New England extended its lead atop the Eastern Conference to four points with a 2-0 victory over Kansas City at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night.
Pat Noonan scored from a Taylor Twellman knockdown in the 55th minute to give New England its first-ever win at Gillette Stadium over the Wizards. The goal marked the third straight contest in which Noonan had scored for the Revs, and represented a birthday present for the newly-minted 27 year old.
Adam Cristman added an insurance tally in stoppage time from a Steve Ralston cross to extend the Revolution's unbeaten streak to five matches (4-0-1).
New England consolidated its second-half advantage after an even first stanza by exerting pressure and carving out a slew of quality chances.
Revolution head coach Steve Nicol, mindful of an upcoming schedule which sees the Revs play four times in 10 days, made two changes to the lineup that won 2-1 in Salt Lake on Saturday night. Avery John stepped in at left back in place of James Riley, while Khano Smith returned to the lineup in preference to Wells Thompson.
Kansas City manager Curt Onalfo elected to make one change, with Jose Burciaga Jr. returning in place of Ryan Raybould. With Scott Sealy out with an adductor strain, Davy Arnaud continued up top.
The first chance of the game fell to New England two minutes into the contest. Twellman won a free kick just outside the penalty area. Ralston's attempt was deflected by the wall towards Pat Noonan, who saw his volley cradled by Kevin Hartman.
Arnaud created space with a horizontal run at 17 minutes and dished to the waiting Eddie Johnson. Johnson's left-footed bid from 24 yards just missed Matt Reis' right post.
Reis was again called into action in the 21st minute after Carlos Marinelli dropped a pass into Jack Jewsbury's path and the right back's first-time effort forced Reis to dive to his right to push it aside for a corner kick.
And it was Reis again who saved his side in the 29th minutes when a Marinelli effort was deflected by Michael Parkhurst towards the right-hand corner of the goal. Reis tipped the deflection onto the post, where it deflected away from goal and towards safety.
Twellman had the ball in the net in the 31st minute from a Khano Smith cross, but it was ruled offsides as Twellman was behind the entire Kansas City defense.
Smith embarked on a strong run into the left edge of the penalty area in the 41st minute. Smith's drive was punched away by Hartman at the near post to keep the match scoreless.
It was Andy Dorman's turn to test Hartman a minute later after Noonan found him on the left side of the penalty area, but Hartman dove to his left to save the far-post shot.
Shalrie Joseph should have opened the scoring on 51 minutes after Taylor Twellman cut the ball back and crossed it to Joseph. With the net at his mercy, Joseph's effort was kept out by a Jewsbury slide.
Noonan was not to be denied in the 55th minute after Smith's cross found Twellman at the far post. Twellman elected to knock the ball down across the face of goal to Noonan, who bundled home from six yards to open the scoring.
Dorman had a golden chance to double the advantage in the 58th minute after a Noonan cross was tipped away by Hartman into Dorman's path. Dorman's first attempt was blocked by Twellman before his second chance was blocked by the prone Hartman.
New England dominated much of the possession in the second half and left Kansas City to chase the rest of the game. Despite a few quality moments, the Wizards struggled to create quality scoring chances in the match's later stages.
Burciaga narrowly missed in the 89th minute and Reis caught a Davy Arnaud free kick in the 90th minute as they sought the equalizer. But the Wizards saw their hopes dashed when Ralston found late substitute Cristman with a cross and the rookie slotted home from eight yards to give New England the three points, and another few days atop the Eastern Conference table.
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
