Goal-scorer Andy Dorman and keeper Matt Reis were the heroes for the New England Revolution on Saturday night as they earned three valuable points on the road with a 1-0 win against the Red Bulls. With the victory, New England overtook their hosts as the top team in the Eastern Conference.
And yet, with one secondary assist, Steve Ralston managed to overshadow all that and make the night his.
With a helper on Dorman's strike, the MLS original became the all-time assist leader in league history with 115. Ralston won the ball in midfield and fed Shalrie Joseph, who made a killer through pass to the speedy Englishman for the finish.
"Obviously I'm proud of it," said Ralston after the match. "It's one of those things where I think it's a reflection of the longevity of my career. I've been fortunate to play with some of the greatest ever players in this league, like Carlos Valderrama, and some of the better goal-scorers in Roy Lassiter, Mamadou Diallo and Taylor Twellman."
The record has extra special meaning for Ralston since it was Valderrama's record that he broke. The two were teammates with the now-defunct Tampa Bay Mutiny from 1996 to '98 and again from '99 to 2001.
"He was the man," said Ralston. "He was my mentor. I had a poster of him in my dorm room when I was in college, so playing with him was unbelievable. He's helped my career big-time, so I'm proud to get past him."
With his seventh goal of the season, Dorman continues to lead all MLS midfielders in scoring. Revs coach Steve Nicol called the latest tally "classic Dorman." But rather than take the credit for his clinical finish, Dorman praised Joseph's classy pass.
"It was a great ball," he said. "The two center backs left me a bit of space to run into. Shalrie obviously played the ball perfectly into that space and I just touched it front of me and hit it."
Nicol said: "There's nobody else in the league that can make that run from the middle of the park. He times it so well that it's tough to pick up. Sometimes [as a defender] you can't do anything about it."
Dorman attributes much of his success this season to the play of Joseph and Jeff Larentowicz behind him. With those two doing the dirty work and the rest of the team playing well, he said he has had more freedom to attack from his right midfield spot.
Considering his output this season, you might have assumed Nicol would have picked Dorman as a reserve for Thursday's Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. But Nicol, who will start Revs stars Reis, Joseph and Mike Parkhurst against Scottish champions Celtic, elected to leave Dorman and Taylor Twellman off the roster.
Nicol wanted to rest Twellman, with the forward just back from national team duty at Copa America, but said he omitted Dorman for other reasons.
"There's already two attacking midfield players in the 11 - Christian Gomez and [Dwayne] De Rosario. So the picks are hard," he said. "I have to keep the squad rounded."
Dorman admitted to being disappointed.
"Obviously I would have loved to have gone, but it wasn't to be," Dorman said. "It doesn't really matter too much."
Not on a night where he scored the game winner, it doesn't. And especially not on a night helped his teammate make history.
Doug McIntyre is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League uSoccer or its clubs.
