the Wizards committed half a dozen fouls before ten minutes had elapsed -- but there was little in the way of threatening attacking play as the visitors showed their defense-first policy.
The Revolution have been racked with injuries in recent weeks, and their woes continued on the half-hour mark when Brian Kamler had to be substituted after aggravating his left hamstring strain. Kamler's replacement, Richie Baker, got into the action on the right side of the field as Felix Brillant moved from the right to the front and Clint Dempsey took over Kamler's defensive midfield place.
The Wizards, similarly, had few promising chances. But Arnaud, filling the role of the main Kansas City scoring threat and partnered by usual winger Chris Klein, made those chances count. In the 34th minute, Arnaud fired a shot from the left side of the box that Revolution 'keeper Adin Brown did well to punch away.
Four minutes before the half, Arnaud opened the scoring by putting home the rebound of a shot from Wizards midfielder Francisco Gomez. Brown, making his first start in more than a month, had difficult dealing with the spin of Gomez' shot, and Arnaud pounced to jab the rebound into the net from six yards out.
The Revs opened the second half by trying to push the pace, and just three minutes in they had appeared to even the score as forward Pat Noonan slid in to nudge a Brillant shot over the line, only for the marker to be ruled out for offside. Three minutes later, the Revs were denied yet again as Noonan's shot from 18 yards banged off the post.
After withstanding the Revolution's surge in the early part of the second half, the Wizards doubled their lead in the 70th minute as Taylor got his first MLS goal. Arnaud, after carrying the ball up the right, played a square ball across the face of the goal where Taylor was on hand to poke it in.
Just four minutes later the Revs responded through rookie midfielder Dempsey, who netted his third goal of the season by driving home a Baker cross with an acrobatic diving header.
Chasing a reversal of their recent fortunes, the Revolution threw everything forward in the final quarter-hour only to find a massed penalty area filled with Kansas City defenders. With so many men forward, the Revolution's back line was made vulnerable, and Taylor broke through in the 93rd minute to score his second of the game, finishing off a long solo run with a clinical strike from just inside the penalty area.
Next Saturday, the Wizards conclude their five-game road trip when they meet the San Jose Earthquakes at Spartan Stadium (10 p.m. ET; HDNet). The Revolution remain at home when they take on the MetroStars at 7:30 p.m. ET.
MLSNet.com Man of the Match: Davy Arnaud
Kansas City Wizards (6-4-3) vs. New England Revolution (2-7-3)
June 19, 2004 -- Gillette Stadium
Scoring Summary:
KC -- Davy Arnaud 4 (unassisted) 41
KC -- Matt Taylor 1 (Davy Arnaud 2) 70
NE -- Clint Dempsey 3 (Richie Baker 1) 74
KC -- Matt Taylor 2 (unassisted) 93+
Kansas City Wizards -- Tony Meola, Nick Garcia, Jimmy Conrad, Shavar Thomas, Alex Zotinca, Francisco Gomez, Diego Gutierrez, Chris Klein, Jose Burciaga Jr., Diego Walsh (Matt Taylor 63) (Khari Stephenson 94+), Davy Arnaud.
Substitutes Not Used: Jack Jewsbury, Bo Oshoniyi, Vuk Rasovic.
TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (3 tied with 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 8 (3 tied with 2); FOULS: 17 (Davy Arnaud 4, Francisco Gomez 4); OFFSIDES: 3 (Chris Klein 2); CORNER KICKS: 2 (Chris Klein 2); SAVES: 7 (Tony Meola 7)
New England Revolution -- Adin Brown, Jay Heaps, Avery John, Marshall Leonard, Brian Kamler (Richie Baker 30), Steve Ralston, Jose Cancela, Andy Dorman, Pat Noonan, Felix Brillant, Clint Dempsey.
Substitutes Not Used: Daouda Kante, Matt Reis, Luke Vercollone.
TOTAL SHOTS: 14 (Clint Dempsey 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 8 (3 tied with 2); FOULS: 17 (3 tied with 3); OFFSIDES: 1 (Pat Noonan 1); CORNER KICKS: 7 (Jose Cancela 5); SAVES: 5 (Adin Brown 5)
Misconduct Summary:
KC -- Alex Zotinca (caution; Reckless Foul) 53
KC -- Diego Gutierrez (caution; Dissent) 66
NE -- Marshall Leonard (caution; Reckless Foul) 81
Referee: Michael Kennedy
Referee's Assistants: -George Vergara; Bahij Salman
4th Official: Erich Simmons
Attendance: 10,038
Time of Game: 1:50
Weather: Sunny-and-79-degrees
All Statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial.
