FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Defensive midfielder Shalrie Joseph scored the only goal of the game in the 30th minute and goalkeeper Matt Reis earned his tournament-best third shutout of SuperLiga 2008, as the New England Revolution defeated Mexican power Atlante, 1-0, in a semifinal match on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium. With the win, the Revs advanced to the SuperLiga 2008 Final, which they will host at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 5, against fellow MLS club Houston Dynamo.
Joseph's game-winner was his second goal in as many games, as the Grenada international also scored New England's lone goal in the club's 1-1 draw with Chivas USA in the final game of Group B on July 20. Steve Ralston's curling free kick from the right side was met at the back post by Joseph, who stretched across his defender to direct a diving header off the crossbar and inside the far post.
The clubs had a minor history entering the match, as the two met in a physical preseason contest on Mar. 6 in Mexico, which saw each team have players ejected. Though there was just one caution between both sides in the opening half of Wednesday night's match, tempers flared late on, with Atlante having three players ejected and the Revs seeing Jay Heaps sent off. All told, Atlante earned seven cautions and three ejections, while New England picked up four cautions and one ejection.
The Revs threatened to take an early lead in the ninth minute, as Mauricio Castro worked his way past a defender on the left wing and whipped a dangerous cross into the area near the edge of the six-yard box. Kheli Dube rose above his marker to turn a header towards goal, but his effort sailed over the top of the crossbar.
Dube was at the center of the action again the 25th minute, as the Zimbabwe native's one-timed shot from eight yards out struck the crossbar. Forward Kenny Mansally created the chance, freeing himself down the right wing and playing a low, angled cross back to Dube, who sent a first-time effort off the woodwork with his right foot.
Atlante had its first serious chance of the match from a corner kick just one minute later, but Daniel Arreola's low header was saved by Reis, who was well positioned.
Joseph gave the Revs the lead in the 30th minute and New England took that narrow advantage into the halftime break.
The hosts had a great chance to double their lead in the 62nd minute, but failed to convert. Left back Amaechi Igwe began the move with a precisely angled, cross-field pass to Dube, who took the ball down well before beating his defender along the end line. Dube faked a shot from a tight angle before cutting a pass back to Mansally, who blasted a shot well over the crossbar.
Revs' midfielder Khano Smith, who entered the match in the 64th minute, nearly scored after just four minutes on the field, but his left-footed drive from 25 yards out missed the upper corner by inches.
Neither team seriously threatened to score in the final stages, but a number of late cautions and ejections, including three cards after the final whistle, made for an eventful finish to the game.
Reis made four saves to earn his third shutout of the tournament and lower his goals against average to a tournament-best 0.25, while Atlante goalkeeper Federico Vilar also stopped four shots before being shown a red card at the end of the game.
The Revs will now host MLS rival Houston Dynamo in the SuperLiga 2008 Final at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 5, at Gillette Stadium. It will mark the third straight year in which New England and Houston have met in a cup final, as the two clubs have squared off in the past two MLS Cups.
Following SuperLiga, the Revs will resume their MLS regular-season schedule on Saturday, Aug. 9, when they will host the Chicago Fire at Gillette Stadium.
New England Revolution vs. Atlante
July 30, 2008 - Foxborough, Mass. (Gillette Stadium)
Scoring Summary:
NE - Shalrie Joseph (Steve Ralston) 30
New England Revolution: Matt Reis (GK), Amaechi Igwe, Jay Heaps, Jeff Larentowicz, Chris Albright, Mauricio Castro (Khano Smith 64), Shalrie Joseph, Steve Ralston ©, Sainey Nyassi, Kenny Mansally (Adam Cristman 79), Kheli Dube
Substitutes Not Used: Doug Warren (GK), Wells Thompson, Chris Tierney, Taylor Twellman, Brandon Tyler
STATS: Shots 17; Shots on Goal 5; Saves 4; Corner Kicks 2; Offsides 2; Fouls Committed 17
Atlante: Federico Vilar (GK) ©, Gerardo Castillo (Luis Venegas 39), Javier Munoz Mustafa, Jose Guerrero (Edgar Trujillo 80), Arturo Munoz (Fernando Navarro 50), Christian Bermudez, Gerardo Espinoza (Ismael Valadez 90), Alan Zamora, Giancarlo Maldonado, Daniel Arreola, Luis Gabriel Rey
Substitutes Not Used: Gerardo Ruiz (GK), Andres Carevic, Mario Hernandez
STATS: Shots 8; Shots on Goal 4; Saves 4; Corner Kicks 6; Offsides 7; Fouls Committed 23
Misconduct Summary:
NE - Amaechi Igwe (caution) 27
NE - Sainey Nyassi (caution) 52
ATN - Giancarlo Maldonado (caution) 53
ATN - Gerardo Espinoza (caution) 56
ATN - Fernando Navarro (caution) 71
ATN - Alan Zamora (caution) 84
ATN - Luis Gabriel Rey (ejection) 85
NE - Chris Albright (caution) 85
ATN - Federico Vilar (caution) 85
NE - Adam Cristman (caution) 90
ATN - Alan Zamora (second caution/ejection) 91+
ATN - Javier Munoz Mustafa (caution) 95+
NE - Jay Heaps (ejection) 95+
ATN - Federico Vilar (ejection) 95+
Referee: Carlos Batres
Referee's Assistants: Amato De Luca (SAR), Joe Fletcher (JAR)
Fourth Official: Mark Geiger
Time of Game: 1:55
Weather: Cloudy and 81 degrees
Attendance: 8,302
NOTES
• New England will host Houston in the SuperLiga 2008 Final at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 5, at Gillette Stadium ... Houston advanced to the final by defeating Mexican club Pachuca, 2-0, on Tuesday, July 29, at Robertson Stadium.
• While the match was the first competitive meeting between New England and Atlante, the two clubs did meet in a friendly during the Revolution's preseason trip to Mexico earlier this year ... the Revs and "Los Potros de Hierro" met on Mar. 6 in Playa del Carmen, with Atlante earning a 1-0 victory behind Javier Munoz Mustafa's 38th-minute goal ... New England picked up 10 cautions in the match - including two each to Jeff Larentowicz and Chris Albright, who were both ejected - while Atlante earned one caution and one ejection.
• Shalrie Joseph scored for the second consecutive game after notching his first goal in almost a year in the Revs' most recent match ... Joseph scored the Revolution's lone goal in the 1-1 draw with Chivas USA in the final SuperLiga Group B match on Sunday, July 20 ... prior to last Sunday, Joseph hadn't scored since July 22, 2007, when he converted a penalty kick in a 3-3 draw with the Houston Dynamo.
• Steve Ralston's assist was his third of SuperLiga 2008, tying him with Houston's Brad Davis for the lead in the competition ... however, Davis has played in all four of Houston's matches, while Ralston missed New England's group match against Pachuca (July 16) with a left quad injury and has played in just three.
• Defender Jay Heaps will be suspended for the SuperLiga 2008 Final because of the red card ejection he received in stoppage time.
• There is a possibility that New England and Atlante could meet twice more later this year, as the teams could both be part of Group C of the CONCACAF Champions League ... if the Revs win their home-and-away, aggregate goals series with Trinidad & Tobago's Joe Public FC, then they will join Atlante in Group C of the competition along with Honduran side Olimpia and the winner of the qualifying series between the Montreal Impact (Canada) and Real Esteli (Nicaragua) ... if that is the case, New England would travel to Mexico to face Atlante on Tuesday, Sept. 30, while the Revolution would host "Los Potros de Hierro" on Tuesday, Oct. 21.
• Michael Parkhurst, who is currently in Hong Kong with the U.S. Olympic Team preparing for the Beijing Games, was unavailable for selection for the first time this season in all competitions ... prior to tonight's match, Parkhurst had played every minute of every game in both the MLS regular season and SuperLiga, while he was available for selection but did not play in the Revs' two U.S. Open Cup matches ... Parkhurst played the full 90 minutes for the U.S. in a 0-0 draw with the Ivory Coast at the ING Cup on Wednesday (July 30).
• Jeff Larentowicz began the match in the center of a four-man backline along with Jay Heaps, marking his first start as a defender for the Revs' first team ... Larentowicz, who is typically a defensive midfielder, was inserted into the backline in the absence of Michael Parkhurst, who is away with the U.S. Olympic Team ... the graduate of Brown University was a four-time All-Ivy performer as a central defender for the Bears, while he also captained the Revolution's reserve side as a defender in 2005.
• Mauricio Castro returned to the Revolution's starting lineup after missing all three matches in the group stage of SuperLiga because of a left groin strain ... Castro, who picked up the injury during training in the build-up to SuperLiga, started on the left side of midfield and played __ minutes.
• Adam Cristman's made his first appearance for New England since July 4 at Los Angeles, when he scored both goals in the Revolution's 2-1 win en route to earning Player of the Week honors ... Cristman, who entered Wednesday night's match in the 79th minute, missed all three group games of SuperLiga while resting a sprained right toe.
