FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Steve Ralston, Adam Cristman and Sainey Nyassi all scored unassisted goals to lead the New England Revolution past the Houston Dynamo, 3-0, in the 2008 MLS season opener for both teams on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.
The victory served as a measure of revenge for the Revs (1-0-0, 3 pts.), who had lost in the last two MLS Cups to the Dynamo (0-1-0, 0 pts.).
The proceedings started ominously for the home side, as the Revs' most potent goalscoring threat, Taylor Twellman, was replaced by Cristman in the starting lineup just 15 minutes prior to kickoff after experiencing soreness in his right knee during warm-ups.
The loss of Twellman ultimately didn't slow the Revs attack, however, as they nearly opened the scoring in just the third minute. Newly-signed Mauricio Castro latched on to a cross from Nyassi at the far post, only to see his close-range shot denied by Onstad.
It wasn't long before New England did open the scoring, however, as Ralston scored to put the Revs on top, 1-0, in the 15th minute. Nyassi's through ball put fellow Gambian Kenny Mansally in down the right side, and Onstad could only push the young striker's powerful shot towards the left side of the 18-yard box. Ralston was on hand to tuck home the rebound into an empty net.
Houston threatened to level the score in the 19th minute, but Dwayne De Rosario's header from six yards out flashed over the bar.
The Dynamo would rue the missed chance to equalize, as Cristman made the most of his surprise start by extending New England's lead to 2-0 in the 32nd minute. A free kick from 25 yards out was pushed quickly to Jeff Larentowicz, who let rip with a blast that dipped violently on its way towards goal. Onstad made the save, but the rebound popped straight up, and Cristman was on hand to clean up the mess and head into the far side.
Houston nearly cut the deficit in half in first-half stoppage time, but De Rosario's wicked free kick from 25 yards out sailed inches wide of the left post.
The second half saw considerably fewer chances for both sides, with New England opting for a possession-style game in an effort to protect its two-goal lead.
The visitors' best chance occurred in the 59th minute, when Stuart Holden's glancing header toward the far post was pushed around the post by New England goalkeeper Matt Reis.
Nyassi put the result beyond all doubt three minutes into stoppage time, as he used a fantastic individual effort to record the first goal of his MLS career and provide the final score line of 3-0. After intercepting a pass at midfield, the 19-year-old midfielder drove down the right side, past two defenders, before ripping a right-footed blast just under the crossbar.
Reis was forced to make just three saves to record the shutout - his 31st since the start of the 2005 season - while Onstad stopped 10 shots.
New England will have little time to rest following its season opener, as it hits the road for its first away contest of the campaign on Thursday, April 3, when it will meet the Chicago Fire on ESPN2's 2008 premier of MLS Primetime Thursday. ESPN's coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET with kickoff slated for approximately 8:30 p.m. ET.
Houston Dynamo at New England Revolution
March 29, 2008 - New England Revolution (Gillette Stadium)
Scoring Summary
NE - Steve Ralston (unassisted) 15
NE - Adam Cristman (unassisted) 32
NE - Sainey Nyassi (unassisted) 93+
New England Revolution:
Matt Reis, Jay Heaps, Michael Parkhurst, Chris Albright, Mauricio Castro, Shalrie Joseph, Jeff Larentowicz, Sainey Nyassi, Steve Ralston © (Gary Flood 63), Adam Cristman, Kenny Mansally (Kheli Dube 81)
Substitutes Not Used: Sam Brill, Chase Hilgenbrinck, Amaechi Igwe
STATS:
Shots 17 (Cristman 7); Shots on Goal 13 (Cristman 6); Saves 3 (Reis 3); Corner Kicks 4 (Ralston 2); Offsides 3 (Mansally 2); Fouls Committed 7 (Mansally 3)
Houston:
Pat Onstad, Wade Barrett, Bobby Boswell, Brian Mullan (Patrick Ianni 63), Eddie Robinson, Corey Ashe, Dwayne De Rosario, Stuart Holden, Richard Mulrooney, Brian Ching (Geoff Cameron 86), Chris Wondolowski (Franco Caraccio 67)
Substitutes Not Used: Kyle Brown, Erik Ustruck, Craig Waibel
STATS:
Shots 15 (De Rosario, Holden 3); Shots on Goal 5 (De Rosario, Robinson 2); Saves 10 (Onstad 10); Corner Kicks 6 (Mulrooney 4); Offsides 1 (Ching 1); Fouls Committed 20 (Ching, Holden 4)
Misconduct Summary
HOU - Richard Mulrooney (caution) 58
Referee:
Michael Kennedy
Referee's Assistants:
George Gasner (SAR), Bill Ditmar (JAR)
Fourth Official:
Mark Geiger
Time of Game:
1:55
Weather:
Clear, 35 degrees
Attendance:
11,116
NOTES
• The match marked the first time in club history (13 years) that the team played a season-opening match at its home stadium.
• With the win, the Revs improved to 3-7-3 all time in season-opening matches.
• The match was the team's first played in the month of March since the 2002 season, when they lost, 3-1, to the MetroStars on March 23 ... New England is now 2-4-1 all-time in the month of March
• The Revs' victory was the team's first season-opening victory since the 2006 season when the team earned a 1-0 win against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
• The Revs' three-goal victory was their first since a 3-0 victory against Toronto FC on June 23, 2007.
• Four players earned their first-ever starts for New England: Chris Albright (right back), Mauricio Castro (left midfield), Sainey Nyassi (right midfield) and Abdoulie "Kenny" Mansally (forward) ... for Castro and Nyassi, the starts also marked their first-ever MLS appearances ... rookie forward Kheli Dube also made his MLS debut, entering the game in the 81st minute for Mansally ... Nyassi had his only previous Revs appearance in a 2007 U.S. Open Cup match.
• Nyassi became the youngest-ever Revs starter on opening day at the age of 19 years, one month and 28 days ...
• Mansally also would have broken the record as he was 19 years, two months and two days old.
• Adam Cristman earned the start after the pregame lineups had been submitted ... Taylor Twellman was originally scheduled start up top, but he pulled himself out of the lineup after feeling discomfort in his right knee during warm-ups.
• Cristman's goal was his first since August 2, 2007 when he scored the team's second goal in a 2-0 victory over Kansas City at Gillette Stadium.
• Captain Steve Ralston, who scored his first goal Oct. 13, 2007, left the game in the 63rd minute with a shoulder injury.
• Second-year midfielder/defender Gary Flood made his second opening game appearance in as many years ... in 2007, he started in the defensive midfield for an injured Shalrie Joseph and became just the third Supplemental Draft pick to start the season opener in the year in which he was drafted.
• Matt Reis' shutout was his 31st since the start of the 2005 season, the top total in MLS in that time span.
