MLS New England Revolution

Revs knock off Galaxy

Published on July 4, 2008 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


CARSON, Calif. - Adam Cristman scored his fifth and sixth goals of the season during a four-minute span in the first half to lead the New England Revolution to a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Friday night at The Home Depot Center.

With the win, the Revolution (10-4-3, 33 pts.) solidified its spot atop the MLS and Eastern Conference standings heading into a month-long hiatus from league play to participate in SuperLiga. Meanwhile, the Western Conference leading Galaxy (6-6-3, 21 pts.) dropped its second consecutive game.

The first real chance of the match fell to New England in the ninth minute, as Kheli Dube's looping pass over the Galaxy backline sent Sainey Nyassi into the right side of the area. The 19-year-old Gambian steadied himself and sent a drive towards goal, but the shot hit L.A. goalkeeper Steve Cronin in the chest and bounced to safety.

The Revolution threatened again in the 26th minute, this time through Mauricio Castro. The Honduran midfielder struck a low, left-footed shot from 30 yards out which Cronin fumbled, but the ball squirted inches wide of the right post.

New England's pressure finally paid off in the 33rd minute, as Cristman scored his fifth goal of the season to establish a new career-high for the second-year forward. Shalrie Joseph's powerful header off Castro's corner kick was saved by Cronin, but the goalkeeper let the rebound roll towards the right post, where an unmarked Cristman poked in the rebound from two yards out.

Cristman wasted little time in scoring his second of the match, as he extended the Revolution's lead to 2-0 in the 37th minute. The chance was once again created from a corner kick, this time Steve Ralston delivering the cross from the right corner. Cristman rose above Abel Xavier to get his head on the ball, and sent a powerful shot into the far side netting. The tally was Cristman's sixth of the season, tying him for the team lead with Ralston, while the assist was Ralston's team-leading fourth of the year.

The Revs came inches from scoring a third with the last kick of the first half. Cristman was at the center of the action yet again, bursting into the right side of the box and setting up Castro with an empty net after drawing Cronin off his line. However, Castro's shot hit the right post, denying the 26-year-old his first MLS goal.

Los Angeles forward Landon Donovan - the leading scorer in MLS with 11 goals - was inserted into the game at halftime after originally being held out because of flu-like symptoms.

The Galaxy had two opportunities to cut the deficit in half early in the second stanza. First, David Beckham's 49th-minute full volley at the far post sliced wide, before Mike Randolph's 50th-minute shot from close range was blocked.

Cristman created another chance for the Revs in the 54th minute, once again setting up a teammate - this time Dube - with a pass across goal after pulling Cronin off his line. However, Dube failed to make solid contact with the ball and his shot never reached the target.

Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis was finally forced into his first save in the 58th minute, diving to his right to save Edson Buddle's shot from just inside the top of the area.

There was nothing Reis could do about Beckham's goal in the 66th minute, however, which brought the Galaxy to within 2-1. Donovan's pass across the box was headed high into the air by Joseph, and Beckham ran onto the dropping ball and unleashed a full volley from just inside the top of the area. The Englishman's shot was deflected by sliding Revs defender Jay Heaps, wrong-footing Reis and hitting the back of the net.

Buddle had a great chance to level the score in the 77th minute, but his shot from near the penalty spot crashed off the crossbar after Beckham had set him up with a right-wing cross.

The Galaxy brought on former 20-goal scorer Carlos Ruiz in the 84th minute in an effort to press for an equalizer, but the hosts failed to create any more dangerous scoring chances. The club finished with 14 total shots, but put just three of them on goal.

Reis finished with two saves to earn the victory, while Cronin stopped five shots in the losing effort.

New England will return to action on Tuesday, July 8, when the club will continue its U.S. Open Cup title defense by hosting a quarterfinal match against Crystal Palace Baltimore (USL-2) at Veterans Stadium in New Britain, Conn., at 7 p.m. The Revs will then be participating in SuperLiga throughout the month of July, before resuming their MLS regular-season schedule on Saturday, Aug. 9, when they will host the Chicago Fire at Gillette Stadium.

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