HARRISON, N.J. – Veteran forward John Wolyniec converted a pair of rebounds – sandwiched around a Sinisa Ubiparipovic blast from outside the box – to lead the New York Red Bulls to a 3-0 win over the New England Revolution in a U.S. Open Cup play-in match on Wednesday night at Red Bull Arena.

The loss eliminated the Revolution from U.S. Open Cup qualification, while the Red Bulls advance to host the Colorado Rapids in the final round of play-in matches on May 26. The winner of that match will earn one of the final two spots allocated to MLS teams in the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Wolyniec scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 36th minute, then rounded out the scoring with his second strike in the 64th minute. Ubiparipovic found the back of the net in between, scoring with a long-range effort in the 62nd minute.

The injury-riddled Revs traveled just 14 players for the match – including a pair of goalkeepers – leaving just two field players (Sainey Nyassi and Khano Smith) as available substitutes at the start of the game.

Four of those players who didn’t make the trip down I-95 were defenders Kevin Alston, Darrius Barnes, Cory Gibbs and Emmanuel Osei, making Seth Sinovic the only natural defender on the Revolution’s game day roster. As a result, head coachSteve Nicol deployed a makeshift backline featuring midfielders Pat Phelan and Chris Tierney in central defense, Zak Boggs on the right and Sinovic on the left.

Meanwhile, Nico Colaluca and Kenny Mansally – neither of whom have started a league match this season – earned starting nods on the wings. Second-year goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth made his Revolution debut between the pipes.

Despite the improvised nature of the Revs’ lineup, the visitors controlled much of the possession in the opening stages and limited New York’s time on the ball. However, the possession didn’t yield a significant number of dangerous forays into the attacking third.

In fact, the game’s first quality scoring chance didn’t arrive until the 36th minute, when Wolyniec’s persistence earned the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead. Brian Nielsen’s perfectly-weighted pass sprang Conor Chinn on a breakaway 40 yards from goal, and the rookie forward burst into the penalty area all by himself. His low shot was expertly kicked away by Shuttleworth, but the rebound fell kindly to Wolyniec at the penalty spot. The veteran’s first attempt was blocked by Tierney, who then also got a piece of Wolyniec’s second shot, but the ball slipped through to find the back of the net.

New York sprang to life following the goal and twice came close to extending its lead before the halftime break. Wolyniec skied a shot from the top of the box in the 38th minute, while Chinn couldn’t direct a cross from former Revolution defender Chris Albright on frame in the 43rd minute.

It was New England which looked the livelier side to start the second half, however, and Boggs did well to tee up Marko Perovic for a left-footed shot 20 yards from goal in the 51st minute. The Serbian struck his effort with a bit of pace, but it didn’t particularly trouble Red Bulls goalkeeper Greg Sutton, who got down well to his left to make the save.

It didn’t take long for New York to respond to the pressure, and the hosts doubled their lead in the 62nd minute through Ubiparipovic. Nielsen stood over a free kick at the top left corner of the box and instead of striking directly on goal, he laid a short pass into the path of Ubiparipovic, who laced a low shot through a crowd in the box and into the back of the net.

The Red Bulls’ advantage was pushed to 3-0 just two minutes later, with Wolyniec converting his second rebound of the game. Ubiparipovic took the initial shot from 25 yards, forcing Shuttleworth into a sprawling save to his right. Wolyniec was quickest to the rebound, however, and scooped a shot past the helpless goalkeeper.

Ubiparipovic continued to torment the Revolution backline and came inches from making it 4-0 in the 77th minute, but his rising shot from the right side of the box missed the upper right corner.

The Red Bulls had one final chance for the fourth in the 90th minute, but Nielsen’s low shot was kicked away by Shuttleworth.

The Revs will return to league action on Saturday, May 15, when they host the San Jose Earthquakes at Gillette Stadium. That match will be broadcast live in high definition on Comcast SportsNet New England beginning at 6 p.m.

Scoring Summary:
NY – John Wolyniec (unassisted) 36
NY – Sinisa Ubiparipovic (Brian Nielsen) 62
NY – John Wolyniec (unassisted) 64

New England Revolution: Bobby Shuttleworth, Seth Sinovic (Khano Smith 60), Chris Tierney ©, Pat Phelan, Zak Boggs, Kenny Mansally, Joseph Niouky, Kheli Dube, Nico Colaluca, Marko Perovi?, Zack Schilawski

Substitutes Not Used: Tim Miller (GK), Sainey Nyassi

New York Red Bulls: Greg Sutton, Danleigh Borman, Andrew Boyens, Carlos Mendes ©, Chris Albright (Irving Garcia 63), Brian Nielsen, Tony Tchani (Luke Sassano 46), Sinisa Ubiparipovic, Jeremy Hall, Conor Chinn, John Wolyniec (Juan Agudelo 76)

Substitutes Not Used: Bouna Coundoul, Roy Miller

Misconduct Summary:
NE – Pat Phelan (caution) 88

Referee: Shane Moody
Referee’s Assistants: Greg Barkey (SAR), Brian Dunn (JAR)
Fourth Official: Juan Carlos Rivero
Weather: Misty, 48 degrees
Attendance: 1,935