KC Too Much for Revs

Ten-man New England Fall to Wizards, 3-1

June 14, 2009

The New England Revolution suffered a 3-1 loss to the Kansas City Wizards Saturday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

The Revs, who played with 10 men for the final 59 minutes of the game following a straight red card to defender Emmanuel Osei, had climbed back to level the game at 1-1 before the Wizards connected for two quick strikes within three minutes shortly following the red card.

Emmanuel Osei

Emmanuel Osei was sent off in the first half of Saturday night's loss to Kansas City. (Photo by CHRIS ADUAMA/aduama.com)

The loss snapped New England’s (4-4-4, 16 points) modest two-game winning streak and saw Kansas City (5-5-4, 19 points) vault back ahead of the Revs in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Wizards jumped on the board in the 19th minute when Davy Arnaud got a toe on Claudio Lopez’s through ball from the left. Streaking down the center channel toward goal, Arnaud muscled past Revs midfielder Pat Phelan and snuck his shot past Matt Reis for the early 1-0 Kansas City lead.

The Revolution responded in the 28th minute when Shalrie Joseph leveled with a headed goal past MLS all-time saves leader Kevin Hartman. Steve Ralston’s lofted cross from the left met Joseph at the far post and his head ball ricocheted off Hartman and into the side netting for the equalizer.

A few minutes later in the 31st minute, the game took a dramatic turn for the Revs when Osei was red carded for a dust up with Lopez - who also received a caution in the tangle - forcing New England to play with 10 men for the remaining two-thirds of the game. To adjust, Jeff Larentowicz dropped back from midfield to center back, while Joseph moved back to central midfield, leaving Ralston as the lone forward.

With the man advantage, the Wizards jumped on the Revs and benefited from a fortuitous bounce in the box less than five minutes later. In the 36th minute, Lopez’s initial shot from close range was saved by Reis, but the ball got away from him, hit Larentowicz and his forward momentum sent the ball past Reis as Hercules Gomez was bearing down for a 2-1 Kansas City lead.

Three minutes later, Kansas City extended its lead off a corner kick, pushing the score to 3-1. After Josh Wolff’s shot off the initial service was saved by Reis, Conrad flicked the rebound back to Aaron Hohlbein who came running on for the uncontested shot and a third Wizards goal.

Despite the first-half outburst after the Revs’ sending off, the Wizards were unable to further exploit their man-advantage in the second half and the game finished 3-1.

The Revolution will now take a three week break from MLS action to defend its SuperLiga title. The team kicks off SuperLiga group play on Sunday, June 21, when the team hosts Mexican Primera Division opponent Santos Laguna at Gillette Stadium at 6:30 p.m. On Wednesday, June 24, the team will host a special SuperLiga doubleheader with a Revs-Kansas City Wizards matchup at 7 p.m., followed by a Santos Laguna-Atlas contest at 9 p.m. Group play wraps up on Sunday, June 24, when the Revs host Atlas at 4:30 p.m.

The Revs return to MLS action on Saturday, July 4, when they travel to face the L.A. Galaxy at The Home Depot Center. Kickoff is set for 11 p.m. ET and the match will be televised live on Fox Soccer Channel.