the first two in club history -- while D.C. United were back after a two-week layoff following their first win of the campaign in five outings.
• Once again in front of a rabid, sellout crowd at Exhibition Place, TFC took the lead just before halftime when Alecko Eskandarian scored his first goal with his new club. And, of course, it came against his former club that he led to an MLS Cup. Maurice Edu kept a bouncing ball alive with an athletic backheel, and Eskandarian stroked home a shot from inside the area (44).
• But it was a little good fortune that pulled United level. Christian Gomez whipped in a freekick from nearly straight out from goal, and as Facundo Erpen flashed across the area, his marker, Kevin Goldthwaite, tried to head clear and instead sent it past his own 'keeper for the 52nd-minute own goal.
• After the goal, United head coach Tom Soehn readjusted his team's tactics and his team set up camp in the TFC end. It paid off in the 79th minute when substitute Luciano Moreno, brought on as Soehn went to a 3-5-2, was hauled down by Marvell Wynne in the area, and Moreno stepped up to take the penalty. He easily converted, sending Greg Sutton the wrong way and pulling level with Jason Kreis atop the all-time goalscorers list with his 108th career league goal.
• United head coach Tom Soehn made two changes to the team that defeated Chivas USA 2-1 the Sunday before at RFK Stadium. Fred returned to the lineup, coming into the midfield in place of Justin Moose, while Luciano Emilio also came back into the team, in place of Guy-Roland Kpene up top.
• Here's Soehn's team (4-3-1-2): Troy Perkins - Bryan Namoff, Facundo Erpen (Guy-Roland Kpene 56), Bobby Boswell, Joshua Gros - Fred, Brian Carroll, Ben Olsen - Christian Gomez (Clyde Simms 80) - Luciano Emilio, Jaime Moreno (Stephen deRoux 87). Substitutes Not Used: Marc Burch, Kasali Yinka Casal, Justin Moose, Jay Nolly
• "I think the mentality's better. I was disappointed in the first half but to come back in the second half and show the energy we did, there's still a lot to work on, but we're heading in the right direction," Soehn said.
TEAM NEWS
• The game turned in the second half when Soehn returned to the 3-5-2 system he had used for much of the early part of the season and United's CONCACAF Champions' Cup run. Just after scoring the equalizer, Soehn brought on Guy-Roland Kpene for Facundo Erpen, going to a 3-5-2 with Moreno in a midfield role.
• "When you analyze where the game was going," Soehn said, "it was important we made that adjustment." Said Moreno to The Washington Post: "The hunger and the will to win was there [in the second half]. We were missing that in the first half. Our passing wasn't good enough, but in the second half, we moved the ball better and we knew they were going to get tired."
• United began the season with three consecutive losses, but they've now gone unbeaten in three in a row.
• "We were down 1-0, and in the beginning of the year, I don't know if we would have come back," defender Josh Gros said to The Post. "We got some confidence going and we are winning games. No matter how ugly they are, they're wins and that's all that matters."
• Moreno's goal was his third of the season, all coming from the penalty spot, and all in the last three games. He now has scored 32 of his 108 league goals from the spot, to lead all MLS players. "It's nice, but I feel it's better with the win," Moreno said. "It's what we came for."
• On Tuesday, United received an invitation to play in the Copa Nissan Sudamericana - and were again drawn with CD Guadalajara, who knocked out United in the semifinals of the Champions' Cup. The round-of-16 tie will see the first leg played in Washington around Sept. 11, with the return match in Mexico prior to Oct. 4.
• "There's some unfinished business on our side," Soehn said to The Post. "I truly wanted to see them in the tournament, but probably not this early."
• United played in the Copa Sudamericana - similar to Europe's UEFA Cup - in 2005, suffering a gut-wrenching 4-3 defeat on aggregate to Chilean side Universidad Catolica. After playing to a 1-1 draw in Washington, United took a 2-0 lead in the second leg in Santiago, Chile, only to see the home side storm back for a 3-2 win.
• Saturday's match also pits the league's two representatives to the CONCACAF Champions' Cup this season, as both United and Dynamo reached the semifinals before going out. Both teams then underwent rough openings to their league season.
• "That was a disappointment but we won't look for excuses," Moreno said. "I think we just weren't prepared. Our heads were somewhere else and it was hard to get back. Luckily, I think we got it back and we have to play the same way."
HOUSTON DYNAMO
Houston Dynamo were shut out for the fifth time in seven league games on the season, falling to the New England Revolution in a rematch of MLS Cup 2006 last Saturday evening at Robertson Stadium. Dynamo now have seven points from seven matches, fourth in the Western Conference, a point behind Chivas USA and nine points behind division-leading FC Dallas.
LAST MATCH
• Dynamo had allowed just four goals on the season -- 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.
• Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear made no changes to the team that lost 1-0 to Toronto FC just four days previous at BMO Field.
• Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Pat Onstad - Richard Mulrooney, Ryan Cochrane, Eddie Robinson, Wade Barrett (Stuart Holden 69) - Brian Mullan, Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis - Dwayne De Rosario (Kelly Gray 78) - Joseph Ngwenya (Corey Ashe 69), Brian Ching. Substitutes Not Used: Patrick Ianni, Craig Waibel, Zach Wells, Chris Wondolowski
• "They got one shot on goal, and they scored. We spent the rest of the game in their half of the field trying to find that goal and putting them under pressure. Goals just aren't finding our feet right now," Kinnear said.
TEAM NEWS
• After losses to New York and Chicago, it looked like Dynamo broke out of their scoring slump with a 3-1 win at Colorado on May 5. But the Orange have not scored since, despite dominating play in each of their games over the week.
• "I think we are playing good football up until the point where we are putting the ball in the back of the net," said Brian Ching. "We are not getting the breaks right now even though we are controlling the pace of the game. We are outshooting our opponents by a fairly large margin."
• Dynamo outshot the Revolution 11-3 on the night. But in the end, it was a fifth clean sheet on the campaign already; a year ago, Houston was shut out seven times all year.
• "I am pretty much at a loss for words," Kinnear said. "When you spend pretty much 80-plus minutes in the other teams half, and you have plenty of chances and good movement and the effort is fantastic, what do you do? Our effort is there, our conviction is there (and) the attitude is perfect. We are just not getting the right bounce and their 'keepers are playing really well. We are just not getting that goal."
• All four of Dynamo's losses on the campaign have been by 1-0 scorelines. "Right now, I just feel sorry for them," Kinnear said. "I really do and I told them that. I said I feel sorry for you because you are not getting the reward that you deserve." However, said Ching: "I think the worst thing we can do right now is put our heads down, and feel sorry for ourselves. I think we're playing good soccer -- all the way up until the end I guess. We have to come back ready to work."
• After the game against United, there will be something to celebrate for certain for the club: On Tuesday afternoon, they will visit The White House and have last year's championship be feted by President George W. Bush. The 2006 MLS champions will become the second MLS titleists to be celebrated at The White House; 1997 MLS champion D.C. United were so honored by President Bill Clinton.
• "We're very honored to be invited to The White House" said Dynamo captain Wade Barrett. "It was a fantastic achievement for us last year, and another in the latest of championships in the state of Texas. We're glad to represent that with the President."
