COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – Shalrie Joseph scored the game-tying goal from the penalty spot in the 90th minute to help the 10-man New England Revolution escape Dick’s Sporting Goods Park with a 2-2 draw on Saturday night against the Colorado Rapids.

Benny Feilhaber gave the Revs (4-9-8, 20 pts.) a halftime lead with his first goal for New England in the 25th minute, but Caleb Folan equalized for the Rapids (7-6-10, 31 pts.) when he converted a 65th-minute penalty kick moments after Chris Tierney was issued a straight red card. Kosuke Kimura then put Colorado in front with a fluke goal from inside his own half in the 82nd minute, only for Joseph to equalize with one of the last kicks of the game.

Head coach Steve Nicol trotted out a 4-3-3 formation for the second straight game, but with two changes to the lineup which claimed a 1-0 win over D.C. United on Wednesday night at RFK Stadium. Darrius Barnes replaced the injured Ryan Cochrane (L foot pain) in central defense, while Feilhaber returned from suspension to take over for Zak Boggs along the forward line.

The Rapids wasted little time creating the game’s first real scoring chance, as Kimura unleashed a drive from the top of the box following a surging run down the right wing in just the second minute. Kimura’s shot looked destined for the roof of the net, but Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis acrobatically tipped the ball over the crossbar. 

New England waited until the 25th minute to register its first shot, but it was worth the wait as Feilhaber bagged his first with the Revs to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Kevin Alston’s long throw-in was flicked on at the near post by Stephen McCarthy, while Feilhaber followed up to convert with a diving header from close range.

Sanna Nyassi – twin brother of Revolution midfielder Sainey – threatened to equalize for the Rapids just five minutes later when he forced Reis into a difficult save at his near post, while Colorado midfielder Brian Mullan narrowly missed his connection on a 43rd-minute volley.

Shalrie Joseph almost extended the Revolution’s lead shortly after the halftime break, curling a 25-yard effort inches wide of the right post in the 51st minute.

The game was turned on its head in the 65th minute, however, when the Rapids were awarded a penalty kick and Tierney was issued a straight red card after fouling Nyassi inside the box. Folan stepped up to the spot and coolly dispatched the penalty with a low effort, drawing the sides level at 1-1 as the Revs were reduced to 10 men.

Nicol responded by making a trio of substitutions in the following minutes, bringing on Franco Coria, Sainey Nyassi and Kenny Mansally while withdrawing Zack Schilawski, McCarthy and Rajko Lekic as the Revs moved to a 4-4-1 setup.

Despite playing down a man, the Revs did well to limit Colorado’s chances, but a fluke goal from Kimura put the Rapids in front in the 82nd minute. The right back played a searching ball forward from well inside his own half which fooled Reis as it bounced in the box, skipping over the helpless goalkeeper’s head and into the vacant net. 

Trailing into the dying stages, the shorthanded Revs pushed forward in search of a late equalizer and found it in the 90th minute. Mansally was hauled down in the box by Scott Palguta, setting up the chance for Joseph to fire home a dramatic game-tying goal just as the match was poised to enter stoppage time.

The Revs will play their third straight road game next weekend when they make their first-ever visit to LIVESTRONG Sporting Park to face Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, July 30. Kickoff from the recently opened stadium is set for 8:30 p.m. ET.

New England Revolution at Colorado Rapids
July 23, 2011 – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (Commerce City, Colo.)
New England Revolution 2, Colorado Rapids 2

Scoring Summary:
NE – Benny Feilhaber (Stephen McCarthy, Kevin Alston) 25
COL – Caleb Folan (penalty kick) 65
COL – Kosuke Kimura (unassisted) 82
NE – Shalrie Joseph (penalty kick) 90

New England Revolution: Matt Reis, Chris Tierney, A.J. Soares, Darrius Barnes, Kevin Alston, Stephen McCarthy (Sainey Nyassi 68), Shalrie Joseph ©, Pat Phelan, Benny Feilhaber, Rajko Lekic (Kenny Mansally 75), Zack Schilawski (Franco Coria 66)

Substitutes Not Used: Bobby Shuttleworth, Ryan Guy, Diego Fagundez, Zak Boggs

STATS: Shots: 6; Shots on Goal: 3; Saves: 2; Corner Kicks: 1; Offside: 6; Fouls Committed: 9       

Colorado Rapids: Matt Pickens, Drew Moor, Scott Palguta (Andre Akpan 91+), Marvell Wynne, Kosuke Kimura, Wells Thompson (Omar Cummings 46), Jeff Larentowicz, Pablo Mastroeni, Brian Mullan (Ross LaBauex 86), Sanna Nyassi, Caleb Folan

Substitutes Not Used: Steward Ceus, Joseph Nane, Mike Holody, Tyrone Marshall

STATS: Shots: 7; Shots on Goal: 4; Saves: 1; Corner Kicks: 5; Offside: 2; Fouls Committed: 12       

* Note that all statistics are unofficial

Misconduct Summary:
NE – Chris Tierney (ejection) 64
NE – Sainey Nyassi (caution) 82

Team Records:

New England Revolution – 4-9-8, 20 pts.
Colorado Rapids – 7-6-10, 31 pts.

Referee: Geoff Gamble
Assistant Referees: Frank Anderson, Brian Poeschel
Fourth Official: Silviu Petrescu

Weather: Partly Cloudy and 95 degrees

Attendance:  12,273

NOTES

• With the draw, the Revs moved to 11-18-9 all-time against Colorado, including a 3-12-4 mark in games played in Colorado
• The draw was the second of the season between the two teams after the clubs played to a 0-0 draw at Gillette Stadium on May 7
• The Revolution is now winless against Colorado in its last eight games (0-3-5) since the team’s last win against the Rapids, which was a 1-0 victory at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 29, 2007
• The draw allowed the teams to split the season series for the seventh time in league history (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009)
• The tie extended the Revs’ winless streak in games played in Mountain or Pacific time zones to 15 games, dating back to September 2009 … during that span, the Revs went 0-10-5, with their last win coming on Sept. 20, 2009 – a 1-0 victory at Seattle
• The Revs’ two goals are the team’s most scored in Colorado since the 2006 season when they fell, 3-2, at Invesco Field on July 4 behind goals from Clint Dempsey and Taylor Twellman
• Darrius Barnes returned to the starting lineup after spending two games on the bench to start the game … however, tonight he made his start at central defense – his preferred position – for the first time in 2011 … he has previously started games at left back and right back this season, but not his natural position
• Benny Feilhaber returned to the lineup after missing Wednesday’s win in D.C. while serving his mandatory one-game red-card suspension
• With his start tonight after drawing the starting assignment in D.C. on Wednesday, Zack Schilawski has started back-to-back games for the first time since April 9 vs. Real Salt Lake and April 17 at Houston
• Benny Feilhaber scored his first goal of his MLS career in the 25th minute … he entered the game with a team-high three assists … it took Feilhaber 10 games to score his first goal
• Stephen McCarthy recorded his first-career MLS assist with his headed flick to Benny Feilhaber for the Revs’ first goal … he came into the game with two goals, including the game-winning goal on Wednesday in D.C.
• Kevin Alston recorded his first assist of the 2011 season and his first assist since Sept. 4, 2010 in a 3-1 win against Seattle at Gillette Stadium … Alston how has three career assists, one in each of his three professional seasons so far (2009-present)
• Benny Feilhaber’s goal snapped a 175-minute scoreless streak for the Revolution at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park … the last goal the team scored came in the 29th minute on Oct. 3, 2009 from Kheli Dube off a Kenny Mansally free kick
• Tonight’s game marked just the third time this season – in 21 games – the Revs have led at the half, and just the second time on the road
• Chris Tierney’s red card ejection in the 64th minute was the first of his career and just the third card of any kind – yellow or red – in his four-year career spanning 63 games
• Tierney’s red card was the team’s sixth of the season (in just 21 games), and tied the club’s single-season record for red cards … in 1998, the Revolution were shown six red cards in the 32-game season
• The Revs surrendered a penalty kick for the second consecutive game and for the sixth overall time this season … New England’s opponents are five-for-six from the spot this season with the only miss coming on Wednesday night when Charlie Davies sent his attempt high
• When Sainey Nyassi came into the game in the 68th minute, it marked the first time that the Nyassi identical twins (Sanna plays for Colorado) faced each other … in five previous meetings (two each in 2009 and 2010 while Sanna was with Seattle, and earlier this year on May 7 when Sanna did not travel with the Rapids to Foxborough), they never were on the field at the same time … they came the closest in 2009 in Seattle when Sainey came off the field and Sanna went on two minutes later
• Shalrie Joseph scored his team-leading sixth goal in the 90th minute … three of his six goals have come from the penalty spot … with his successful penalty attempt, he extended his club record penalty-kick mark to 11
• Tonight’s game is the second of two straight road games … the Revs traveled to Colorado directly from Washington, D.C., and spent an extra day in Colorado … the D.C.-Colorado trip is the team’s only multiple-game road trip of the 2011 season
• After kicking off on Wednesday being 91 degrees with a dew point in the mid-70s, tonight the teams kicked off at 95 degrees, despite being much less humid … this marks the first time in Revs club history that they’ve kicked off back-to-back games in 90+ degree temperatures
• Ryan Cochrane, who started the trip in D.C. with the Revs, did not travel to Colorado after returning home on Thursday to have his left foot further examined … Cochrane left the game in the 22nd minute on Wednesday against United with persistent pain in the foot.
• The Revolution wore white tops with blue shorts and white socks for just the second time this season in a uniform that paired items from their standard primary and back-up unis … the last time the team work the white/blue uniform was on April 2 in a home game against Portland … in that game, the referees determined the Revs’ primary home blue uniforms were too close a match to Portland’s primary green uniforms and the Revs needed to switch tops less than one-hour before kickoff… tonight, Colorado’s primary uniform includes white shorts, so the Revs needed to switch to their dark shorts, however those uniform assignments were noted well before game night