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SANDY, Utah – Six different players scored goals for Real Salt Lake in a remarkable second-half performance, as the New England Revolution fell to its first defeat of the season in convincing fashion, 6-0, on Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium.

The six-goal outburst in the second half marked the first time in club history that the Revs conceded six goals in one half, as the previous mark of five was set on Aug. 11, 1996, against the San Jose Clash. Meanwhile, the six-goal loss was the worst regular-season defeat in club history, besting a pair of 6-1 losses in 1996 and 1998. The Revs did lose 6-0 once before in the postseason, to the Chicago Fire in Game Three of the 2000 MLS Cup Playoffs quarterfinals.

New England (2-1-2, 8 pts.) was put under heavy pressure in the opening minutes as Real Salt Lake (3-2-0, 9 pts.) pushed for an early goal. The home side’s best chance during the stretch came in the sixth minute, when Javier Morales’ 20-yard drive sailed just high and wide of the upper right corner.

While RSL continued to create the majority of the scoring chances in the first half – the Revs were outshot, 12-3 - the pace slowed down considerably after the opening 10 minutes. Real Salt Lake didn’t seriously threaten to score until the 37th minute, when Morales’ long ball over the top of the Revolution’s backline sent Yura Movsisyan one-on-one with goalkeeper Brad Knighton. However, Movsisyan struck his shot low and directly at Knighton, who made a comfortable save.

New England’s best opportunity of the game fell to Sainey Nyassi in the 38th minute. The 20-year-old Gambian drove forward to the top of the box, but his low blast from 20 yards out was hit straight at RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando.

The second half began in much the same way that the entirety of the first half went, with Real Salt Lake continuing to control possession. The hosts were finally rewarded for their pressure with two goals in the space of two minutes early in the second half, both from Morales corner kicks.

Jamison Olave opened the scoring for RSL in the 53rd minute, rising unmarked near the penalty spot to power a header past Knighton and inside the right post, while Clint Mathis doubled the lead with a spectacular goal in the 56th minute. Morales’ driven service from the right corner reached Mathis at the far post, and the veteran forward used his first touch to strike a full, left-footed volley which sliced into the near upper corner.

Salt Lake put the game out of reach with a third goal in the 70th minute, when Yura Movsisyan scored his first goal of the season. Mathis slipped a pass through the Revs’ backline and sent Movisyan into the right side of the box, and the 21-year-old finished past Knighton inside the far post.

The score was pushed to 4-0 in the 81st minute when second-half substitute Luis Miguel Escalada recorded the first goal of his MLS career. The goal was scored from a similar position as Movsisyan’s earlier strike, as Ned Grabavoy laid off a pass to Escalada in the right side of the box and the first-year player placed his shot inside the far post.

RSL notched its fifth goal in the 85th minute when former Revolution midfielder Andy Williams placed a free kick from the left wing into the far upper corner, while the scoring was complete in the 89th minute when Robbie Findley finished a breakaway chance after being played through by Williams.

The Revs will return home for their next match on Sunday, May 3, when they’ll welcome the Houston Dynamo to Gillette Stadium for the first time since last year’s SuperLiga championship match. The game is set to kick off at 3 p.m. ET and will be televised locally on TV38 and nationally in Spanish on Telefutura.

New England Revolution at Real Salt Lake
April 25, 2009 – Sandy, Utah (Rio Tinto Stadium)

Scoring Summary:
RSL – Jamison Olave (Javier Morales) 53
RSL – Clint Mathis (Javier Morales) 55
RSL – Yura Movsisyan (Clint Mathis) 70
RSL – Luis Miguel Escalada (Ned Grabavoy, Robbie Russell) 81
RSL – Andy Williams (unassisted) 85
RSL – Robbie Findley (Andy Williams) 89

New England Revolution (4-4-2): Brad Knighton (GK), Chris Tierney, Jay Heaps, Darrius Barnes, Amaechi Igwe, Wells Thompson, Shalrie Joseph ©, Jeff Larentowicz, Sainey Nyassi, Kenny Mansally, Kheli Dube (Michael Videira 64)

Substitutes Not Used: Matt Reis (GK), Zack Simmons (GK), Stephane Assengue, Rob Valentino, Pat Phelan

STATS: Shots 6; Shots on Goal 2; Saves 6; Corner Kicks 1; Offsides 2; Fouls Committed 10

Real Salt Lake (4-4-2): Nick Rimando (GK), Chris Wingert, Nat Borchers, Jamison Olave, Robbie Russell, Will Johnson, Kyle Beckerman ©, Clint Mathis (Andy Williams 74), Javier Morales (Ned Grabavoy 68), Yura Movsisyan (Luis Miguel Escalada 72), Robbie Findley

Substitutes Not Used: Chris Seitz (GK), Tony Beltran, Jean Alexandre, David Horst

STATS: Shots 29; Shots on Goal 12; Saves 2; Corner Kicks 8; Offsides 2; Fouls Committed 6

Misconduct Summary:

NE – Wells Thompson (caution) 22
RSL – Javier Morales (caution) 43
NE – Jay Heaps (caution) 45
RSL – Yura Movsisyan (caution) 45
NE – Kenny Mansally (caution) 57

Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Referee’s Assistants: Fabio Tovar (SAR), Adam Garner (JAR)
Fourth Official: Tyler Ploeger
Time of Game: 1:53
Weather: Cloudy and 46 degrees
Attendance: 14,051

 
NOTES

• Saturday night’s match was just the ninth all-time meeting between New England and Real Salt Lake … with the win, RSL evened the series at 3-3-3.
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• This marked the Revolution’s first-ever match at Rio Tinto Stadium, Real Salt Lake’s brand new facility which opened on Oct. 9, 2008 … previously, RSL had played its home games at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
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• RSL is now 5-1-1 in MLS games at Rio Tinto Stadium, including 3-0-0 in three matches in 2009.
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• The Revs are now just 1-3-3 in their last seven overall meetings with RSL after winning the first two games of the all-time series.
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• Saturday night’s match ended a stretch in which the Revolution played four of its first five matches on the road … the Revs went 1-1-2 on the road in that stretch.
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• Milford, Mass., native Mike Videira made his MLS debut, entering the match in the 64th minute and playing as an attacking midfielder … Videira played his high school soccer at Noble and Greenough School with Revolution teammate Chris Tierney, who coincidentally also made his MLS debut in Salt Lake on June 21, 2008.
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• As has been the case for all five matches this season, New England was missing several key players, including seven possible starters … Steve Ralston (R adductor strain), Taylor Twellman (neck pain), Kevin Alston (R hamstring strain), Mauricio Castro (L hamstring strain), Gabriel Badilla (lower back sprain) and Chris Albright (L lateral meniscus tear) were all unavailable because of injury … meanwhile, goalkeeper Matt Reis (R knee inflammation) was available on the bench for the third consecutive game, but has now missed a total of four games while suffering from inflammation in his right knee.
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• Because of injuries, the Revs only traveled 17 players to Salt Lake, including all three of their goalkeepers.