United Edge Revolution
Published on June 8, 2002 under Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - D.C. United got a spark of offense from an unlikely source Saturday night, as United defeated the New England Revolution 3-2 at RFK Stadium. Ryan Nelsen contributed on all three D.C. goals, adding two goals and an assist, while the Revolutions' scoring sensation added two more goals to his already impressive season total.
United controlled the flow of play early on, keeping possession of the ball with tight give-and-go plays. Marco Etcheverry marshaled the midfield, holding the ball well and pulling the strings on most of the United plays.
The Revs relied primarily on the counter and the wing play of Steve Ralston and Brian Kamler. Early on, Twellman and strike partner Wolde Harris were unable to get onto the end of the crosses sent in from the flanks, but that difficulty ended in spectacular fashion in the 35th minute of play. Taking a long ball upfield from Jay Heaps, Ralston outran D.C. defender Ivan McKinley before sending in a well-weighted cross into the box. Twellman ran onto the ball as it fell, popping it into the net from within the six-yard box.
Twellman struck again just one minute later, cutting through the United defense with some tight-quarters dribbling. Sending the ball between the legs of D.C.'s Brandon Prideaux, Twellman raced back onto the ball and sent it past goalkeeper Nick Rimando and into the upper right corner from close range.
Down 2-0, United rallied back to even the game before the halftime whistle. In the 40th minute, Etcheverry sent a corner kick in to a waiting Santino Quaranta, who headed the ball in on `keeper Juergen Sommer from 10 yards away. Sommer could not hold onto the quick header, leaving a rebound for United midfielder Ryan Nelsen to slot home.
Just before the end of the half, Quaranta stunned the Revolution with the equalizer. Taking the ball with his back to goal and two Revolution defenders marking him tightly, Quaranta managed to put his goal away. Turning on the tandem of Daniel Hernandez and Nick Downing, Quaranta beat Sommer to the left post with a hard, low shot from inside the penalty area.
Nelsen pushed United ahead in the 64th minute, finishing a Petter Villegas pass from the corner. Nelsen got on the end of the ball, nodding it past Sommer to put the home side up 3-2. The goal was the New Zealand native's MLS second goal, with his first coming in the first half.
D.C. United (4-5-1, 13 points) will go the road next weekend, facing off against the Kansas City Wizards at Arrowhead Stadium on June 15th.
The Revolution (3-6-1, 10 points) will return for a midweek game against the Columbus Crew on Wednesday, June 12th at CMGi Field. Both forward Diego Serna and midfielder Alex Pineda Chacon started tonight's match against their former head coach, Ray Hudson, on the bench. Serna came in after the halftime interval, while Serna joined the game late in the second half for Nick Downing in an attempt to get the late equalizer.
Major League Soccer Stories from June 8, 2002
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