FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Carlos Ruiz and Carlos Valdes scored first-half goals and Sheanon Williams tacked on a third in stoppage time as the Philadelphia Union claimed a 3-0 win over the ten-man New England Revolution on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium.

Union goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon wasn’t forced to make a save in recording his seventh shutout of the season as the Revs – who were reduced to ten men in the 66th minute when Benny Feilhaber was issued his second yellow card – failed to register a shot on goal for just the third time in club history.

The victory vaulted Philadelphia (8-4-7, 31 pts.) into sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference, while the loss extended the Revolution’s (3-9-7, 16 pts.) winless streak to nine games (0-6-3), matching the club record set in 1998.

Revolution captain Shalrie Joseph (yellow card accumulation) and center back Ryan Cochrane (red card) were unavailable while serving one-game suspensions, prompting Stephen McCarthy and Franco Coria to replace the duo in the starting lineup. Kenny Mansally also earned his first starting assignment since June 18 after scoring in the midweek friendly with Manchester United.

The visitors jumped out to an early lead when Ruiz put the finishing touch on a flowing move in the 12th minute. Ruiz began the sequence by flicking the ball down the right wing for Justin Mapp, who worked his way into the box before playing a cross the back post for Keon Daniel. The Trinidadian rose to head the ball back across the face of goal to Ruiz, who acrobatically volleyed into the roof of the net.

Valdes doubled the Union’s lead to 2-0 with a similar goal in the 24th minute. Kyle Nakazawa delivered a curling free kick from the center channel to the left post, where Sebastien Le Toux laid out to head a pass back into the middle. Valdes was on hand for the simple finish to register his first goal in Major League Soccer.

Held without a shot – on target or otherwise – in the opening 45 minutes, the Revs made a pair of changes during the halftime break. Zak Boggs and Darrius Barnes entered the match, replacing Sainey Nyassi and Coria as the Revolution moved to a 3-5-2 formation.

The moves sparked the Revolution to life and the home side quickly registered a pair of shots. McCarthy volleyed over the crossbar following a corner kick in the 47th minute, while Mansally flashed a header wide of the right post from a Boggs cross one minute later.

Only the woodwork prevented the Revs from getting on the board in the 51st minute, when Chris Tierney lashed a shot from a tight angle only to see his effort crash off the intersection of post and crossbar.

New England’s comeback effort took a massive blow in the 66th minute, however, when Feilhaber was issued a second yellow card and was subsequently ejected following a foul on Ruiz.

Le Toux almost capitalized on Philadelphia’s man advantage in the 76th minute when he was played into the left side of the box by a clever back-heel, but his close-range effort was smothered by Matt Reis. The Revolution goalkeeper came up big again in the 79th minute to deny Williams’ tight-angle drive.

Reis could do nothing to prevent Williams from scoring in the third minute of stoppage time, however, as the Boston native surged in alone and toe poked a shot inside the far post with the last kick of the game.

The Revs will begin a season-long three-game road trip on Wednesday, July 20, when they visit Eastern Conference foe D.C. United. Kickoff from RFK Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m.

New England Revolution vs. Philadelphia Union
July 17, 2011 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Philadelphia Union 3, New England Revolution 0

Scoring Summary: PHI – Carlos Ruiz (Keon Daniel, Justin Mapp) 12 PHI – Carlos Valdes (Sebastien Le Toux, Kyle Nakazawa) 24 PHI – Sheanon Williams (Danny Mwanga) 93+

New England Revolution: Matt Reis (c), Kevin Alston, Franco Coria (Darius Barnes 46), A.J. Soares, Chris Tierney, Sainey Nyassi (Zak Boggs, 46), Pat Phelan, Kenny Mansally (Zack Schilawski 79), Stephen McCarthy, Benny Feilhaber, Rajko Lekic

Substitutes Not Used: Bobby Shuttleworth, Otto Loewy, Alan Koger, Ryan Guy

STATS: Shots: 6; Shots on Goal: 0; Saves: 4; Corner Kicks: 6; Offside: 2; Fouls Committed: 10

STATS: Shots: 12; Shots on Goal: 8; Saves: 0; Corner Kicks: 5 ; Offside: 0; Fouls Committed: 8

* Note that all statistics are unofficial

Misconduct Summary:
NE – Benny Feilhaber (caution) 49
NE – Benny Feilhaber (caution) 66
NE – Benny Feilhaber (second caution/ejection) 66
PHI – Keon Daniel (caution) 71

Referee: Chris Penso
Assistant Referees: Hector Vergara, Eric Boria
Fourth Official: Mark Geiger
Weather: Clear, 85 degrees
Attendance: 13,414

GAME NOTES:

• With the loss, the Revs fell to 0-2-1 all-time against Philadelphia, and remain winless against the second-year club … the Revs are now 0-2-0 at home against the Union following a 2-1 loss in 2010
• The Revs will conclude the two-game season series against Philly on Sunday, Aug. 28, at PPL Park
• With the loss, the Revs are now winless in their last nine games (0-6-3) …the nine-game winless streak is tied for the club-record nine-game winless streak in 1998 (0-9 between May 13 and July 1) … the Revs last picked up three points on May 14 against Vancouver
• The Revolution failed to record a shot on goal for the first time this season, and only the third time in club history … the last time the club failed to record a shot on goal was September 13, 2009, at Chivas USA in a 2-0 loss
• The Revs were also held to zero shots in the first half, just the fifth time in club history that the team was kept shotless for the first half…. the Revs were last held shotless in the opening 45 minutes of play back on September 13, 2009, at Chivas USA, and also at Houston on May 3, 2009 … prior to that, the club had been held shotless in the first half once in 2008, which was the first time in eight seasons
• Kevin Alston started his 18th consecutive match for the Revs, after missing the team’s first match of the season at LA on March 20 … the streak is Alston’s second-longest appearance streak in his career … no other Revs player has a longer current consecutive appearances streak
• Beginning the game in a 4-4-2 formation, the Revs made two 46th-minute substitutions – Darrius Barnes replaced Franco Coria and Zak Boggs came on for Sainey Nyassi – and shifted into a 3-5-2 formation until the 66th minute, shifting into a 3-4-2 after Benny Feilhaber’s red-card
• Benny Feilhaber picked up his second caution and subsequent ejection in the 66th-minute … the Revs shifted into a 3-4-2 formation for the remainder of the match … Feilhaber will be unavailable in the next match on Wednesday (July 20) against D.C. United as he will serve a mandatory one-game red-card suspension
• The shutout effectively ended Benny Feilhaber’s two-game assist streak … Feilhaber had started the previous two games after returning from a right ankle sprain, recording an assist in consecutive games at Sounders FC (June 26) and Real Salt Lake (July 4)
• The loss at home to Philadelphia drops the Revs’ home record this season to 2-1-2 against the East and 3-3-4 overall … the last home win came against Vancouver (May 14), while the last home win against an Eastern Conference opponent came against Kansas City (April 23)
• In the 10 home games this season (3-3-4), the Revs have only posted eight goals at Gillette Stadium during that span, while surrendering 11
• Feilhaber’s red-card ejection is the second ejection for the Revs as a team in as many games (Ryan Cochrane, July 4 at RSL) …the last time the Revs had consecutive games with a player being sent off was in April – A.J. Soares (April 6 at Vancouver) and both Shalrie Joseph and Pat Phelan (April 9 vs. RSL)