WASHINGTON, D.C. – Saer Sène and A.J. Soares scored two minutes apart early in the second half to briefly put the New England Revolution on level terms, but substitute Maicon Santos responded for D.C. United with the game-winning goal in the 61st minute as the Revs suffered a 3-2 loss on Saturday night at RFK Stadium.

Brandon McDonald and Dejan Jakovic converted a pair of set-piece goals to give United (8-4-3, 27 pts.) a 2-0 halftime lead, but Sène and Soares struck in the 48th and 50th minutes as the Revs (4-7-1, 13 pts.) evened the score in short order. It took D.C. just 11 minutes to respond, however, as Santos scored four minutes after coming off the bench to secure all three points.

The loss dropped the Revolution’s road record to 1-6-0, while United improved to 6-1-2 at home and climbed into first place in the Eastern Conference.

Former D.C. midfielder Clyde Simms missed out on the chance to return to RFK Stadium as he was sidelined for a second straight match with left ankle tendonitis, but former United forward Blake Brettschneider started for New England after not making the game day roster for the previous meeting in April.

The home side opened the scoring with the game’s first real chance in the 15th minute. From the center circle, Branko Boskovic delivered a curling free kick into the box, where McDonald rose above his marker and sent a looping header over Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis and into the far upper corner.

New England was then forced into an early change when Ryan Guy came off with a right calf injury in the 28th minute. Fernando Cardenas replaced Guy and slotted into a right-wing role, pushing Benny Feilhaber into the middle.

Feilhaber almost created the equalizing goal in the 38th minute when his long through ball split the United backline and sent Sène streaking down the right wing. Sène shifted his body and delivered a shot with his left foot, but D.C. goalkeeper Bill Hamid got just enough of the ball to force it inches wide of the right post.

United took advantage of Hamid’s timely stop by doubling the lead to 2-0 in first-half stoppage time. The play originated from a corner kick and after Andy Najar’s header pinballed around the box, Jakovic pounced to slot home from close range.

It didn’t take long for the Revs to turn the tables in the second half, however, as the visitors erased the two-goal deficit to level the score at 2-2 within five minutes of the break.

Sène scored the Revolution’s first in the 48th minute, bringing his team-leading haul up to seven on the season. Feilhaber’s drive from 20 yards was pushed away by Hamid but straight into the path of Sène, who finished calmly into the vacant net from eight yards out.

Spurred on by the initial goal, the Revs bagged a second through Soares in the 50th minute. Chris Tierney’s corner kick was whipped to the near post, where Soares eluded his marker and sent a deft header inside the far post to register his second career goal.

New England almost had a third in the 56th minute when a clever pass from Cardenas put Sène one-on-one with Hamid, but the D.C. ‘keeper got a hand on the ball as Sène tried to round him.

Santos came off the bench to restore United’s lead in the 61st minute of the back-and-forth affair, finishing off a give-and-go with Dwayne De Rosario. The sequence began with Santos slipping De Rosario into the left channel and finished with the Brazilian burying the return pass with a low finish from the middle of the box.

The Revolution’s best chance to equalize came in the 90th minute when Tierney’s left-wing cross found substitute Kelyn Rowe for a powerful header, but Hamid came up with a huge save to tip the ball over the crossbar and ensure victory for D.C.

The Revs will be back in action on Tuesday, May 29, when they visit the Harrisburg City Islanders (USL-PRO) in the third round of the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Kickoff from Skyline Sports Complex is set for 7 p.m. League play resumes next weekend when the Revs host the Chicago Fire on Saturday, June 2.

New England Revolution at D.C. United
May 26, 2012 – RFK Stadium (Washington, D.C.)
D.C. United 3, New England Revolution 2

Scoring Summary:
DC – Brandon McDonald (Branko Boskovic) 15
DC – Dejan Jakovic (unassisted) 46+
NE – Saer Sène (unassisted) 48
NE – A.J. Soares (Chris Tierney) 50
DC – Maicon Santos (Dwayne De Rosario) 61

New England Revolution: Matt Reis, Chris Tierney, A.J. Soares, Stephen McCarthy, Kevin Alston, Lee Nguyen (Kelyn Rowe 65), Shalrie Joseph ©, Ryan Guy (Fernando Cardenas 28), Benny Feilhaber, Blake Brettchneider (Jose Moreno 69), Saer Sène

Substitutes Not Used: Bobby Shuttleworth, Diego Fagundez, Darrius Barnes, Alec Purdie

STATS: Shots 13, Shots on Target 7, Corner Kicks 3, Saves 1, Fouls 6, Offsides 1, Passes (percentage) 532 (81.6%), Possession 53%

D.C. United: Bill Hamid, Daniel Woolard, Dejan Jakovic, Brandon McDonald, Chris Korb, Nick DeLeon (Lewis Neal 68), Branko Boskovic (Maicon Santos 57), Perry Kitchen, Andy Najar Dwayne De Rosario ©, Hamdi Salihi (Josh Wolff 80)

Substitutes Not Used: Joe Willis, Marcelo Saragosa, Emiliano Dudar, Stephen King

STATS: Shots 9, Shots on Target 4, Corner Kicks 2, Saves 5, Fouls 14, Offsides 2, Passes (percentage) 475 (78.6%), Possession 47%

Misconduct Summary:
DC – Dejan Jakovic (caution) 87

Team Records:
D.C. United – 8-4-3, 27 pts.
New England Revolution – 4-7-1, 13 pts.

Referee: Kevin Stott
Assistant Referees: Adam Wienckowski, Jason Cullum
Fourth Official: Kevin Terry, Jr. 
Weather: Partly cloudy and 83 degrees

Attendance: 14,627

NOTES

• Tonight’s loss pushed the Revs’ record in May to 2-2-1 and 4-7-1 overall
• With the loss, the Revolution fell to 23-27-8 all-time in MLS regular-season action against D.C. United
• The loss also pushed the Revs’ away record at D.C. to 8-17-4 overall, including a 2-1-1 mark in the team’s last four visits to RFK Stadium
• Tonight’s loss pushed the team’s road record to 1-6-0
• The team has yet to capture a victory against an Eastern Conference opponent this season … the Revs are 0-4-1 against Eastern opponents so far this year
• Tonight’s two goals pushed the team’s May goal-scoring total to 11 goals … the team averaged 2.20 goals per game in five games this month
• Tonight’s game was the team’s fifth multiple-goal game of the season and the team’s fourth in May
• The game was the team’s league-leading eighth one-goal game of the season … the Revs are 2-6-0 in those matches
• Saer Sène scored his seventh goal of the season tonight and continues to lead the Revs in the category
• Saer Sène has scored in three straight games and in four of the last five contests
• In the month of May, Saer Sène has scored five goals and added one assist in six games
• A.J. Soares recorded the second goal of his career
• Both of A.J. Soares’ goals in his career have come from headers off Chris Tierney-taken set pieces … his first goal came on Sept. 7, 2011, in a 4-4 draw at Philadelphia … he went a span of 14 games between goals
• Chris Tierney recorded his third assist of the season on A.J. Soares’ corner kick goal … he is now tied for the team lead with Shalrie Joseph, who also has three assists so far this year
• The assist was Chris Tierney’s 14th of his career and the fourth of his career against D.C. United
• A.J. Soares’ goal off a corner kick was the team’s first goal off a set piece in 2012 … prior to tonight’s game, the Revs had not scored off a corner kick, or direct or indirect free kick yet this season
• Ryan Guy was forced off the field in the 28th minute after suffering a right calf strain … he also suffered the same injury during preseason training and four games earlier this month (April 28-May 12)
• Blake Brettschneider made his first appearance against his former club … the second-year forward played the 2011 season with D.C. United, making 15 appearances as a rookie out of South Carolina
• Tonight’s starting lineup marks the first time in 2012 that head coach Jay Heaps named the same starting lineup in consecutive games … it marked the first time since Sept. 10 and 19, 2011, that the Revolution used the same starting 11 in back-to-back games
• The Revolution will remain in Washington, D.C., on Sunday and bus to Harrisburg, Pa., on Monday morning, ahead of the team’s 2012 U.S. Open Cup opener on Tuesday night … the Revs will travel to face the Harrisburg City Islanders on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Skyline Sports Complex