FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Juan Agudelo scored a goal in his first game back after missing eight games with an injury and Kelyn Rowe added an insurance goal late as the New England Revolution earned a 2-0 win over the rival Chicago Fire on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.

New England (9-9-6, 33 pts.) snapped its two-game losing streak – both of which were shutout defeats – and simultaneously extended its winning streak against Chicago (9-10-4, 31 pts.) to three games, all by shutout.

The victory also leapfrogged the Revs over Chicago in the Eastern Conference standings, pushing the Revs to 33 points in sixth place. With three points separating places one through five in the east – and the Revs only three points back of fifth – the result helped the Revs keep pace in the East headed into Week 26.

After a scoreless first half in which the Revs dominated possession – 64 percent to 36 percent – Agudelo got the Revs on the board with a goal-of-the-year candidate in the 54th minute. Chris Tierney sent a long pass over the back of the Fire defense and connected with Agudelo on the run near the edge of the box. The forward chipped Fire keeper Sean Johnson with a back-heeled shot and the ball looped over Johnson and then defender Bakary Soumare as he tried to clear the ball from the line.

With the one-goal lead, the Revs continued to push the game and finally found a second goal in stoppage time. Lee Nguyen sprang Saer Sene down the right sideline, the French forward cut toward goal. His angled shot was deflected by Johnson, but Rowe was on the doorstep to pocket the goal to push the final score to 2-0.

The Revs made several changes to their lineup in the last game. Highlighting the changes was the insertion of Matt Reis in goal, who recorded his third shutout in three games this season. Also coming into the lineup was Agudelo, who last saw action on June 14 in Vancouver. Chad Barrett came in at right midfield for Sene, while Fagundez came back in at left midfield as Tierney dropped to left back in place of Kevin Alston. Finally, A.J. Soares stepped in to pair with Jose Goncalves at center back in place of Stephen McCarthy.

Chicago had the game’s first chance in the 18th minute, when Mike Magee – who shared the league lead in goals entering the game – hit the near post from close range and then saw his rebound saved by Reis. The chance, which came on a counter following a Revs corner, began when Juan Luis Anangono took the clearance and streaked down the left channel. His pass across the top of the box was deflected right to Magee on the far post, and the striker hit the woodwork before seeing his second shot saved.

There was some post-game commotion when two players were shown red following Edvin Jurisevic’s final whistle. Soumare and Sene were both shown red cards for tussles after the final whistle, apparently after each confronted other the team’s bench personnel.

The Revolution returns to action on Sunday, Aug. 25, when it hosts the Philadelphia Union at Gillette Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, and the match will be broadcast live on TV by Comcast SportsNet and on the radio by 98.5 The Sports Hub.

New England Revolution vs. Chicago Fire
August 17, 2013 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

New England Revolution 2, Chicago Fire 0

Scoring Summary:
NE – Juan Agudelo (Chris Tierney) 54
NE – Kelyn Rowe (unassisted) 91+
New England Revolution: Matt Reis, Chris Tierney, Jose Goncalves ©, A.J. Soares, Andrew Farrell, Diego Fagundez (Ryan Guy 86), Lee Nguyen, Scott Caldwell, Kelyn Rowe, Chad Barrett (Charlie Davies 79), Juan Agudelo (Saer Sene 68)

Substitutes Not Used: Bobby Shuttleworth, Jerry Bengtson, Kevin Alston, Stephen McCarthy

STATS: Shots 18, Shots on Target 8, Corner Kicks 7, Saves 3, Fouls 7, Offsides 3, Passes 396 (82.1%), Possession 55.4%

Chicago Fire: Sean Johnson, Jalil Anibaba, Austin Berry, Bakary Soumare, Gonzalo Segares, Dilly Duka (Daniel Paladini 73), Jeff Larentowicz ©, Arevalo Rios, Joel Lindpere (Alex 63), Juan Luis Anangono (Quincy Amarikwa 64), Mike Magee

Substitutes Not Used: Paolo Tornaghi, Logan Pause, Mike Videira, Hunter Jumper

STATS: Shots 7, Shots on Target 3, Corner Kicks 3, Saves 6, Fouls 11, Offsides 3, Passes 322 (71.4%), Possession 44.6%

* Note that all statistics are unofficial as supplied by Opta

Misconduct Summary:
CHI – Gonzalo Segares (caution) 34
CHI – Bakary Soumare (ejection) 95+
NE – Saer Sene (ejection) 95+
Referee: Edvin Jurisevic
Assistant Referees: C.J. Morgante (AR1), Matthew Nelson (AR2)
Fourth Official: Kevin Terry Jr.
Weather: 72 degrees and partly cloudy
Attendance: 14,630

Team Records:
Chicago Fire – 9-10-4 (31 pts.)
New England Revolution – 9-9-6 (33 pts.)

GAME NOTES

• With the win, the Revs improved to 9-9-6 on the season and 5-4-3 at Gillette Stadium
• The club is now 8-3-1 when scoring the first goal this season
• Saturday’s win also improved the Revs record against Eastern Conference opponents to 7-5-3
• The Revs are now 17-19-9 all-time against Chicago in MLS regular-season play
• Saturday was the second of three regular-season meetings between the clubs … the Revs won the first game 1-0 on March 9 at Toyota Park … the clubs finish the regular-season series at Chicago on Sept. 14
• Juan Agudelo made his first appearance since June 14 after he missed eight MLS games while recovering from a knee sprain suffered on June 26
• Juan Agudelo scored his sixth goal of the season and fourth as a member of the Revs
• Juan Agudeo has now scored in back-to-back games in which he has played and in four of six matches he has played with New England since joining the club via trade in early May
• Kelyn Rowe scored his third goal of the season with his stoppage time tally … the second-year midfielder now has three goals and six assists on the season
• Kelyn Rowe’s goal was his second career goal against Chicago, and pushed his career scoring against the Fire to two goals and three assists in just five games
• Chris Tierney recorded his fifth assist – and second game-winning assist – on the season … Tierney is one assist shy of the team lead for game-winning helpers
• Chris Tierney’s assist was his 10th career game-winning assist … he is ranked third in club history in game-winning assists and is three shy of Shalrie Joseph (2003-2012), who sits second with 13
• Matt Reis recorded his third shutout in as many games this season … he now has 73rd career shutout and his 64th as a member of the Revs
• Saturday marked Matt Reis’s first start since March 23 against Sporting Kansas City
• Between Matt Reis and Bobby Shuttleworth, the Revs have posted a league-best 12 shutouts through Week 25
• Charlie Davies made his first appearance as a member of the Revs, coming on as a second-half substitute for Diego Fagundez … Saturday marked Davies’ first MLS action since October 19, 2011 while a member of D.C. United
• Chad Barrett and A.J. Soares both returned to the starting lineup for the first time since July 20 in the team’s 2-1 win at Columbus
• The Revs were one shy of their season-high for shots, posting 18 tonight … the team recorded 19 shots twice this season
• The Revs also recorded eight shots on goal, a total that tied for their second most this season … the team recorded nine shots on goal against San Jose on July 6