Shalrie Joseph 2010/11 Home Replica Jersey Revolution Checkers Scarf Toddler Revolution 2009 Replica Jersey Preschool Revolution Layered Tee RevsWrap - 10/3/2009 Postgame Quotes: New England Revolution vs. Colorado Rapids

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – Kheli Dube scored his eighth goal of the season midway through the first half, but MLS leading scorer Conor Casey equalized early in the second as the New England Revolution and Colorado Rapids played to a 1-1 draw on Saturday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

Dube buried a header from Kenny Mansally’s free kick in the 29th minute – marking the Revolution’s first goal from a set piece this season – but Casey converted a penalty kick in the 58th minute to earn the home side a share of the points.

With the draw, the Revs (10-9-8, 38 pts.) strengthened their hold on the eighth and final playoff spot, as they are now two points ahead of ninth-place D.C. United (8-8-12, 36 pts.), which lost at Chivas USA earlier on Saturday. The Rapids (10-8-10, 40 pts.) dropped from fifth to seventh in the overall standings because both Chivas USA (12-9-5, 41 pts.) and Seattle (10-7-11, 41 pts.) won this weekend.

The Rapids pressured early and almost opened the scoring in just the third minute, but Julien Baudet’s header from Mehdi Ballouchy’s corner kick was acrobatically saved by Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis, who went sprawling to his left to claw the ball off the line. Reis was again called into action in the 25th minute, this time diving to his right to stop Jordan Harvey’s low drive from the top of the box.

After soaking up the early pressure, the Revs slowly worked themselves into the game and were rewarded with the opening goal in the 29th minute. Mansally whipped in a deep free kick from the left touchline toward the back post, where Dube got free of his marker and powered a header back across the face of goal and past Colorado goalkeeper Preston Burpo.

The Rapids almost found an immediate response through Baudet, who hit the right post with an accidental shot off his knee in the 32nd minute, but the ball ultimately bounced harmlessly over the end line for a goal kick.

New England regrouped and continued to attack for the remainder of the half, almost doubling its lead in the 43rd minute. Nico Colaluca – making his first career MLS start – unleashed a 25-yard yard blast, but Burpo made a diving save to ensure to score at halftime remained 1-0.

Colorado changed that in the 58th minute, as the home side was handed a chance to equalize when Emmanuel Osei was adjudged to have fouled Omar Cummings in the box, setting up a penalty kick. Casey stepped up to slot the spot kick into the lower right corner as Reis went the opposite way, marking his 16th goal of the season to tie FC Dallas’ Jeff Cunningham for the league lead.

The game took another turn just one minute later, when Baudet was issued a straight red card after catching Dube with an elbow, giving the Revolution a man-advantage for the final 30 minutes.

Despite New England’s numerical advantage, it was Colorado which came closest to grabbing a game-winner in the 88th minute, when Cummings blasted a shot off the crossbar from the right side of the box.

With their two-game road trip finished, the Revs will now return to Gillette Stadium for their next two games, beginning with a match against the league-leading Columbus Crew on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 7:30 p.m. Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports en Español will televise the game nationally.

New England Revolution at Colorado Rapids

October 3, 2009 – Commerce City, Colo. (Dick’s Sporting Goods Park)

Scoring Summary:

NE – Kheli Dube (Kenny Mansally) 29

COL – Conor Casey (penalty kick) 58

New England Revolution (4-4-2): Matt Reis (GK), Amaechi Igwe, Emmanuel Osei, Darrius Barnes, Kevin Alston, Kenny Mansally, Shalrie Joseph ©, Pat Phelan, Sainey Nyassi, Nico Colaluca (Mike Videira 82), Kheli Dube

Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton (GK), Gabriel Badilla, Jay Heaps, Chris Tierney, Jeff Larentowicz, Mauricio Castro

STATS: Shots 10; Shots on Goal 3; Saves 3; Corner Kicks 6; Offsides 2; Fouls Committed 12

Colorado Rapids (4-4-2): Preston Burpo (GK), Scott Palguta (Pat Noonan 46), Julien Baudet, Drew Moor, Jordan Harvey, Nick LaBrocca, Pablo Mastroeni ©, Mehdi Ballouchy, Kosuke Kimura, Omar Cummings, Conor Casey (Facundo Diz 88)

Substitutes Not Used: Steward Ceus (GK), Ty Harden, Greg Dalby, Ross Schunk, Michael Holody

STATS: Shots 16; Shots on Goal 5; Saves 2; Corner Kicks 5; Offsides 1; Fouls Committed 13

Misconduct Summary:

COL – Mehdi Ballouchy (caution) 9

COL – Julien Baudet (ejection) 59

NE – Emmanuel Osei (caution) 63

Referee: Baldomero Toledo

Referee’s Assistants: Corey Rockwell (SAR), Eric Boria (JAR)

Fourth Official: Landis Wiley

Time of Game: 1:53

Weather: Partly cloudy and 59 degrees

Attendance: 16,535

NOTES

• The Revs are now 3-11-3 all-time on the road against the Rapids, but they’ve earned draws in their last two trips to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
• Saturday night’s match concluded the regular-season series between the Revs and Rapids … the teams also played to a 1-1 draw on May 16 at Gillette Stadium.
• Three consecutive matches between the Revs and Rapids have now ended in 1-1 draws.
• The Revolution still hasn’t won in Colorado since June 15, 2002, going 0-5-3 in its last eight visits.
• The Revs traveled directly from Texas to Colorado for Saturday night’s game after playing FC Dallas on Wednesday night … it was the first time the Revolution played two league games in one road trip since Aug. 16 (Colorado) and Aug. 19 (Kansas City) of 2007.
• The average age of the Revolution’s starting lineup was just 24.5 years old … when only taking into account field players, the average age drops to 23.5 years old … five of New England’s starters were 22 years old or younger, while another was just 23 years old.
• Midfielder Wells Thompson was suspended for the game after he was issued a straight red card in stoppage time of the Revolution’s 1-0 loss to FC Dallas on Wednesday night … it was the third game this season for which he’s been suspended.
• Defender Jay Heaps was unavailable after suffering a left hamstring strain in the Revolution’s 1-0 loss to Dallas on Wednesday night, marking the first game Heaps missed because of injury since Sept. 15, 2007 … this was just the third game in his nine-year Revolution career which he missed because of injury.
• Midfielder Jeff Larentowicz was unavailable because of a bone bruise in his right knee, marking his first missed game of 2009 … Larentowicz had appeared in all 31 of the Revolution’s games in all competitions this season prior to tonight’s match … this was the first match Larentowicz missed because of injury since April 24, 2008.
• All told, the Revs were missing six players because of injury: Jay Heaps (L hamstring strain), Jeff Larentowicz (R knee bone bruise), Chris Albright (L lateral meniscus tear), Edgaras Jankauskas (R groin strain), Steve Ralston (R ACL tear) and Taylor Twellman (concussion).
• Third-year midfielder Nico Colaluca earned his first career MLS start – coincidentally against his former team - starting as a withdrawn forward … previously, Colaluca had made seven career appearances – all as a substitute – including three with the Revolution and four with the Colorado Rapids, the team which drafted him sixth overall in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft.
• Amaechi Igwe started at left back, marking his fifth start of the season and his first since July 4 against the LA Galaxy.
• Kheli Dube’s goal was his eighth of the season, tying him with Shalrie Joseph for the team lead … Kenny Mansally’s assist was his second of the season.
• Kheli Dube’s 29th-minute goal from Kenny Mansally’s free kick was the first goal the Revolution scored from a set piece this season, not including five successful penalty kicks.
• All three penalty kicks awarded against the Revolution this season have been in road games, while all five penalty kicks awarded for the Revs have been at Gillette Stadium.
• The Revs wore a combination of their primary and secondary uniforms for the second time this season, wearing white jerseys, blue shorts and white socks … the Revolution wore the same combination on July 25 in Houston.
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