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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Captain Steve Ralston converted a late penalty kick to pull the New England Revolution within a goal of the visiting LA Galaxy, but the Revs couldn’t find an equalizer and ultimately fell to the Galaxy, 2-1, on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.

The loss snapped the Revolution’s (6-6-6, 24 pts.) brief four-game unbeaten streak, while the Galaxy (7-3-10, 31 pts.) is now undefeated in its last six league matches. The win was LA’s first in New England since July 11, 1999, as the club had gone 0-7-2 in its last nine regular-season visits to Foxborough.

Landon Donovan gave the Galaxy a halftime lead with a spectacular first-half goal, while Jovan Kirovski doubled the visitors’ lead seven minutes after the break. Ralston’s 83rd-minute penalty kick gave the Revs hope and made for a tense ending to the match, but the home side couldn’t muster a second goal.

Revolution head coach Steve Nicol was suspended for the game after he was ejected from the club’s last match, a 1-1 draw with Toronto FC on Aug. 1. In his place, assistant coach Paul Mariner led the team from the bench with the help of goalkeepers coach Gwynne Williams.

Both teams threatened early, with the best chance falling to New England defender Kevin Alston in the 13th minute. Shalrie Joseph – in the starting lineup for the first time since June 13 after recovering from a right knee injury – created the chance, serving a long ball into the right corner for Alston to run onto. The speedy rookie rounded the corner and got a shot off from a tight angle, but his effort was saved by Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts and the rebound was cleared to safety by Omar Gonzalez.

The Galaxy opened the scoring in the 21st minute, however, as Donovan scored what will surely be a candidate for Goal of the Year. Forward Alan Gordon’s cross into the box was half-cleared by Revolution defender Darrius Barnes, but the ball floated into the path of Donovan, who was positioned at the top of the box to the right of goal. The U.S. National Team’s all-time leading scorer struck a full, left-footed volley, which flew past Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis and into the upper left corner of the net.

New England responded with increased pressure and maintained the majority of the possession throughout the remainder of the half – outshooting LA, 8-5 – but the home side never seriously tested the Galaxy goal.

The Revs made one change at halftime, bringing on Sainey Nyassi for Edgaras Jankauskas. Nyassi took over at right midfield, pushing Ralston into the middle and Joseph up top alongside Kheli Dube.

It was the visitors which came out flying to start the second half, however, extending their lead to 2-0 in the 52nd minute when Kirovski scored his second goal of the season. Eddie Lewis’ curling delivery from the left wing drew Reis off his line, but Gordon challenged Reis and was able to get his head on the ball, knocking it loose in the box. Kirovski pounced on the free ball and slotted a low shot into the net, past the Revolution’s backtracking defenders.

New England adjusted to the two-goal deficit by switching to a more attacking 3-5-2 formation in the 67th minute, when midfielder Pat Phelan replaced defender Emmanuel Osei.

The move finally paid off in the 83rd minute when Ralston scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season from the penalty spot to cut the deficit in half. As he burst into the box, Kenny Mansally was clipped by Gonzalez to set up the penalty kick, which Ralston placed inside the right post, past the diving reach of Ricketts.

Trailing by a goal with time running out, the Revolution threw everyone forward in search of an equalizer, but it wasn’t to be and the Galaxy held on to earn all three points.

The Revs are off next weekend for the first time since mid-April, and they won’t return to action until Thursday, Aug. 20, when they visit expansion club Seattle Sounders FC at Qwest Field. The match is set to kick off at 10 p.m. ET, and all of the action will be broadcast live in high definition on ESPN2 HD.

New England Revolution vs. LA Galaxy
August 8, 2009 – Foxborough, Mass. (Gillette Stadium)

Scoring Summary:
LA – Landon Donovan (unassisted) 21
LA – Jovan Kirovski (Alan Gordon, Eddie Lewis) 52
NE – Steve Ralston (penalty kick) 83

New England Revolution (4-4-2): Matt Reis (GK), Jay Heaps, Emmanuel Osei (Pat Phelan 67), Darrius Barnes, Kevin Alston, Kenny Mansally, Shalrie Joseph, Jeff Larentowicz, Steve Ralston ©, Kheli Dube (Wells Thompson 78), Edgaras Jankauskas (Sainey Nyassi 46)

Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton (GK), Mauricio Castro, Amaechi Igwe, Mike Videira

STATS: Shots 14; Shots on Goal 4; Saves 5; Corner Kicks 1; Offsides 6; Fouls Committed 11

LA Galaxy (4-4-2): Donovan Ricketts (GK), Todd Dunivant, Gregg Berhalter, Omar Gonzalez, A.J. DeLaGarza, Eddie Lewis (Chris Klein 80), Stefani Miglioranzi, David Beckham (Chris Birchall 87), Landon Donovan ©, Alan Gordon (Bryan Jordan 92+), Jovan Kirovski

Substitutes Not Used: Josh Saunders (GK), Dema Kovalenko, Mike Magee, Tony Sanneh

STATS: Shots 12; Shots on Goal 7; Saves 3; Corner Kicks 1; Offsides 2; Fouls Committed 15

Misconduct Summary:
NE – Kenny Mansally (caution) 74
LA – Eddie Lewis (caution) 77
Referee: Jorge Gonzalez
Referee’s Assistants: Adam Wienckowski (SAR), Jason Cullum (JAR)
Fourth Official: Thomas Supple
Time of Game: 1:51
Weather: Sunny and 74 degrees
Attendance: 26,623

NOTES

• As part of his suspension, Revolution head coach Steve Nicol watched the game from a suite in the upper-tier of the stadium … Nicol was not allowed to enter any restricted team areas prior to the conclusion of the game, nor was he allowed to communicate with his staff during the game … this marked Nicol’s first suspension since the FC Dallas match on Sept. 15, 2007, following his ejection against D.C. United on Sept. 9, 2007 … he will also be suspended for the Revolution’s next match at Seattle Sounders FC on Aug. 20.
• With the win, the Galaxy swept the season series with the Revolution and earned its first series win over New England since 1999.
• The loss was the Revolution’s first to the Galaxy in a regular-season game at Gillette Stadium … the Revs were 5-0-2 in seven previous regular-season games against the Galaxy at Gillette Stadium since the facility opened in 2002.
• New England’s six-game home unbeaten run (3-0-3) was snapped with the loss … the Revs are now 4-2-3 at home in the 2009 regular season.
• LA remains undefeated against Eastern Conference teams win the win (5-0-4).
• The Revs have now scored 16 of their 20 regular-season goals in the second half.
• Shalrie Joseph returned to the Revolution’s starting lineup for the first time since June 13, playing alongside Jeff Larentowicz in the center of midfield … Joseph missed seven games in all competitions with bone bruising in his right knee before appearing as a halftime substitute in each of the Revolution’s last three games.
• Captain Steve Ralston started on the right side of midfield for the first time this season … Ralston has spent the majority of his 14-year career playing right midfield, but he had played withdrawn forward, central midfield and left back this season prior to tonight’s match.
• This was the first game in which the Revolution conceded multiple goals since a 3-1 loss to the Kansas City Wizards on June 13 … New England allowed just two total goals in five games from July 4 – Aug. 1.