Feb 23, the New England Revolution shut out the New York Red Bulls 2-0 to win the consolation match and finish third in the Desert Diamond Cup MLS preseason tournament at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium in Tucson, Ariz.
The Seattle Sounders won the championship by sweeping the tournament with three wins and defeating Real Salt Lake in the final with an overall +5 goal differential.
With the result over the Red Bulls, the Revolution closed out their preseason competition with a 2-3-1 record in six games against MLS competition.
The MLS regular season kicks off next weekend, but the Revolution have a bye in week one and open on March 9, when they’ll visit the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park. New England launches their home season at Gillette Stadium on March 13 against FC Dallas.
Desert Diamond Cup results
Team__________ P W D L F A GD Pts
1 Seattle Sounders 3 3 0 0 6 1 5 9
2 Real Salt Lake 3 1 1 1 6 6 0 4
3 NE Revolution 3 1 0 2 5 6 -1 3
4 NY Red Bulls 3 0 1 2 3 7 -4 1
Nguyen and Bengtson find the net
In the result over New York, Lee Nguyen scored the game-winning goal in just the fourth minute when he drew a penalty and converted after he was fouled by Jamison Olave. Jerry Bengtson added the Revolution’s insurance in the 36th minute by capitalizing on a Red Bulls' defensive breakdown for the 2-0 final score.
MLS product Mike Petke replaced Hans Backe as head coach of the Red Bulls in the off-season.
This week, Revolution head coach Jay Heaps explained to me his preseason and regular season game-day strategies and how he plans to take the team's game to the next level this year.
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2013 Desert Diamond Cup
New England Revolution vs. New York Red Bulls
February 23, 2013 – Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium
New England Revolution 2, New York Red Bulls 0
Scoring Summary:
NE – Lee Nguyen (penalty kick) 4
NE – Jerry Bengtson (unassisted) 36
New York Red Bulls: Luis Robles, Kosuke Kimura, Jamison Olave, Digao, Roy Miller, Eric Alexander (Dax McCarty 74), Tim Cahill, Ruben Izquierdo (Jonny Steele 83), Juninho, Fabian Espindola, Thierry Henry
New England Revolution: Matt Reis, Tyler Polak, Jose Goncalves, Stephen McCarthy (Bilal Duckett 46), A.J. Soares, Lee Nguyen (Scott Caldwell 80), Kalifa Cisse (Clyde Simms 69), Juan Toja (Donnie Smith* 57), Kelyn Rowe (Andy Dorman 75), Diego Fagundez (Chad Barrett 83), Jerry Bengtson (Ryan Guy 83)
* - Unsigned draft pick
Misconduct Summary:
NYRB – Fabian Espindola (caution) 17
NYRB – Roy Miller (caution) 45+
NE – Juan Toja (caution) 45+
NYRB – Tim Cahill (caution) 65
NE – Scott Caldwell (caution) 82
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