FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Second-half substitute Diego Fagundez scored with the last kick of the game as the New England Revolution opened up a three-game home-stand by rescuing a 2-2 draw with Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.
Fagundez entered the game in the 81st minute and scored the dramatic equalizer in the fourth minute of stoppage time – heading home fellow substitute Fernando Cardenas’ left-wing cross – marking the second straight week the Revs did so after Chris Tierney’s 94th-minute equalizer last weekend against Toronto FC.
A pair of first-half goals from Eddie Johnson had Seattle on the brink of victory after cancelling out Saer Sene’s opener in the 12th minute, but Fagundez’s leveler extended the Sounders’ (7-5-5, 26 pts.) club-record winless run to eight games (0-4-4) and helped the Revs (5-7-4, 19 pts.) stretch their unbeaten run to four games (1-0-3).
Shalrie Joseph returned to New England’s central midfield after a one-game absence, while Flo Lechner started at right back in place of the injured Kevin Alston (L hamstring tightness). Blake Brettschneider rounded out the changes to the Revolution’s lineup as the forward earned his first start since May 26.
Brettschneider repaid head coach Jay Heaps’ faith by setting up Sene’s opening goal in the 12th minute. After fighting through a pair of Sounders defenders at the top of the box and having his initial shot blocked, Brettschneider slotted a pass across the face of goal for Sene to tap into an empty net from close range.
The Sounders responded through Johnson just 11 minutes later, however, pulling even at 1-1 in the 23rd minute. Mauro Rosales forced a turnover in the attacking third and immediately sent a curling cross into the box for Johnson, who escaped his marker and buried a powerful header from eight yards out.
Johnson struck again in the 35th minute, doubling his own haul and pushing the visitors into a 2-1 lead. From deep in the left corner, Marc Burch delivered an arching cross into the middle. Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis came to collect but missed and Johnson out-jumped A.J. Soares to head home his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
Brettschneider almost found an immediate response for the Revs in the 37th minute when his long-range shot forced Seattle goalkeeper Andrew Weber into a sprawling save low to his left. Weber was injured on the play, forcing backup Bryan Meredith into the game following the halftime break.
Trailing by a goal, the Revs made a trio of attack-minded substitutions throughout the second half, bringing on Kelyn Rowe (64th minute), Cardenas (71st minute) and Fagundez (81st minute).
The moves paid dividends deep into second-half stoppage time when Cardenas crossed for Fagundez to notch his first goal of the season. Cardenas’ driven service from the left wing found Fagundez free in the box and the diminutive forward made no mistake with his header, powering his effort back across goal and into the far side netting.
The Revs will continue their three-game home-stand next weekend when they host the New York Red Bulls on Sunday, July 8. Kickoff from Gillette Stadium is set for 7 p.m.
New England Revolution vs. Seattle Sounders FC
June 30, 2012 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
New England Revolution 2, Seattle Sounders FC 2
Scoring Summary:
NE – Saer Sene (Blake Brettschneider) 12
SEA – Eddie Johnson (Mauro Rosales) 23
SEA – Eddie Johnson (Marc Burch) 35
NE – Diego Fagundez (Fernando Cardenas) 94+
New England Revolution: Matt Reis, Chris Tierney, A.J. Soares, Stephen McCarthy, Flo Lechner (Diego Fagundez 81), Lee Nguyen, Clyde Simms (Kelyn Rowe 46), Shalrie Joseph ©, Benny Feilhaber, Saer Sene, Blake Brettschneider (Fernando Cardenas 71)
Substitutes Not Used: Bobby Shuttleworth, Darrius Barnes, Sainey Nyassi, Alec Purdie, Ryan Guy
STATS: Shots 12, Shots on Target 4, Corner Kicks 4, Saves 1, Fouls 8, Offsides 1, Passes Completed (percentage) 509 (79.2%), Possession 59.9%
Seattle Sounders FC: Andrew Weber (Bryan Meredith 46), Zach Scott, Adam Johansson, Patrick Ianni, Marc Burch, Mauro Rosales ©, Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans (Alvaro Fernandez 56), Andy Rose, Alex Caskey (Leo Gonzalez 80), Eddie Johnson
Substitutes Not Used: Cordell Cato, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Roger Levesque, Sammy Ochoa
STATS: Shots 10, Shots on Target 3, Corner Kicks 2, Saves 2, Fouls 20, Offsides 5, Passes Completed (percentage) 337 (73.0%), Possession 40.1%
* Note that all statistics are unofficial
Misconduct Summary:
SEA: Rose (caution) 18
SEA: Alonso (caution) 50
SEA: Gonzalez (caution) 90
Referee: Edvin Jurisevic
Assistant Referees: Anthony Vasoli, James Conlee
Fourth Official: Jose Carlos Rivero
Weather: Clear and 84 degrees
Attendance: 15,264
Team Records
New England Revolution: 5-7-4 (19 pts.)
Seattle Sounders FC 7-5-5 (26 pts.)
GAME NOTES:
- With the draw tonight, each team is now 3-3-1 in the all-time, regular-season series between the teams after seven meetings … the Revs are 2-1-1 against Seattle at Gillette Stadium
- With four goals combined tonight, six of the teams’ seven meetings have seen a combined score of at least three goals … only one match the first-ever contest in 2009 in Seattle – has seen a single goal scored
- Tonight’s match is the only regular-season game between the two teams this season and the first time since Seattle joined MLS in 2009 that the two teams will not meet twice in a season
- The 2-2 finish marked the Revs’ third consecutive draw dating back to June 16 … the Revs finished in a scoreless draw against Columbus on June 16 and last weekend played to a 2-2 draw at Toronto
- The 94th-minute equalizer marked the second consecutive game in which the Revs have scored a game-tying goal in stoppage time … last Saturday at Toronto, Chris Tierney scored a 94th-minute equalizer at Toronto to secure a point on the road
- The Revs’ 94th-minute equalizer also marked just the second time this season that the team has secured a result after trailing at the 75th minute mark, improving their marks to 0-5-2 on the year when trailing headed into the final 15 minutes
- With the draw, a pair of unbeaten streaks continued tonight for the Revolution … the club has a season-high, four-game unbeaten streak (1-0-3) with three-consecutive draws following the June 2 win against Chicago … the Revs also have a five-game unbeaten streak (2-0-3) at Gillette Stadium dating back to a 2-1 win over Colorado on May 2
- The draw improved the Revs’ record to 4-3-1 against the Western Conference this season and the draw also preserved the club’s undefeated (3-0-1) record against the West at home
- The Revs completed an unbeaten June (1-0-3) for just the second time in club history … in 2001, the Revs also went 1-0-3 in four games … last June the Revs went 0-3-2 in five games
- Shalrie Joseph & Matt Reis played their 206th career game together, setting an MLS record …the record for most starts for a pairing was previously held by Nick Garcia and Kerry Zavagnin of Kansas City with 205 pairings from 2000-2007 … Reis and Joseph have been teammates on the Revolution since 2003Saer Sene scored his eighth goal of the season in the 12th minute … the goal was Sene’s first since May 26, when he scored at D.C. United
- Brettschneider recorded his first assist of the season on Saer Sene’s 12th-minute goal … the assist was Brettschneider’s first with the Revolution and first since his two-assist performance on May 29, 2011 at Portland while a member of D.C. United Diego Fagundez replaced Flo Lechner in the 81st minute as the Revolution shifted to a 4-3-3 formation with Fagundez playing at forward … the appearance was Fagundez’s sixth of the year
- Fagundez scored a header goal -- his first goal of the season -- in the 94th minute … the goal was Fagundez’s first since his header-goal on Oct. 1, 2011, also against Seattle.
- Fernando Cardenas earned his second assist of the season on Diego Fagundez’s 94th-minute equalizer … both of Cardenas’ assists on the year have been game-tying as he earned a secondary assist on Chris Tierney’s 94th-minute goal at Toronto last weekend.
- Blake Brettschneider made his seventh start of the season and fifth start alongside Saer Sene … the five starts for the Sene/Brettschneider striker pairing is tied with the duo of Jose Moreno and Sene for most partnership starts on the team this season … Jay Heaps has used a two-striker formation to start the game in 14 of the team’s 16 matches this year
- Matt Reis is now 3-2-1 all time against Seattle with an 1.33 goals against average and one shutout
