Revs Go Down 2-1 To Sounders

The New England Revolution were in action Sunday afternoon on the road to play the Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field. Surprisingly, the Revs got the early lead in the opening minutes of the match. However, the Sounders turned up the heat later in the first half, and scored two goals to take control of the game. The Revs would have their opportunities in the second half, but just could not capitalize on them. In the end, the Revs go down 2-1 to the Sounders.

Playing in front a huge visiting crowd can be intimidating. The best way to take them out of the match is to score early. Well, that is exactly what the Revolution accomplished.

In the 3rd minute, the Revs (3-8-6, 15 points), had their first corner kick of the match which was taken by Benny Feilhaber. Instead of kicking it in the middle of the box, Feilhaber sent a pass on the ground to the right corner of the box where he found a streaking Sainey Nyassi. His low drive of a shot just got past Seattle goalkeeper Casey Keller. Shockingly, the Revs were leading 1-0 very early in the match.

The Revs to their credit continued to push forward looking for that second goal. Nyassi was definitely feeling confident. In the 16th minute, just outside of the box on the right side, he took a nice shot that was saved by Keller. The play in the first 20 minutes from the Revs was very encouraging.

However, momentum can change quickly, and in this half that was certainly the case. In the 34th minute, the Sounders (8-4-7, 31 points), had a set piece from a dangerous location just outside the right side of the box. Tyson Wahl took a wonderful left footed curling shot, that ended up in the left corner of the net. The Sounders goal got them level, and the score was 1-1.

Seattle continued to turn up the heat, and were looking to go ahead before the end of the half. They would accomplish that feat in the 40th minute. Roger Levesque set up Mauro Rosales with a great pass in a very dangerous area inside of the box. Rosales slammed a shot past Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis to give the Sounders the 2-1 lead.

Even though the Revs started fast, they lost control of the match with two goals by the Sounders. The half ended with Seattle ahead 2-1.

The second half almost started just like how the game began. In the 50th minute, the Revs had a corner kick which was again taken by Feilhaber. This time his kick went right into the middle of the box. Shalrie Joseph got a header off of the kick that was nicely saved by Keller. This was a golden opportunity for the Revs.

The Revs would have another opportunity in the 61st minute. Ryan Guy found Rajko Lekic in a favorable area in the box. His shot just goes wide of the goal.

The best opportunity in the second half to get the Revs level, was in late in the match. In the 85th minute, substitute Zack Schilawski has a wonderful strike that hit the crossbar.

The Sounders were able to control the rest of the match through stoppage time. The Revs would come up short on the road losing 2-1 to the Seattle Sounders.

The Revs certainly had their chances in this match. However, for long periods of this match, the play was controlled by Seattle. The Revs also especially in the second half, it didn’t seem like all the players were on the same page. The passing was not crisp, and they were having trouble linking up with each other.

The Sounders deserved the 3 points, and the victory. It is back to the drawing board for Revs Head Coach Stephen Nicol. He needs to figure out a way to create more offense for his club.

The Revs will next be in action on Monday, July 4th at Real Salt Lake. The match takes place at 8:30 EST.

New England Revolution: Matt Reis, Darrius Barnes, A.J. Soares, Ryan Cochrane (Zack Schilawski 81), Kevin Alston, Ryan Guy (Kenny Mansally 62), Benny Feilhaber, Shalrie Joseph , Pat Phelan, Sainey Nyassi (Zak Boggs 62), Rajko Lekic