The New England Revolution are headed to a second consecutive MLS Cup after a stout defensive effort saw them ride Taylor Twellman's fourth-minute goal all the way to victory Sunday at RFK Stadium against D.C. United.
Twellman turned home a bouncing cross from Pat Noonan in the United box to give the Revs the early lead, and thanks to wasteful United finishing, as well as a total team effort in defense, Steve Nicol's side won the right to represent the Eastern Conference next week.
Nicol had sprung a surprise before the game began by recalling James Riley at the expense of Steve Ralston, who had been struggling with a calf injury. Riley, who was making his first start since Sept. 23, lined up in central defense alongside Michael Parkhurst in a 4-4-2 formation, an alteration from the Revs' familiar 3-5-2 alignment. Also returning was Shalrie Joseph, who replaced Jeff Larentowicz, while Pat Noonan made his first start since Sept. 9.
The Revolution got off to a dream start. Having controlled Jay Heaps' long pass forward, Noonan found space on the right wing to play a cross into the middle. The centering pass appeared to catch Brian Namoff off-balance, and as the D.C. defender struggled to recover, Twellman lashed a half-volley on the turn into the top right corner from 12 yards.
D.C. answered the New England goal with sustained pressure on the visitor's goal as the new-look Revolution defense struggled to deal with the home side's attacking threat. Matt Reis saved from Freddy Adu in the 10th minute and then went down smartly to his right to push a low drive from Christian Gomez around the post three minutes later. From the resulting corner, a shot from Ben Olsen was scrambled behind.
The onslaught on the Revs' net continued in the 16th minute when Adu stole a yard on Avery John on the right and fired in a cross that Moreno met at the near post ahead of Riley, only to snap a shot wide from eight yards. Four minutes later, a Bobby Boswell header bounced off the crossbar to Facundo Erpen, whose dangerous cross was held by Reis.
Moreno had another golden chance in the 21st minute. The Bolivian made a run from midfield and found space between the Revolution center backs to latch onto Namoff's forward pass. However, as Reis helplessly watched, Moreno's low shot across goal from the edge of the penalty area scraped past the far post by inches. Seconds later, Alecko Eskandarian was denied by Reis.
In the 30th minute, seconds after Parkhurst's block had denied Moreno, the Revs were able to push forward and almost doubled their lead on the counter-attack. Dorman did well to win possession on the edge of the D.C. box and touch a pass to Joe Franchino, whose left-footed shot flashed across Troy Perkins' goal and just wide of the far post.
Two minutes later, Dorman broke through and was denied by a fine sliding tackle by Namoff. The ball fell to Riley, whose crossfield pass picked out the unmarked Twellman at the far post. However, in contrast to his earlier first-time effort, he this time sliced his volleyed attempt over when he had time to take a touch before shooting.
The surging D.C. attacks had prompted Nicol to adjust his formation back to 3-5-2 midway through the first half, as Riley moved to the right flank and Heaps joined Parkhurst and John in the center. Andy Dorman moved inside off the right flank alongside Joseph and was joined three minutes before halftime by Jeff Larentowicz, who replaced Daniel Hernandez who limped off with an apparent ankle injury.
As the Revs looked to get organized following the switch, D.C. almost drew level again in the 44th minute. The charging Moreno was fouled by Joseph, who had his heart in his mouth for a moment before Kevin Stott correctly awarded a free kick on the edge of the penalty area.
Gomez's effort was harmless but there was still time before the break for Olsen to waste a golden chance from Adu. He ran onto a pass inside of John, but the veteran midfielder hit his attempt softly at Reis.
The opening to the second half saw United continue to control possession and territory but at a slower pace, as New England looked more at ease with more men in midfield as they forced D.C. to play more in front of them. Shots from distance remained a danger, however, and Adu forced Reis into a diving save in the 48th minute.
Larentowicz was given the task of shadowing Gomez and, after the substitute was reprieved by the sliding Reis at the feet of the MVP candidate in the 52nd minute, Larentowicz did well on the hour to step in front of the Argentinean and clear a Moreno cross.
Both coaches made substitutions within two minutes of each other at the midway point of the second period. First, Peter Nowak replaced Adu with Matias Donnet, who took up a position on the right of midfield. To counter those fresh legs, Nicol introduced Khano Smith for Franchino and the Bermudan almost made an immediate impact when he flashed a half-volleyed effort just over after receiving a layoff from Noonan on the edge of the box.
In the 76th minute, the Revolution looked to have a legitimate appeal for a penalty turned down. From Dorman's header forward, the ball was touched by Namoff before appearing to bounce up and strike the defender's hand. While referee Kevin Stott was waving away the demands for a spot kick from the Revs players and bench, D.C. looked to counter and Olsen was unfortunate to see his clever flicked header from Gomez's lofted pass pulled down from above his head by Reis.
D.C. continued to push forward but, as the seconds ticked away, the hosts began to look like a beaten team while the Revolution, aware that a return trip to Texas was getting closer and closer, seemed to find a second wind. In the 85th minute, Parkhurst and John combined to block a shot by substitute Rod Dyachenko, and then the Trinidadian was in the right spot again four minutes later to head clear after Reis missed a Donnet cross.
In stoppage time, Reis got his angles right to slide in ahead of Olsen to smother a Josh Gros cross and the Revs goalkeeper thwarted the last opportunity for D.C. when he dived to punch clear a dangerous ball on the edge of the six-yard box.
Andrew Hush is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
