and the loss of defender Brian Kamler, also to a hamstring injury -- forced Revolution boss Steve Nicol to rearrange his first team.
Clint Dempsey moved from his usual defensive midfield role to the front line to replace Twellman, and Joey Franchino moved from the left flank to a holding midfield role, Dempsey's former slot. Steve Ralston switched flanks as Felix Brillant got his first MLS start on the right, and Trinidad and Tobago international Avery John replaced Kamler at the center of the Revs' back three.
The first half was a midfield tussle, as both sides struggled to gain an advantage. But on their first -- and only -- shot on goal of the first half, the Revs struck. In the 16th minute, a second cross from Ralston on the left found Noonan in the box, and he headed home with ease from 10 yards out.
The Wizards tried to respond, but save for a tame Josh Wolff header that was easily stopped by Revolution 'keeper Matt Reis, they did little to threaten until exploding for two goals in four minutes.
The home side first got the equalizer from Wolff in the 33rd minute, but not through a fantastic strike. Chris Klein knocked down a Jose Burciaga pass from the flank into Wolff's path, who nearly whiffed on his shot, but got just enough it to wrong-foot Reis and send it dribbling inside the post.
Another defensive blunder gave the Wizards the lead four minutes later, with Arnaud the beneficiary. Wolff played a long ball from the halfway line, and Jay Heaps, ahead of Arnaud, tapped the ball back for Reis. But the Wizards striker was quicker to the ball than Reis, and he chipped it over the 'keeper and into the net.
Neither team did much to threaten the goal in the early stages of the second half, and only Meola was called upon, making easy saves on Noonan and Jose Cancela while spending more time picking off errant crosses.
As the game entered its final 10 minutes, the Wizards started to play keep away and shut down the match. For several minutes, the Wizards stonewalled the Revolution -- until a wild goal line free-for-all in the 86th minute saw the Revs finally push across their second goal.
Joseph, Ralston and Dempsey all had cracks at the ball, and Wizards 'keeper Tony Meola, with help from defender Nick Garcia, deflected each attempt before Noonan got to a loose ball 10 yards from goal and knocked it home.
Noonan wasn't done yet, and as the clock ticked over 90 minutes, he finished his hat trick and gave the Wizards their first home loss of the year. Joseph sent a cross along the top of the box, and Noonan's blast made the net ripple, sending the visitors' bench into celebrations and the home bench into shock.
The Wizards (3-4-2) now travel to Los Angeles to take on the Galaxy on Saturday (10 p.m. ET), and Bob Gansler's men have struggled mightily on the road, without a victory or a goal in three away matches. The Revolution (2-4-3) head back home to host the Columbus Crew on Sunday (4 p.m. ET).
MLSNet.com Man of the Match: Pat Noonan
New England Revolution (2-4-3) vs. Kansas City Wizards (3-4-2)
June 02, 2004 -- Arrowhead Stadium
Scoring Summary:
NE -- Pat Noonan 3 (Steve Ralston 2) 16
KC -- Josh Wolff 3 (Chris Klein 1, Jose Burciaga Jr. 1) 33
KC -- Davy Arnaud 3 (unassisted) 37
NE -- Pat Noonan 4 (unassisted) 86
NE -- Pat Noonan 5 (Shalrie Joseph 1, Jose Cancela 2) 90
New England Revolution -- Matt Reis, Jay Heaps, Avery John, Shalrie Joseph, Marshall Leonard, Steve Ralston, Felix Brillant (Richie Baker 76), Jose Cancela, Joe Franchino, Clint Dempsey, Pat Noonan.
Substitutes Not Used: Adin Brown, Andy Dorman, Daouda Kante, Luke Vercollone.
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Pat Noonan 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Pat Noonan 4); FOULS: 16 (Clint Dempsey 4, Marshall Leonard 4); OFFSIDES: 2 (Joe Franchino 1, Pat Noonan 1); CORNER KICKS: 5 (Jose Cancela 5); SAVES: 3 (Matt Reis 3)
Kansas City Wizards -- Tony Meola, Nick Garcia, Jimmy Conrad, Shavar Thomas, Diego Gutierrez, Chris Klein, Jose Burciaga Jr. (Matt Taylor 89), Kerry Zavagnin, Diego Walsh (Jack Jewsbury 78), Davy Arnaud, Josh Wolff.
Substitutes Not Used: Justin Detter, Francisco Gomez, Taylor Graham, Bo Oshoniyi, Vuk Rasovic, Khari Stephenson, Alex Zotinca.
TOTAL SHOTS: 21 (Davy Arnaud 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Josh Wolff 3); FOULS: 16 (Josh Wolff 4); OFFSIDES: 4 (Davy Arnaud 3); CORNER KICKS: 5 (Chris Klein 3); SAVES: 4 (Tony Meola 4)
Misconduct Summary:
NE -- Avery John (caution; Reckless Foul) 28
NE -- Pat Noonan (caution; Pushing, Holding) 48
KC -- Kerry Zavagnin (caution; Tackle from Behind) 61
NE -- Jay Heaps (caution; Reckless Foul) 71
NE -- Marshall Leonard (caution; Dissent) 87
KC -- Nick Garcia (caution; Reckless Foul) 88
Referee: Ramon Hernandez
Referee's Assistants: Emiliano Monje; Bill Dittmar
4th Official: Roni Canales
Attendance: 8,014
Time of Game: 1:49
Weather: Clear-and-73-degrees
All Statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial.
