HOUSTON – The New England Revolution conceded three first-half goals against the Houston Dynamo and never recovered, falling 4-0 at BBVA Compass Stadium on Saturday night in the team’s 2014 season opener.
Will Bruin opened the scoring for the home team just 62 seconds into the first half when a Kofi Sarkodie cross from the right wing skipped in front of Jose Goncalves and fell to Bruin. The fourth-year forward took one touch and then fired home a right-footed shot to the far post.
Bruin found the back of the net again just 11 minutes later when Corey Ashe picked off a Scott Caldwell pass out of the back and whipped in a left-footed cross to the back post that the forward finished to give the Dynamo a 2-0 advantage after just 13 minutes.
Defender Kevin Alston was forced to leave Saturday’s game in just the 20th minute with a right hamstring injury and did not return.
Bruin got on the score sheet for a third time in the 23rd minute when he found Boniek Garcia streaking towards goal. Garcia took Bruin’s pass inside the 18-yard box, took one touch and slotted one to the near post.
The Revs nearly got a goal back late in the first half with two solid chances. A.J. Soares got on the end of a Chris Tierney corner kick, but his header hit the post. Jose Goncalves then had a chance at goal off the rebound but had his shot blocked and the Revs headed into the locker room down 3-0.
Jerry Bengtson had the best chance of the night in the 68th minute that would have cut the Dynamo lead to 3-1. Diego Fagundez headed a loose ball in the box towards a wide open Bengtson, but the forward put his shot over the bar from inside the six-yard box.
Fagundez came close to getting the Revs on the board as well in the 82nd minute. The 19-year-old curled a right-footed shot from the corner of the 18-yard box towards the far post that hit the crossbar.
The Dynamo added a fourth goal in stoppage time when a Ricardo Clark shot deflected off Omar Cummings, changed direction and beat Bobby Shuttleworth. Shuttleworth finished the game with five saves, including an incredible save on a Bruin breakaway in the 62nd minute to deny the forward his hat trick.
The Revolution returns to action on Saturday, March 15, when the team visits the Philadelphia Union at PPL Park. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. ET, and the match will be broadcast live on TV by Comcast SportsNet and on the radio by 98.5 The Sports Hub.
New England Revolution at Houston Dynamo
March 8, 2014 - BBVA Compass Stadium (Houston, Texas)
Houston Dynamo 4, New England Revolution 0
Scoring Summary:
HOU – Will Bruin (Kofi Sarkodie) 2
HOU – Will Bruin (Corey Ashe) 13
HOU – Boniek Garcia (Will Bruin) 23
HOU – Omar Cummings (Ricardo Clark) 92+
New England Revolution: Bobby Shuttleworth, Chris Tierney, Jose Goncalves, A.J. Soares, Kevin Alston (Darrius Barnes 20), Diego Fagundez, Daigo Kobayashi (Saer Sene 74), Scott Caldwell, Kelyn Rowe, Patrick Mullins (Jerry Bengtson 46), Teal Bunbury
Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Andy Dorman, Donnie Smith, Steve Neumann
STATS: Shots 18, Shots on Target 1, Corner Kicks 11, Saves 5, Fouls 11, Offsides 2, Passes 77.9% (281), Possession 47.8%
Houston Dynamo: Tally Hall, Kofi Sarkodie, Jermaine Taylor, David Horst, Corey Ashe, Tony Cascio (Andrew Driver 57), Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis, Boniek Garcia, Will Bruin (Mark Sherrod 90), Giles Barnes (Omar Cummings 78)
Substitutes Not Used: Tyler Deric, Jason Johnson, A.J. Cochran, Alexander Lopez
STATS: Shots 20, Shots on Target 9, Corner Kicks 8, Saves 1, Fouls 14, Offsides 3, Passes 74.7% (308), Possession 52.2%
* Note that all statistics are unofficial as supplied by Opta
Misconduct Summary:
HOU – Will Bruin (caution) 64
NE – Darrius Barnes (caution) 64
NE – A.J. Soares (caution) 77
Referee: Jorge Luna Hernandez
Assistant Referees: Israel Fernandez, Marcos de Oliveira
Fourth Official: Bernard Hosu
Weather: 62 degrees and cloudy
Attendance: 22,320
Team Records
New England Revolution – 0-1-0 (0 pts.)
Houston Dynamo- 1-0-0 (3 pts.)
GAME NOTES
- With the loss on Saturday, the Revs dropped to 5-10-4 in season-opening games
- Saturday marked the second time the Revs have opened the season against Houston … the Revs earned a 3-0 win at home over the Dynamo on March 29, 2008
- Saturday’s loss was just the fourth time in club history that the Revs were shutout in the season opener … the Revs fell 1-0 three times in previous season openers (2007 at Chicago, 2010 at Los Angeles and 2012 at San Jose)
- Rookie Patrick Mullins (11th overall pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft) made his MLS and Revs debut on Saturday night
- Daigo Kobayashi and Teal Bunbury also made their Revs debuts
- Saer Sene saw his first action since October 12, 2013 (at Montreal) after he suffered an ankle injury … Sene came on in the 74th minute as a second-half substitute for Kobayashi
