who hold the MLS record -- saw their four-game run halted in dramatic fashion as expansion Real Salt Lake came from behind to record a 2-1 victory.
FC Dallas pulled back into a tie atop the Western Conference with an injury-filled scoreless draw against the San Jose Earthquakes, while a 10-man Colorado Rapids tightened things up in the division with a late 2-1 victory against Chivas USA. The MetroStars and the Kansas City Wizards each posted heavy road victories against Eastern Conference rivals: the Metros winning 3-0 against the Chicago Fire, the Wizards beating the Columbus Crew 4-0.
At Gillette Stadium, both teams struggled to create coherent chances, and it was a Taylor Twellman goal just before the hour that was the difference. But the Revolution defense held firm, extending the club's shutout streak to 368 minutes -- their last goal allowed coming in the last meeting against United, a wild 4-3 New England win on April 23.
Pat Noonan created the goal, turning Mike Petke inside-out with a mazy run on the right before sliding a pass to Twellman in the heart of the area. His first shot was blocked by Nick Rimando, but he was quickest to the rebound to poke it home for his fourth goal on the season.
At Rice-Eccles Stadium, Real Salt Lake won for the second time in club history with an impressive come-from-behind effort -- backstopped by goalkeeper Jay Nolly, making his professional debut.
Jovan Kirovski put the Galaxy in front after 39 minutes, tapping home from close range after Chris Albright's cross from the right wasn't dealt with and then helped on by Peter Vagenas -- who minutes earlier had a shocking miss in front of an empty goal.
But after the break, Real pulled level when Eddie Pope came driving into the box to poke home a chest-high deflection of a corner kick (49), then in the 65th minute, a perfectly-weighted ball from Clint Mathis from his own end over the Galaxy defense found Jason Kreis, and his lovely side-foot volley on the run chipped Kevin Hartman to put Real in front with his 95th career goal.
At Spartan Stadium, the Earthquakes and FC Dallas battled to a scoreless draw in a match that was filled with injury substitutions. The home side saw center back Troy Dayak, forward Brian Ching and midfielder Brian Mullan all forced to leave through injury, while FC Dallas had influential midfielder Richard Mulrooney and left back David Wagenfuhr also injured over the course of the match.
Quality chances were few and far between, but FC Dallas goalkeeper Scott Garlick was called upon more times to make a couple of fine saves in short order midway through the second half.
In Denver, super-sub Jeff Cunningham again came to the rescue of the Rapids after the home side was reduced to 10 men. Chris Henderson gave the Rapids the lead in the 31st minute when he converted from the penalty spot after defender Alfonso Loera was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area.
But another Chivas USA center back, Ryan Suarez, pulled the expansion club level with a truly stunning strike, stepping forward to collect a square pass before hitting a swerving shot from all of 25 yards that sailed past Joe Cannon into the upper left-hand corner (66).
Rapids right back Hunter Freeman was sent off in the 73rd minute for a harsh tackle on Francisco Mendoza, but just five minutes later Cunningham hit for his fourth goal of the campaign -- all after coming on as a sub -- when he neatly finished off a Jean Philippe Peguero pass that left him alone in the area.
Chivas USA then apparently equalized in the dying moments in a bizarre sequence. The Rapids had kicked the ball out to allow a Chivas USA injury to be attended to, and then after Chivas USA threw the ball back to Cannon, Chivas forward Isaac Romo slipped in to intercept and fired the ball into the empty net. But referee Ricardo Valenzuela disallowed the goal for ungentlemanly conduct.
At Soldier Field, the MetroStars continued to turn the formbook upside-down, winning for the second time in two matches on the road while still winless at home.
Amado Guevara took advantage of a dreadful error to put the MetroStars ahead (23), latching onto a pass behind a Chicago defender in his own area and driving a shot past a stranded Zach Thornton that he nearly saved.
Eddie Gaven then scored twice on either side of halftime. He doubled the Metros lead just before the break, latching onto a wonderfully-struck long ball from Youri Djorkaeff behind nutmegging Thornton from close range (45).
Then in the 62nd minute, after Guevara was sprung in midfield to set off on a long run at goal, the Honduran international threaded a pass to the streaking Gaven who fired home to give MetroStars coach Bob Bradley just his second-ever win against his former club.
At Crew Stadium, the Wizards hit for a three-goal blitz in nine minutes early in the match to cruise to victory.
Alex Zotinca put the visitors ahead after 17 minutes, after Chris Klein had gotten to the endline and pulled back a low cross that the Romanian hammered off the inside of the post. Then Josh Wolff doubled the lead six minutes later, sent through by Davy Arnaud before hitting a shot high under the bar on the run.
Arnaud made it three in the 26th minute, this time Wolff playing provider, sending a low cross that his strike partner turned home from the heart of the goal area. Wolff capped the scoreline three minutes from full time, nearly losing the ball on a breakaway after rounding Busch but still able to recover and turn the ball home from an acute angle that deflected home off a Crew defender.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
