revolution squad. Both were members of the Gambian team in the FIFA U-20 World Cup. "He had a part in the second goal," Nicol said of Nyassi. "He's got some ability. He showed tonight that he's got some talent."
• Here's Nicol's team: Matt Reis, Avery John (Sainey Nyassi 91), Michael Parkhurst, James Riley, Khano Smith, Shalrie Joseph, Jeff Larentowicz, Steve Ralston, Andy Dorman, Adam Cristman, Pat Noonan (Chris Loftus 106). Substitutes Not Used: Doug Warren, Amaechi Igwe, Gary Flood, Kyle Helton, Bryan Byrne
• The Revolution will now head, once again, to Pizza Hut Park, to try and win a first trophy in club history, when they take on FC Dallas in the Open Cup Final on Wed., Oct. 3.
D.C. UNITED v NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
RFK MEMORIAL STADIUM, Washington, D.C.
3 p.m. ET (TeleFutura; CSN-DC; TV38)
Sept. 9, 2007 (WEEK 23) / MLS Game #150
MLS Career: 68 games; FC/gm: 29.8; Y/gm: 3.6; R: 9; pens: 19
Games involving United: P10 W3 L5 T2; FC/gm: 34.3; Y/gm: 4.4; R: 2; pens: 4
Games involving Revolution: P14 W8 L3 T3; FC/gm: 26.4; Y/gm: 4.1; R: 0; pens: 2 INJURY REPORT: D.C. UNITED - OUT: FW Jamil Walker (Achilles rupture); GK Shawn Crowe (meniscus tear); QUESTIONABLE: MF Josh Gros (concussion) ... NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION - OUT: MF Joe Franchino (R peroneal tendon surgery);QUESTIONABLE: DF Kyle Helton (R ankle sprain); PROBABLE: MF Miguel Gonzales (R groin strain); DF Jay Heaps (L calf strain); DF Marshall Leonard (R hamstring strain); FW Pat Noonan (R groin strain); MF Wells Thompson (R ankle sprain); FW Taylor Twellman (flu-like symptoms) SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: DC: Christian Gomez, Bryan Namoff, Greg Vanney ... NE: Jeff Larentowicz, Khano Smith, Wells Thompson
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: DC: Bobby Boswell, Fred, Josh Gros, Jaime Moreno, Ben Olsen ... NE: Andy Dorman, Jay Heaps, Avery John, Shalrie Joseph, James Riley
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (46 meetings): United 23 wins (4 shootout), 68 goals ... Revolution 17 wins (3 shootout), 56 goals ... Draws 6
IN WASHINGTON: (23 meetings): United 14 wins (2 shootout), 44 goals ... Revolution 6 wins (1 shootout), 31 goals ... Draws 3
• This is the third of three league meetings between the clubs this season, the second meeting of the year on East Capitol Street. The teams played to a 1-1 draw in Washington in May, before took a 3-0 win in the lone game in New England a month ago.
• A season ago, the teams evenly split their league series, with each club taking a victory in the two meetings in the nation's capital while playing to a pair of draws in Foxborough.
• It was the first time since 1999 the teams split their season series. Since 2000, United has won the season series three times (2001, '03, '04) and the Revolution three times (2000, '02, '05).
• Of course, the teams also met in the Eastern Conference Championship at RFK Stadium on Nov. 5, the Revolution getting an early goal from Taylor Twellman and hanging on for a 1-0 victory and a return trip to the MLS Cup Final. It was the second time in three seasons the teams had met for the right to play in MLS Cup; in 2004, also at RFK Stadium, United advanced on penalty kicks after a 3-3 draw through 120 minutes.
• The Revolution have won on three of their last six trips to RFK Stadium, including that Eastern Conference title game last year.
• Coaches record: Tom Soehn v NE: P2 W1 L0 D1 ... Steve Nicol vs. DC: P23 W9 L8 D6
2007 (MLS):
5/3: DC 1, NE 1 (Moreno 51 pen - Dorman 46)
8/5: NE 0, DC 3 (Gros 22; Emilio 31, 76)
• D.C. United played with a man advantage for the final half-hour, but couldn't find a go-ahead goal as the teams played to a 1-1 draw on MLS Primetime Thursday on May 3 at RFK Stadium.
• After a quiet first half, the Revolution took the lead barely seconds into the second. Taylor Twellman's first-time effort was parried by a diving Troy Perkins. But the rebound fell to Andy Dorman, who tapped in the opener. But United pulled level just five minutes later. Jaime Moreno was bundled over by a shoulder charge from James Riley in the penalty area and subsequently converted from the spot.
• The game then turned in the 59th minute when Sharlie Joseph clattered into Ben Olsen in the midfield while challenging for the ball, and Vaughn sent him off with a straight red card. The Revolution nearly weathered the entire storm without much danger, until the final seconds of stoppage time, but Olsen had a shot hit the face of the bar and Matt Reis remarkably stopped a flick header from Emilio.
• United came away with a resounding 3-0 win on a trip to Gillette Stadium on Aug. 5. Hard work gave the United their opener. Clyde Simms flighted in a shot from the right, and Matt Reis got down easily to make the save. But he allowed the ball to barely roll away, and before he could reclaim it, Josh Gros stormed in to poke it home.
• Nine minutes later United doubled their lead. Luciano Emilio drifted off his marker's shoulder in the Revolution area and Guy-Roland Kpene sent in a perfect defense-splitting through ball. Emilio latched onto it and slotted home past Reis.
• United put the game away 14 minutes from the end. Emilio was fouled at midfield, grabbed the ball and quickly played to Ben Olsen in the center circle. Olsen sent the return pass behind the New England defense and Emilio raced to get on the end of it, coming in alone on goal before sliding his shot past Reis.
• Here's Nicol's team (3-4-1-2): Matt Reis - Jay Heaps, Michael Parkhurst (Avery John 37), James Riley - Steve Ralston, Jeff Larentowicz (Wells Thompson 72), Shalrie Joseph, Khano Smith - Andy Dorman (Adam Cristman 46) - Taylor Twellman, Pat Noonan. Substitutes Not Used: Bryan Byrne, Gary Flood, Brad Knighton, Marshall Leonard
• Here's Soehn's team (4-3-1-2): Troy Perkins - Bryan Namoff (Domenic Mediate 78), Bobby Boswell, Devon McTavish, Marc Burch - Ben Olsen, Clyde Simms, Joshua Gros - Rod Dyachenko - Luciano Emilio, Guy-Roland Kpene (Jaime Moreno 46) (Brian Carroll 74). Substitutes Not Used: Christian Gomez, Jeff Carroll, Jay Nolly, Greg Vanney D.C. UNITED
D.C. United saw their MLS season-long six-game winning streak come to an end, but still came away with a point against one of the league's hottest teams, playing to a 2-2 draw with Chivas USA on MLS Primetime Thursday at The Home Depot Center. United now have 43 points on the season, most in the league, a point ahead of the New England Revolution for both the best record in the league and in the Eastern Conference.
LAST MATCH
• It was a meeting of the two hottest teams in the league on MLS Primetime Thursday, as United came in with a six-game winning streak, all since the beginning of August, while Chivas USA were winners of three in a row and five of their last six.
• United got off to a dream start. A terrific touch from Christian Gomez found Jaime Moreno, who slid the ball to Luciano Emilio at the top of the area, and he cracked a rising blast into the upper left corner to give United a third-minute lead.
• In the 26th minute, United had doubled the lead and Emilio had doubled his haul. This time Emilio sprung Moreno on the right, who ripped a bounding blast from the corner of the area. Chivas 'keeper Brad Guzan was able to parry the shot, but the rebound fell right to Emilio in the goalmouth and he hooked it high into the goal for his league-leading 16th goal on the season.
• But Chivas got some good fortune to start their fight back six minutes later. Troy Perkins came out of the area to clear a rolling ball - and drove it right into Ante Razov. The ball bounced off Razov's back and past Perkins, trickling back to the goal and over the line just before the United 'keeper could pull it back.
• On the hour, Chivas completed their comeback. A long cross was chased down by Sacha Kljestan on the right, and he cut to goal before laying back a pass for Lawson Vaughn. The defender hit a low shot that took a deflection on its way to goal, leaving Perkins helpless as it found home for his first professional goal.
• United head coach Tom Soehn kept his team the same as the one which defeated FC Dallas 4-0 at Pizza Hut Park the Saturday previous.
• Here's Soehn's team (4-3-1-2): Troy Perkins - Bryan Namoff, Bobby Boswell, Greg Vanney, Marc Burch -Ben Olsen (Domenic Mediate 82), Clyde Simms, Fred - Christian Gomez - Luciano Emilio, Jaime Moreno (Brian Carroll 76). Substitutes Not Used: Nicholas Addlery, Stephen deRoux, Guy-Roland Kpene, Devon McTavish, Jay Nolly
• "We started out well," said Soehn. "We had about 20 minutes of soccer in us and you could see it wasn't the same throughout the rest of the game. They had chances. We'll take it."
TEAM NEWS
• Some people were touting the contest as a potential MLS Cup matchup. "It's too early to say there's a lot of soccer left to be played before we get to that point," Soehn said. "We beat them in our place so right now we won the series. We won one and we tied one. They've come a long way -- they are a good team but we won the series."
• The latest version of United's "Magic Triangle" - now consisting of Jaime Moreno, Luciano Emilio and Christian Gomez - combined for both goals against Chivas. Evocative of the originally named trio of Moreno, Raul Diaz Arce and Marco Etcheverry in the early years of the club, of Emilio's goals, Gomez has assisted on three and Moreno two.
• "Jaime (Moreno) and Christian (Gomez) and I have worked on a lot of give and go plays, and we're always looking for each other," said Emilio. "That's helped me score a lot of goals."
• Said Soehn: "It's more than just Luciano. Luciano is the beneficiary of a lot of good players around him. He creates a lot of opportunities, he is opportunistic. When he gets a chance he finishes it off. You name it -- he's got a lot of supporting cast."
• But United were still left rueing a chance to take the full three points, which they felt started with Razov's fortunate deflection. "We stopped for a little bit. We've got to do a better job in killing off a game; keeping the ball and making them work to find it and be a little smarter with and without the ball," Perkins said.
• Said Bobby Boswell: "If we don't give that goal up, their heads are down going into the locker room. Every goal is important, especially later in the season against better teams. We've got to learn from it and move on."
• In the end, there was nothing to separate the two teams who are perhaps playing the best soccer in the league right now. Perkins saw definite similarities between the squads. "At home, they press really well," he said."They play with a lot of energy and passion at home and that's always tough to play against. It's the same as we are at home."
• United saw their six-game winning streak come to an end - which matched the season-high from a year ago when they also won the Supporters' Shield - but still took a point which pushed them to the top of the MLS overall standings. "They actually brought the game to us pretty well, but you expect that on the road," said Boswell. "We can't get down about it; we got a point on the road, so it's not the end of the world." NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
The New England Revolution won back-to-back games for just the second time since May, a late own goal giving them a 2-1 victory against the New York Red Bulls in their last game, Aug. 25 at Gillette Stadium. The Revolution have 42 points from 23 games, now one point behind D.C. United both in the Eastern Conference race and the battle for the Supporters' Shield.
LAST MATCH
• The Revolution had alternated 3-0 losses with 1-0 victories in their last four games while staying atop the East, while the Red Bulls had allowed seven goals in two games, seeing a two-game winning streak snapped when they started their road trip at midweek with a 3-1 loss to D.C. United.
• Sharlie Joseph was given a glorious opportunity to put the Revolution ahead in the 19th minute when Adam Cristman was pulled back in the box and referee Baldomero Toledo awarded a penalty kick. But Joseph flashed his effort outside of the left-hand post.
• The Red Bulls took advantage of the opening to score the first goal on the half-hour mark. Jozy Altidore took the ball in midfield and played it forward to Juan Pablo Angel, who laid a sublime pass back into Altidore's path as he raced in free behind the New England defense. Then from the top of the area, Altidore flicked a low shot with the outside of his foot past Matt Reis for his eighth goal on the season.
• Yet just seconds after the second-half restart, the Revs pulled level. A long punt from Matt Reis sailed over the Red Bulls back four and Taylor Twellman controlled it with yards of space around him, strolling into the box before slotting home for his 11th goal, third in four games.
• Then a grievous error 10 minutes from the end gave the Revolution the win. Carlos Mendes slid over to claim the ball on the left touchline, some 40 yards from goal, and turned and knocked a long back pass toward his own goal. But goalkeeper Jon Conway misjudged the ball and saw it skip past him inside the far corner.
• Revolution head coach Steve Nicol made two changes to the team that defeated the Kansas City Wizards 1-0 in their previous game. Jay Heaps was forced off at halftime of that game, and James Riley again replaced him in the first XI. But Steve Ralston was again available after a bout with the flu, and he came in for Wells Thompson in a wide midfield role.
• Here's Nicol's team (3-4-1-2): Matt Reis - Avery John, Michael Parkhurst, James Riley - Steve Ralston, Jeff Larentowicz, Shalrie Joseph, Khano Smith (Wells Thompson 60) - Andy Dorman - Taylor Twellman, Adam Cristman. Substitutes Not Used: Gary Flood, Kyle Helton, Amaechi Igwe, Marshall Leonard, Chris Loftus, Doug Warren
• "I am kind of divided to be honest. I think that we made some chances but I don't think we particularly controlled the game -- not that they did either. It was a wee bit scrappy out there, to be fair," Nicol said. "But it is getting to that time of the year where it is points that matter more than anything else and we got three tonight. We would have liked to have been a lot more fluid, but we won and got three points. An unusual way to get it, but we'll take it."
TEAM NEWS
• The Revolution could have found themselves behind by more, but not through a lack of effort, Nicol said.
• "The effort was there. I don't think that we started particularly well. The first 10 minutes we didn't do much. (Matt) Reis made two pretty huge saves tonight," Nicol said. "A few weeks ago, we were talking about the mistake that he made at D.C., and one of the reasons why we don't lambaste him for that is because of what you see tonight, as well. He is going to come up strong for you more times than he is not."
• The Revolution had begun the month of August with their only previous consecutive wins, defeating Kansas City after a win against Real Salt Lake.
• "We knew going in it was going to be tough. That's a lot of games to play and a lot of traveling thrown in there, as well," Parkhurst said. "But we're happy with that eight-game stretch. We had a couple real poor performances that we weren't pleased with, but we seemed to bounce back every time after a bad loss like that. It was good to follow up last weekend's victory with this weekend's victory and go into our break on a high note."
• The Revolution have become known for their late-season charges, and while one won't likely be needed to earn a playoff berth this year, the club would still like to go flying into the postseason. A year ago, the Revolution went unbeaten over their final seven regular season games, winning their last three, on the way to an eventual MLS Cup Final appearance.
• "The way we've been lately is we've had one good game and one horrible game. We want to be able to put together a run of good quality soccer, and I think a couple years ago we did that," Steve Ralston said. "... I think there's been some really bright spots, but also a few too many of those hiccups so far. We have to get more consistent."
• On Tuesday, the Revolution reached the U.S. Open Cup Final for the second time in club history, defeating the USL First Division's Carolina RailHawks 2-1 in extra time in New Britain, Conn.
• Anthony Maher gave Carolina the lead on six minutes with a side-foot finish to the right side of Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis. After Shalrie Joseph and Connolly Edozien saw red after a 42nd-minute confrontation, New England drew level in first-half stoppage time through Jeff Larentowicz. Neither side broke the deadlock in the second half, forcing the match into extra time with New England up a man after David Stokes was dismissed for hauling down Adam Cristman on his way to goal 10 minutes from time. Pat Noonan, who had seen shots go off the post twice on the night, fired the Revolution ahead three minutes into extra time against the nine-man RailHawks to secure the victory.
• Gambian under-20 international Sainey Nyassi made his debut on the evening and made the run that started the move that led to Noonan's goal. Nyassi, along with Abdoulie Mansally, have been added to the Revolution squad. Both were members of the Gambian team in the FIFA U-20 World Cup. "He had a part in the second goal," Nicol said of Nyassi. "He's got some ability. He showed tonight that he's got some talent."
• Here's Nicol's team: Matt Reis, Avery John (Sainey Nyassi 91), Michael Parkhurst, James Riley, Khano Smith, Shalrie Joseph, Jeff Larentowicz, Steve Ralston, Andy Dorman, Adam Cristman, Pat Noonan (Chris Loftus 106). Substitutes Not Used: Doug Warren, Amaechi Igwe, Gary Flood, Kyle Helton, Bryan Byrne
• The Revolution will now head, once again, to Pizza Hut Park, to try and win a first trophy in club history, when they take on FC Dallas in the Open Cup Final on Wed., Oct. 3.
