FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - In a game of two distinct halves, Chivas USA was bailed out in the second half by their stand-in goalkeeper.
Preston Burpo made eight saves on the evening, most of them in the second stanza, to help his team come away from Gillette Stadium with a 1-1 draw against the New England Revolution.
"It felt good tonight," Burpo said.
Burpo denied Revs substitute Taylor Twellman twice inside of three minutes in the second half. The first stop in the 59th minute was highlight reel quality, as Burpo dove to his right to deny a Twellman header that was postmarked for the right corner of the goal. Burpo then denied Twellman with his chest two minutes later.
Burpo then preserved the tie in the 83rd minute as he kept a Pat Noonan header out of the goal by saving it and then dumping it out of harm's way as he fell over the goal line.
The stand-in goalkeeper deflected praise from his match-saving performance.
"I was a little bit lucky," Burpo said. "I had some decent positioning on those shots."
His opponents were more laudatory, as Twellman declared that Burpo "kind of stole the game from us" and said that he did well to keep out those efforts.
"Even if he was in the wrong position, he was in the right position," Twellman said. "You have to give him credit. He was in the right spot six really good times."
Revs midfielder Andy Dorman felt that Burpo was the main reason Chivas USA managed to hold off the second half surge.
"Their 'keeper just made some unbelievable saves," Dorman said. "Give credit to him; he pretty much kept them in the game in the second half."
Chivas USA head coach Preki felt his goalkeeper just did his job.
"Preston played a pretty good game," Preki said. "He was sharp."
But Preki was left to lament a game that could have been settled inside the first 10 minutes of the contest as Chivas USA started out the better of the two sides and had three clear-cut chances to get on the board.
Claudio Suarez converted the first after his header from an Alex Zotinca corner kick found the net after five minutes.
But Ante Razov missed a header from six yards a few minutes later and was denied by Reis in the ninth minute after he directed another Galindo feed towards goal.
"We came out, played a good 15 minutes, and create some chances," Preki said. "We couldn't put them away."
As dominant as New England was in the second half, Chivas USA carved out one chance before Dorman equalized in the 64th minute from a Steve Ralston corner kick.
Substitute Laurent Merlin, supplied by the active Galindo, skied a chance over the bar from six yards in the 60th minute.
"We were up 1-0 and we had another chance in the second half, but we couldn't convert," Preki said. "If he puts that in, who knows."
Preki gave credit to his team as they managed to persevere despite the absences of three players to Copa America and a withering second-half performance from the home side.
"Give [the Revolution] credit," Preki said. "They are a very good team. The result builds confidence for the guys here."
The draw capped a hectic stretch for Chivas USA, as the team played Wednesday in Dallas before heading out to the Boston area for Saturday's contest.
After a 2-0 reverse at Pizza Hut Park on Independence Day, Burpo felt that it was critical that his side come into Gillette Stadium and get a point.
"We played two games in four days," Burpo said. "It was important that we got a point out of this game."
Preki concurred with his goalkeeper and suggested that the matches were similar, although Saturday's contest had a better result for the Red-and-White.
"It's important," Preki said. "In some respects, today was the same as in Dallas. We had some chances in the first half down there and we didn't put them away. Tonight, we put one away."
And with point in hand, Chivas USA can return to The Home Depot Center knowing that reinforcements in the shape of starting goalkeeper Brad Guzan, midfielder Sasha Kljestan, and defender Jonathan Bornstein are waiting to bolster the side.
Burpo knows that despite his man of the match performance, he'll be back on the sidelines when Chivas take on Columbus next weekend.
"I was happy to play," Burpo said. "Guzan played the first 10 games, and I played the last three games. Brad will be back in the nets next Saturday. That's the way things are set up here. I'm glad to come in and help when I can."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
