but had scored just four -- with three losses and a draw in their six games. The Revolution were riding a six-game unbeaten streak after losing to Chicago to open the season, winners of two in a row.
• It didn't take long for the Revolution to open the scoring. A rolling cross from the right hit the heel of a defender and rolled back away from goal, where Shalrie Joseph came storming in to hammer home a low drive from outside the box in the ninth minute.
• Dynamo carried the match in the second half, but couldn't find a way past Matt Reis. The best of his four saves came midway through the half, when a Ricardo Clark close-range chip was blocked, then the Revolution 'keeper was able to acrobatically snatch the rebound effort out of midair.
• While both sides downplayed any significance to last year's final, won by Dynamo on penalty kicks, the Revolution held on over the final minutes to gain at least a small measure of revenge, yet still win for the third time on the road in extending the season's longest unbeaten run.
• Revolution head coach Steve Nicol made no changes to the team that came back to snatch a 3-2 victory against the Los Angeles Galaxy the previous Saturday at The Home Depot Center.
• Here's Nicol's team (3-4-1-2): Matt Reis - Jay Heaps, Michael Parkhurst, James Riley - Steve Ralston, Jeff Larentowicz, Shalrie Joseph (Joe Franchino 60), Khano Smith - Andy Dorman (Wells Thompson 46) - Taylor Twellman, Adam Cristman (Pat Noonan 76). Substitutes Not Used: Bryan Byrne, Avery John, Marshall Leonard, Doug Warren
• "It was absolutely a case of winning ugly. I think you saw the other side of our team tonight. We didn't pass the ball, we didn't possess it well at all. But when it gets hard, we'll dig in and fight. We'd certainly love to be able to play great soccer all of the time, but it's not possible. Sometimes it gets rough and tough, and we tough it out."
TEAM NEWS
• Of the Revolution's eight games to begin the season, six have been away from home, and five have been included in the current unbeaten run. Saturday's win was their third of the season on the road; the only loss was the season-opening defeat by Chicago at Toyota Park.
• "It's very important. There's only one game this season where we haven't gotten points, and in the end that's going to be huge if we can keep up our home form," said goalkeeper Matt Reis. "Historically, we've done well at home, which this road form is only going to help. It's important for us to start well, because we're going to have a lot of guys leaving over the summer. Notoriously, we kind of drop down in the summer, so it's important for us to start well."
• Reis made four saves against Dynamo in being credited with his third clean sheet of the season. "The back four were fantastic. They defended well, but give credit to everybody else, as well. As much as we didn't do well on the [offensive] side of the ball, I think defensively we got bodies in the way and did our work," Nicol said.
• With his team on its heels, Nicol tried to shake things up, first bringing on Wells Thompson in a wide role while moving Steve Ralston centrally to start the second half, then putting Ralston at right back as the Revolution boss went to a 4-4-2 with Joe Franchino coming into central midfield.
• "We weren't mentally turned on for 90 minutes. It is important for us to keep the ball and make the other team chase us and get tired, but we did exactly the opposite," Reis said to The Boston Globe. "They pressured us and we gave the ball away. After we got the goal we seemed like we were resigned to the fact we were going to defend; we didn't plan it that way but that's what happened."
• For the final five seasons the Earthquakes were located in San Jose, the Revolution did not record a victory, losing 10 of their final 13 meetings with that club (three draws). The team then moved to Houston, and while all statistics started anew, against essentially the same group, the Revolution played to draws in both league meetings (and over 120 minutes in the MLS Cup Final) last season.
• "I felt like we defended well and made challenges at crucial times when it was needed," Nicol said. "But I feel kind of strange. We played so well at Chicago and lost one-nil and we played badly and won (against Houston). As many years as I've been in the game, I should feel happy, but I feel strange. It's fantastic that whether we are playing well or playing badly, we are getting results."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
The Kansas City Wizards rebounded from their first loss in three weeks with a point on the road, coming back to claim a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park last Saturday. The Wizards now have 13 points from seven matches, putting them in third place in the Eastern Conference, four points off the pace set by New England.
LAST MATCH
• The Rapids were returning home after winning for the second time in three road matches, though still looking for a second win in their new ground, while the Wizards had seen their three-game winning streak come to an end the weekend before in a home loss to FC Dallas.
• The teams shared goals on either side of halftime in a brittle encounter. The Rapids took the lead in first-half stoppage time after a shot from a flurry of shots in quick succession in the penalty area was handled by Davy Arnaud, and Jovan Kirovski stroked home the resulting penalty.
• But the Wizards tied the match almost on the hour as Arnaud made amends. Eddie Johnson again got free down the right flank and played in a cross to the far post that Arnaud hit first-time back inside the right-hand post and past Rapids 'keeper Bouna Coundoul.
• The Wizards held out the rest of the way, as Colorado still has yet to win at home since their First Kick victory against D.C. United. Jimmy Conrad returned to the lineup for K.C. after suffering a broken jaw, but had to go off at halftime after he was pushed in the face by Herculez Gomez. But Gomez himself had to leave the game, apparently injured after a wild strike at a bouncing ball.
• Wizards head coach Curt Onalfo made one change to the team that lost 2-1 to FC Dallas the weekend before at Arrowhead Stadium. Jimmy Conrad returned to central defense after missing the FCD game to a broken jaw suffered the week before against Columbus, though he had to leave at halftime.
• Here's Onalfo's team (4-4-2): Kevin Hartman - Jack Jewsbury, Jimmy Conrad (Aaron Hohlbein 46), Nick Garcia, Jose Burciaga Jr. - Davy Arnaud, Sasha Victorine (Kurt Morsink 86), Kerry Zavagnin, Michael Harrington - Eddie Johnson, Yura Movsisyan (Carlos Marinelli 53). Substitutes Not Used: Will John, Eric Kronberg, Ryan Pore, Ryan Raybould
• "I think the guys have their heads down. We're on the road and we tied, and they have their heads down because they felt like they could've gotten three points," Onalfo said. "I thought we had a good performance. I thought we were the team that was more dangerous overall on the night. I thought it was a good performance, certainly a good one on the road, and one we can build on."
TEAM NEWS
• After missing out on the last two postseasons, Onalfo is trying to instill a different attitude around the club, and after two game-winning goals scored in the 80th minute or later, as well as two goals in losses scored after the 90th minute, the second-half leveler was another example of that.
• "We're a team that keeps fighting to the end. That's going to help us down the road; it's a staple of a championship team," Zavagnin said. "We need to continue to get better at the little things and we'll be well on our way."
• After three consecutive wins and a 304-minute shutout streak, the Wizards failed to win in back-to-back matches for the first time on the season.
• "You can't look at the results, you need to look at our performance over 90 minutes," said Onalfo. "I felt today it was a pretty good performance. We just need to get better every day, we need to stay healthy, and you have to have a little bit of luck. I'm pleased with where we are."
• While Conrad was again struck in the face in the first half - certainly a pain after suffering a second broken jaw in as many seasons - that wasn't the reason he had to leave at the half.
• "The hamstring is sore," said Conrad. "It was just a little twinge. I was trying to be a hero, which probably made it worse. I don't get these injuries often, which makes it difficult to know when to pull the trigger. I wanted to try to make it to halftime, which made it worse. I have a hero complex and we'll see how long it puts me out."
• There could be another concern as Conrad's partner in central defense, Nick Garcia, had to receive treatment a couple of times during the game.
• "There was a play there where I passed the ball back to Kevin Hartman - it was a bit of a hot potato and after I played it with my left foot I felt a bit of a high abdomen strain," said Garcia. "It doesn't feel feel like a hernia, just a high strain, so we're going to get it checked out."
