who also saw a shot come crashing off the crossbar -- and on three occasions denying Andy Dorman, two of those saves coming in the dying minutes of the contest.
• Here's Dave Sarachan's team (3-4-1-2): Matt Pickens - C.J. Brown, Jim Curtin, Gonzalo Segares - Logan Pause, Chris Armas, Diego Gutierrez, Ivan Guerrero - Justin Mapp (Dasan Robinson 85) - Chad Barrett (Calen Carr 92+), Chris Rolfe (Thiago 77). Substitutes Not Used: Jon Busch, Floyd Franks, Brian Plotkin, Osei Telesford
• Here's Steve Nicol's team (3-4-1-2): Matt Reis - Jay Heaps, James Riley, Avery John - Steve Ralston, Jeff Larentowicz, Gary Flood (Arsene Oka 80), Wells Thompson - Andy Dorman - Adam Cristman (Pat Noonan 71), Taylor Twellman. Substitutes Not Used: Amaechi Igwe, Tony Lochhead, Chris Loftus, Ryan Solle, Doug Warren
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
The New England Revolution went a man down with a half-hour left but still hung on to claim their share of the points on Thursday night, playing to a 1-1 draw with D.C. United and extending their unbeaten streak to four games. The Revolution remain in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with eight points from five matches, a point behind the Kansas City Wizards and two behind the first-place tie between New York and Chicago.
LAST MATCH
• D.C. United were winless in their opening three games for the first time since the inaugural season of 1996, while the Revolution were unbeaten in their last three games, looking for a second road victory on the trot.
• After a quiet first half, the Revolution took the lead barely seconds into the second. A long ball from the center circle found Taylor Twellman in behind the United backline, and his first-time effort was parried aside by a diving Troy Perkins. But the rebound fell to Andy Dorman all alone in the heart of the area, and he had only to tap it into the empty goal for the opener.
• But United pulled level just five minutes later. Jaime Moreno - who started the match on the substitutes' bench - was bundled over by a shoulder charge from James Riley in the penalty area and referee Terry Vaughn pointed to the spot. Moreno sent Matt Reis the other way in converting the penalty for his 106th career goal.
• The game then turned in the 59th minute when Sharlie Joseph clattered into Ben Olsen in the midfield while challenging for the ball, and Vaughn sent him off with a straight red card.
• The Revolution nearly weathered the entire storm without much danger, until the final seconds of stoppage time. First, Moreno flicked a delicate ball into the area and Ben Olsen headed it goalward - only for it to come back off the face of the crossbar. Then moments later, a cross was hooked in from the right and Luciano Emilio's flick header had seemed to find the inside of the far post - until Reis pushed it away at full stretch with a remarkable fingertip save.
• Revolution head coach Steve Nicol made one change to the team that defeated FC Dallas 1-0 the previous Sunday at Pizza Hut Park. With Avery John forced off at halftime in Frisco, James Riley came back into the back three to start in place of him at RFK.
• Here's Nicol's team (3-4-1-2): Matt Reis - Jay Heaps, Michael Parkhurst, James Riley - Steve Ralston, Jeff Larentowicz, Shalrie Joseph, Khano Smith - Andy Dorman - Pat Noonan (Adam Cristman 58 / Joe Franchino 87), Taylor Twellman. Substitutes Not Used: Avery John, Marshall Leonard, Arsene Oka, Wells Thompson, Doug Warren
• "We weren't that happy at halftime, we felt we could be a lot better, started the second half very well - started going at them," Nicol said. "And up until the penalty decision we were really on top."
TEAM NEWS
• After the poor opening 45 minutes, the Revolution got exactly the start they were looking for when Dorman knocked home the rebound of Twellman's shot, which was well saved by United goalkeeper Troy Perkins. Twellman still leads MLS with four goals heading into the weekend, but Dorman now has three goals, coming over the last four games.
• "Coming out for the second half we wanted make up for that, try and get our hands on and put on some pressure," Dorman said. "And we started to do that until the referee started making some strange decisions."
• Down a man, the Revolution soaked up nearly everything United could throw at them with little threat - until the woodwork and a stunning save from Reis were needed in the dying seconds.
• "I had to drop back in kind of cover the spot that he (Shalrie Joseph) takes up and Adam [Cristman] dropped a little bit deeper, too. Generally just hard work, the past half an hour was - [we] just had to dig in," Dorman said. Said Nicol: "I just said that you know we decided to show up in the middle and play long high balls, which we felt we could deal with and that's exactly what we did."
• The red card followed the penalty call, when Riley and Moreno banged into each other while chasing down the ball in the penalty area as Reis came off his line to grab the ball in front of them. "It was a 50-50 ball and we were shoulder to shoulder," Riley said "He probably weighs three times as much as me. Afterwards, he winked at me."
• Despite losing the lead gained early in the second half and hanging on at the end, the Revolution were pleased with what the draw could mean in the long run.
• "Every game, we've been getting better. It's a long season, and to get out of the gates well and get some points is the sign of a good team," Reis said. "At the end of the year, if you are looking around, at least one point - if not three points - on the road, you are going to be happy with that. You take care of the home turf and you'll be in the playoffs."
CHICAGO FIRE
The Chicago Fire remained unbeaten on the young season, winning for the third time in four starts, going to Houston and coming away with a 1-0 victory against Dynamo at Robertson Stadium last Sunday. The Fire head into the weekend with 10 points from four games, tied with the New York Red Bulls atop the Eastern Conference and atop the MLS overall table.
LAST MATCH
• Houston Dynamo were returning home after losing their first game of the season in New York, while the Fire were riding a three-game unbeaten streak to begin the campaign, including a pair of wins at their Toyota Park home.
• Dynamo twice came close on either side of halftime. In the first half, Brian Ching rattled a header off the crossbar, then early in the second half, Brad Davis saw a long-range drive also come back off the face of the woodwork.
• Then in the 60th minute, the Fire hit for the only goal they would need. Chris Rolfe took a long ball from Gonzalo Segares on the right side of the area, skipped into the box, sent defender Wade Barrett to the ground with a fake then lashed a left-footed drive back past Pat Onstad inside the right-hand post for his second goal in as many games.
• Dynamo wore maroon jerseys instead of their traditional orange for the game, in honor of Virginia Tech University. Through an online fundraiser and auction of the jerseys, the club raised more than $16,000 for the university's Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund.
• Fire head coach Dave Sarachan made one change to the team that defeated the Kansas City Wizards 2-1 at Toyota Park the previous weekend. With Justin Mapp unavailable with a hamstring injury, Thiago came into the midfield.
• Here's Sarachan's team (3-4-2-1): Matt Pickens - C.J. Brown, Jim Curtin, Dasan Robinson (Osei Telesford 90) - Ivan Guerrero, Chris Armas, Diego Gutierrez, Gonzalo Segares - Thiago (Logan Pause 84), Chris Rolfe - Chad Barrett (Calen Carr 72). Substitutes Not Used: Pascal Bedrossian, Jon Busch, Floyd Franks, Bakary Soumare
• "I was extremely pleased. We know coming in here that it isn't going to be easy, and we put together what I thought was a good lineup and game plan, and I thought our guys from start to finish really competed and pulled out a great win tonight," Sarachan said.
TEAM NEWS
• Sarachan was especially pleased with his team's defense, which allowed Houston only three shots on goal in the contest. The Fire's physical style took its toll on the Dynamo attackers, especially in the second half.
• "From back to front, I think our back line was terrific tonight, making it hard on their forwards. Right through the midfield to the front, we made it a difficult night from them, and I think we rewarded ourselves with a good goal from Rolfe," Sarachan said. "We threw bodies at balls to make sure that nothing got past us, and to me that's a real team effort. That's what makes me the most proud, that everybody had a piece of the win tonight."
• While the Fire remained unbeaten and atop the Eastern Conference, they've also taken four of a possible six points away from home.
• "It's never too early to be in first place. It's a good position to be in," Sarachan said. "Points on the road are critical, and three is a true bonus for us. I think it's a good place to be, and we want to keep it there."
• It was a second consecutive year that Chicago came to Houston and left with a 1-0 victory, also doing on May 20 of last year in the Fire's only other trip to Robertson Stadium.
• "We knew we were going to have to battle against these guys. The fact that they hadn't scored that much this year didn't mean they couldn't explode tonight," Rolfe said. "We battled and played hard. We stuck to the game plan, and it worked for us."
