September 4, 14th place New England Revolution surprised just about everyone by upsetting sixth place Seattle Sounders 3-1 at Gillette Stadium. The Revolution (7-12-3, 24 pts., -12 GD) still stand at 14th, but edge closer to a wild card playoff spot while the Sounders (9-9-5, 32 pts., -3 GD) slip to seventh place. The Revolution played with unusual composure enhanced by standout rookie left back Seth Sinovic, who was the only change in the usual back line and in the Wednesday SuperLiga loss roster. SInovic replaced suspended Cory Gibbs.
"Seth’s been great all year," said Chris Tierney. "For a rookie coming in he’s very composed, he’s got good feet and good positioning. He did really well dealing with a couple wingers who are as good as any in the league."
The Gillette crowd of 13,124 was peppered with rave green Sounders jerseys, which speaks well of the new club's ability to attract so many fans on the opposite coast. But after the 3-1 result and stadium fireworks, Revolution fans left happier. New England pressed from the whistle and Matt Reis was forced to make only two saves all night. Kheli Dube had a good day at the office as a right midfielder and seemed more natural here than jogging hopefully around the top third as a striker waiting for someone to give him the ball.
Steve Zakuani put the Sounders on the board in the 59th minute with his eighth goal of the season, assisted by James Riley and Alvaro Fernandez and sloppy defending by Darrius Barnes, Pat Phelan, and Emmanuel Osei. Shortly after, Shalrie Joseph and Patrick Ianni provoked each other in the box with an apparent foot stamp and slap and both dramatically collapsed on the ground. Both legitimately should have been yellow-carded for diving at least, but no cards were issued. [The incident has since sparked a protest against slack officiating by Seattle fans.] Minutes later, Fredy Montero pushed Kevin Alston into the boards while racing for a ball and more drama ensued. The tumult unsettled the Sounders and third-year midfielder Chris Tierney took advantage in the 70th minute during a scramble in the box and scored his first career goal, a header assisted by Joseph and Alston. Marko Perovic got the game winner unassisted three minutes later by capitalizing on more box chaos with a simple give and go. In the 81st minute, Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller's defenders went on vacation while Ilija Stolica tapped the ball to the foot of Dube who simply slotted it into the net for his first goal of the year.
"That was probably the worst 10 minutes we’ve played all year," said Keller. "There’s really not much to say about it. Hopefully that’s the last of it and it can’t happen again if we want to continue on. We just want to get this out and learn from it and if we don’t learn from it, I’m sure there will be some changes."
Four minutes later, Perovic was yellow-carded after lashing out at Ianni after he pulled him down while in possession. Consequently, Perovic is suspended for accumulation at Friday's road match versus Chivas USA. With the Seattle result, Perovic now leads the Revolution with six goals and Joseph leads with five assists.
"It’s huge," said Sinovic of the win over the Sounders, "especially after we got handled pretty well by Seattle earlier this year away. It’s a big confidence boost and hopefully we can take it into the next few games."
Click here for the slideshow with game photography by Chris Aduama at aduama.com.
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New England Revolution (7-12-3, 24pts.) vs. Seattle Sounders FC (9-9-5, 32 pts.)
September 4, 2010 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Scoring Summary:
SEA – Steve Zakuani (James Riley, Alvaro Fernandez) 59
NE – Chris Tierney (Shalrie Joseph, Kevin Alston) 70
NE – Marko Perovic (unassisted) 73
NE – Kheli Dube (Ilija Stolica) 81
New England Revolution: Matt Reis (GK), Seth Sinovic, Emmanuel Osei, Darrius Barnes, Kevin Alston, Chris Tierney, Shalrie Joseph ©, Pat Phelan, Kheli Dube, Marko Perovic, Ilija Stolica (Zack Schilawski 82)
Substitutes Not Used: Bobby Shuttleworth, Tim Murray, Khano Smith, Roberto Linck, Nico Colaluca
STATS: Shots: 16; Shots on Goal: 10; Saves: 2; Corner Kicks: 6; Offside: 4; Fouls Committed: 9
Seattle Sounders FC: Kasey Keller (GK), James Riley, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Leo Gonzalez, Alvaro Fernandez (Nate Jaqua 73), Osvaldo Alonso, Mike Seamon, Steve Zakuani, Roger Levesque, Freddy Montero
Substitutes Not Used: Terry Boss, Michael Fucito, Tyson Wahl, Tyrone Marshall, David Estrada, Zach Scott
STATS: Shots: 12; Shots on Goal: 3; Saves: 6; Corner Kicks: 5; Offside: 1; Fouls Committed: 12
Misconduct Summary:
SEA – Freddy Montero (caution) 66
SEA – James Riley (caution) 71
NE – Marko Perovic (caution) 85
Referee: Silviu Petrescu
Referee’s Assistants: Corey Rockwell, Greg Barkey
Fourth Official: Landis Wiley
Weather: Clear and 73 degrees
Attendance: 13,124
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