CARSON, Calif. – Rookie Kelyn Rowe scored the first goal of his MLS career while Chris Tierney and Saer Sène followed up with additional strikes as the New England Revolution rolled to a 3-1 win over the LA Galaxy on Saturday night at The Home Depot Center.

Rowe scored the game’s opening goal in the 10th minute and Tierney added a quick-fire second just three minutes later to stake New England (2-2-0, 6 pts.) to an early 2-0 lead. Sène tacked on a third with his second goal of the season in the 65th minute before Robbie Keane grabbed a late consolation goal for the Galaxy (1-2-0, 3 pts.).

It was the Revolution’s second straight win and the club’s first on the West Coast since 2009, snapping a streak of 11 winless games in the Pacific Time Zone. This marks New England’s first back-to-back wins since 2010 after the club failed to win consecutive games last season.

There was just one change to the Revolution lineup which claimed a 1-0 win over the Portland Timbers last weekend as Stephen McCarthy returned from suspension to take the place of Blake Brettschneider. McCarthy partnered A.J. Soares in central defense, pushing Shalrie Joseph back into central midfield, Rowe wide right and Ryan Guy into the vacant forward position.

Limited to just one goal in their first three matches, the Revs exploded for two in the span of three minutes early in the first half as Rowe (10th minute) and Tierney (13th minute) handed the visitors a 2-0 lead.

Both goals began with Joseph, back in his usual central midfield position after serving as a makeshift center back last weekend against Portland. New England’s captain teed up Rowe for the opening goal in the 10th minute when his left-wing cross found the UCLA product unmarked inside the box. Rowe’s initial full-volley effort was saved by Galaxy goalkeeper Josh Saunders, but the rebound fell kindly and the rookie finished on the second attempt.

Joseph was again the provider three minutes later as his cutting through ball sprang Kevin Alston into the right side of the box. Alston drove to the byline and cut a pass back across the face of goal, finding Tierney arriving late at the back post for a well-placed finish to Saunders’ right.

Tierney continued to press forward from his left back position and tested Saunders with a pair of left-footed drives in the 25th and 35th minutes. First Tierney barreled into acres of space down the left wing before blasting a tight-angle drive at Saunders, while 10 minutes later he forced a quality save with a blistering free kick from 30 yards.

The Galaxy had a set-piece chance of its own in the 39th minute when McCarthy fouled Edson Buddle 35 yards from goal, but Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis tipped David Beckham’s curling free kick off the crossbar as it appeared labeled for the upper right corner. Buddle then had a breakaway opportunity in first-half stoppage time when McCarthy slipped on the wet surface, but pushed his effort wide of the left post.

There was more action before the halftime whistle as the hosts once again hit the woodwork from a Beckham free kick, this time the left post as Reis pushed a skipping effort off the frame of the goal before Soares cleared to safety.

After entering the break with a two-goal lead, the Revs extended their advantage to 3-0 in the 65th minute. Second-half substitute Florian Lechner – making his MLS debut – played Guy down the right wing and the 26-year-old wriggled free of his defender before whipping a cross into the box. Sène rose above his marker to direct a powerful header on frame from six yards out, and although Saunders got a hand on the effort, he couldn’t keep the ball out of the back of the net.

The Galaxy pulled one back in the 78th minute when Keane calmly put the finishing touch on Buddle’s through ball. Breaking alone into the box, Keane feigned a shot and waited out Reis before rounding the goalkeeper and tucking the ball into the empty net. The goal proved to be mere consolation, however, as the Revs held out for a comprehensive 3-1 win at the final whistle.

The Revs now head directly to Texas as they’ll continue their two-game road trip on Thursday, April 5, against FC Dallas. Kickoff from FC Dallas Stadium is set for 8:30 p.m. ET.

New England Revolution at LA Galaxy
March 31, 2012 – The Home Depot Center
New England Revolution 3, LA Galaxy 1

Scoring Summary:
NE—Kelyn Rowe (Shalrie Joseph)  10
NE – Chris Tierney (Kevin Alston, Shalrie Joseph) 13
NE – Saer Sène (Ryan Guy) 65
LA – Robbie Keane (Edson Buddle) 78

New England Revolution: Matt Reis, Chris Tierney, A.J. Soares, Stephen McCarthy (Alec Purdie 85), Kevin Alston (Flo Lechner 46), Lee Nguyen, Shalrie Joseph ©, Clyde Simms, Kelyn Rowe, Ryan Guy, Saer Sène (Fernando Cardenas 70)

Substitutes Not Used: Bobby Shuttleworth, Jose Moreno, Diego Fagundez, Jeremiah White

STATS: Shots 13, Shots on Target 9, Corner Kicks 3, Saves 3, Fouls 13, Offsides 3, Passes Completed (percentage) 395 (75.9%), Possession 43.5%

LA Galaxy: Josh Saunders, Todd Dunivant, A.J. DeLaGarza, Andrew Boyens, Sean Franklin, Marcelo Sarvas (Mike Magee 46), David Beckham (Michael Stephens 46), Juninho, Paolo Cardozo (Chad Barrett 71), Edson Buddle, Robbie Keane

Substitutes Not Used: Bill Gaudette, Dan Keat, Hector Jimenez, Tommy Meyer

STATS: Shots 13, Shots on Target 4, Corner Kicks 2, Saves 6, Fouls 14, Offsides 4, Passes Completed (percentage) 520 (77.1%), Possession 56.5%

Misconduct Summary:

None

Team Records:
LA Galaxy – 1-2-0, 3 pts.
New England Revolution – 2-2-0, 6 pts.

Referee: Ricardo Salazar
Assistant Referees: Peter Manikowski, Jeff Muschik
Fourth Official: Armando Villarreal
Weather: Cloudy and 57 degrees

Attendance: 21,324

NOTES

• With the win tonight, the Revolution improved to 14-16-6 all-time against LA, including a 5-10-4 mark in away games
• The win also moved the Revs’ record in LA against the Galaxy to 4-2-1 in their last seven meetings in CarsonThe win snapped the Revolution’s 17-game winless streak in matches played in the Mountain or Pacific time zones, which dated back to Aug. 20, 2009 … the win was also the team’s first in 12 games in the Pacific time zone, again dating back to the 1-0 win at Seattle in August 2009
• The win marked the team’s second win in a row … the last time the Revs won back-to-back games was October 2010 … on Oct. 10, 2010, the Revs took a 2-1 win at Houston before posting a 1-0 shutout against Kansas City at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 16, 2010The victory snapped the Revs’ nine-game winless streak on the road that dated back to July 2011 … the last time the Revs won on the road was July 20, 2011 – a 1-0 win at D.C. United … the Revs went 0-5-4 in that span before tonight’s road win
• With a 2-2-0 record, this is the first time the Revs have been .500 in MLS play since they were 3-3-4 in May of 2011
• Stephen McCarthy returned to the lineup after missing the last game – against Portland at home on March 24 – while serving a one-game red-card suspension
• Jose Moreno made his debut in the game day 18, earning a spot on the bench for tonight’s game … this marks the first match for which he was available for selection since arriving in New England on Friday, March 23
• Ryan Guy drew his first start at forward since arriving in New England in June 2011 … his previous seven starts for the Revs have been at either left or right midfield
• Kelyn Rowe’s 10th-minute goal was the rookie’s first MLS goal
• Kelyn Rowe’s goal in the 10th minute was the Revolution’s first road goal of 2012
• Chris Tierney’s goal was his first of 2012 and the fourth of his career … the goal was also his first since July 4, 2011 – a free kick goal at Real Salt Lake
• Chris Tierney’s goal was his first from the run of play since Sept. 4, 2010 against Seattle at Gillette Stadium … his other two goals (both in 2011) were goals scored directly off free kicks
• Kevin Alston recorded the fourth assist of his career – and his first of 2012 – with his primary assist on Tierney’s goal … he has recorded one assist each season in 2009, 2010 and 2011
• Shalrie Joseph recorded the 32nd assist of his career – and first of 2012 – with his secondary assist on Chris Tierney’s goal … he sits third on the Revolution’s career assist chart, three behind second place Joe-Max Moore’s 35 assists
• Kevin  Alston departed the game at halftime as a precautionary measure with hamstring stiffness
• Flo Lechner came on for Alston at halftime, and made his Revolution and MLS debut … he slotted directly into right back for Alston with no other defensive switches
• With Flo Lechner checking into the game at the start of the second half, he became the club’s 11th new player to debut for the club in 2012 in just four games … 13 players debuted for New England in 34 games in 2011
• With a two-goal lead at the half, it marked the first time since Sept. 7, 2011, that the Revs had at least a two-goal advantage at the break … in that last game, the Revs posted a 4-1 lead at halftime in Philadelphia
• Saer Sène scored his team-leading second goal of the campaign, and his second headed goal off a cross
• Ryan Guy recorded his first career MLS assist on Sène’s goal … in 2011, his first season with New England, he scored two goals in 11 appearances
• Clyde Simms completed 44-of-46 passes he attempted tonight for a passing percentage of 95.7 percent in the central midfield
• Both Kelyn Rowe and Chris Tierney put all three of their shots apiece on frame
• The Revs’ three goals tonight marked the first time New England scored more than two goals against LA since May 12, 2007 in a 3-2 win in Carson
• The Revs are now 2-0-0 when scoring first in 2012 … the Revs also scored first – and scored the game’s only goal – last weekend against Portland in a 1-0 win
• Matt Reis picked up his 99th career win tonight … he enters Wednesday’s game in Dallas one shy of 100 wins … he would become the sixth goalkeeper in MLS history to reach the 100-win mark