Rapids take command of West

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- With a first-place berth and first blood in the Rocky Mountain Cup both on the line, the Colorado Rapids hit for two goals in the final half-hour of the match to claim a 2-0 victory against arch-rival Real Salt Lake on MLS Primetime Thursday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

Omar Cummings finally broke the tense deadlock with a goal in the 65th minute, then Christian Gomez converted a penalty kick with seven minutes to go to put the game away as the unceasing offensive attack by the Rapids finally broke through.

The initial minutes of the game saw each team have good possession through the midfield, but each defense looked well organized, disrupting any attack that began to look dangerous.

The first good chance of the game came 14 minutes in. Jacob Peterson's shot was deflected dangerously by RSL fullback Chris Wingert into the path of Cummings at the top of the goal area, but the ball spun just out of reach of the Rapids forward.

That initial chance seemed to bring the game alive, as Real had their first chance just after. Some nifty footwork on the ball by Fabian Espindola opened up some space at the corner of the penalty area. Utilizing it fully, Espindola took a quick, curling shot, but Rapids 'keeper Bouna Coundoul easily gobbled it up.

Two former Rapids nearly made good things happen for Real in the 18th minute, as Wingert received a back pass from Espindola and sent in a nice cross that looked destined for Kyle Beckerman's head. Coundoul, however, was able to charge out of the goalmouth to punch the ball out of danger.

Cummings nearly put the Rapids up in the 23rd minute. His hard header of a Christian Gomez corner kick went straight down and took a hard, wicked bounce up toward the net, but Salt Lake 'keeper Nick Rimando was able to make the quick reaction save to push the ball up and over the net.

Salt Lake had another chance from outside of the box in the 29th minute, when after a long string of good passes Beckerman took a low, hard shot from the outside of the box, but it was aimed right at Coundoul.

RSL nearly scored again in the 30th minute. Dodging streamers thrown by the Rapids supporters, Andy Williams took an outswinging corner that was perfectly placed for Matias Mantilla, but the tall fullback's powerful header went well wide of the net.

Real had another great chance off of a corner in the 42nd minute. Scottish forward Kenny Deuchar headed the ball down toward the corner of the net and looked to have Coundoul fooled, but Kosuke Kimura contorted his body to head the ball back away from the goalmouth before falling back into the net.

The Rapids began the second half on the attack, having two nearly identical dangerous chances only minutes apart. In each case, Colin Clark made a good run down the left flank, breaking free before sending a hard cross across the face of the goal. Luckily for RSL, no Rapids forwards were able to keep up with the play and in both cases the ball skipped harmless through the penalty area.

Clark nearly put one in himself in the 54th minute, running on to a cross from Peterson, but he was unable to get it on frame.

As a steady rain began to fall, the Rapids continued to attack and create good chances. In the 60th minute, Herculez Gomez played a low cross to the front of the goal which Cummings met, sending a powerful header just wide of the net.

Another good opportunity for the Rapids came minutes later. After some good combination play between Cummings, Peterson, and Christian Gomez, Gomez sent a pass back to the onrushing Pablo Mastroeni. He was jostled just enough by Dema Kovalenko on his shot attempt to send it above the goal.

The Rapids attack finally found a way through in the 65th minute. Christian Gomez sent Clark down the line, where he sent in yet another low ball across the box. This time, Cummings was there to meet it, and his redirection caromed off of Rimando's leg and up into the net for Cummings' third goal on the season.

Real sought to inject some life into their offense by substituting Robbie Findley into the game for Kenny Cutler. But the move initially seemed to improve the Rapids offense more, as Cutler had been shadowing Christian Gomez all game. With his nemesis off of the field, Gomez had much more time and space to direct the midfield.

The Rapids nearly got another in the 76th minute. Cummings used some nifty moves to beat Nat Borchers along the touchline. His cross was cleared right to Peterson, who passed it to Herculez Gomez at the penalty spot. Gomez's redirection, however, went just wide of the net.

Salt Lake kept valiantly fighting, earning a corner kick that nearly led to the tying goal in the 78th minute. The Williams service to the far post curled away from the goal to Deuchar, whose header beat Coundoul but went just over the net.

The Rapids scored their second in the 83rd minute. Mantilla was called for handling the ball while trying to prevent Herculez Gomez from dribbling into the box. Christian Gomez struck the resulting penalty hard to into the left of the goal, giving Rimando no chance and scoring his second goal on the season.

Real nearly got one back in the 89th minute off of a free kick. Espindola took the shot from 20 yards out and hit it hard and low past the wall, It took an amazing save from Coundoul to keep Real off of the scoreboard.

The game ended just after, putting Colorado atop the West and giving them a leg up in the Rocky Mountain Cup standings -- and keeping Real Salt Lake from claiming first place in the conference for the first time in club history.

Dynamo earn first victory of 2008

Galaxy attack explodes in rout of FCD

FRISCO, Texas -- Edson Buddle scored two goals in a four-goal burst in 15 minutes in the first half, then completed his hat trick with a late finale as the Los Angeles Galaxy routed FC Dallas 5-1 at Pizza Hut Park on Sunday afternoon.

Buddle scored in the 31st and 39th minutes, each goal following a Chris Klein and an own goal respectively, as the visiting Galaxy opened up a dominant lead before the opening 45 minutes was complete. Dominic Oduro headed one home to pull a goal back for FCD, but Buddle completed his hat trick just minutes after Adrian Serioux was sent off.

Almost from the kickoff, it was the visitors who dominated play. In the fifth minute, L.A. midfielder David Beckham dribbled up the right flank and spotted an open Buddle on the opposite side of the field. Beckham then sent a great cross toward his teammate and Buddle got a shot off only to see it go wide left.

Still, it was FC Dallas that appeared to have taken the lead in the sixth minute. Forward Abe Thompson battled his way to goal before beating Steve Cronin, however the referee's assistant ruled he had fouled an L.A. defender to break free and the goal was disallowed.

Then in the 19th minute, FCD striker Kenny Cooper, who had four shots in the opening frame, took a chance from about 45 yards out. Seeing Cronin somewhat out of position, the Dallas native launched a long bomb but the L.A. 'keeper leapt high to his left to get a hand on the ball and knock it over the crossbar.

In the 25th minute all the Galaxy's hard work paid off as they took the lead. Brandon McDonald had a ton of room to operate in the middle of the field, long enough to spot Klein streaking up the right flank, and the right back finished past Sala for the opening goal.

After a free kick by Beckham in the 27th was headed wide right by Buddle, the Galaxy forward made good on his next chance. He muscled his way through three FCD players to launch one from the top of the restraining arc that beat Sala inside the near post for a 2-0 edge after 31 minutes.

Just two minutes later, the L.A. onslaught continued. Donovan had loads of room on the left flank and was able to send a cross in toward the FCD goal with little resistance. Unfortunately, the ball went off the side of Duilio Davino's right foot and into the back of the net.

In the 39th, Buddle further added to the home side's misery when he put one home from close range. After a corner kick taken by Donovan from the left flag found Alvaro Pires just in front of the goal, he lobbed one over his head that landed just inches from the far post. Buddle ran in and pushed it the final bit over the line.

For FCD, the start was eerily similar to the SuperLiga game played between the two sides on July 31, 2007. In that match, L.A. had a 4-0 lead after just 18 minutes after a pair of goals from Alan Gordon, another from Klein and the final tally of the sequence from Kevin Harmse, a game that eventually ended 6-5 for the Galaxy.

Hoops head coach Steve Morrow rolled out a 3-4-3 formation that featured Arturo Alvarez, Cooper and Thompson up top. The back line of Moor, Davino and Adrian Serioux remained intact while the midfield had a few changes. Anthony Wallace took over on the left with Juan Toja moving inside to replace Marcelo Saragosa.

After the break, Morrow made a pair of changes, bringing on speedy Dominic Oduro for Thompson and taking Wallace off for veteran Bobby Rhine. L.A. head coach Ruud Gullit also made a change at the half, taking off midfielder Joe Franchino for Josh Tudela.

Morrow's changes had the desired effect when the Hoops got a goal back in the 55th minute. Cooper did some nice footwork to the left of the Galaxy goal to work himself free from L.A. defender Abel Xavier, then sent a nice cross into the middle of the box where Oduro was waiting. The Ghanaian striker headed the ball into the back of the net for his first goal of the year.

Just four minutes later, Buddle made a bid for the hat trick. A pinpoint Beckham cross from the right flank found him in the middle of the FCD penalty area and he put his powerful header on goal, but right at Sala who made the save.

FCD again went close in the 60th minute. Andre Rocha and Cooper hooked up again with Cooper driving toward the far post, but his shot hit the crossbar and sailed out of play.

Then in the 63rd, Toja found himself staring at an empty net after Cronin came off his line in an attempt to close down the threat. With the net open, Toja cut the ball back inside instead of shooting straight for the goal and his right-footed blast at the still-empty net sailed high.

In the 75th minute, the match took an ugly turn. Just in front of the FCD bench, Serioux tackled Beckham hard, which led referee Baldomero Toledo to reach into his back pocket and show the Canadian international a straight red card. As Serioux marched toward the tunnel, Beckham followed for a stretch and then blew him a kiss before he left the field.

Buddle finally completed his triple after another spectacular cross from Beckham. The English international spotted his teammate open on the far side of the field, sent him a great ball and Buddle headed it into the back of the net for his third hat trick, his first since hitting for the trifecta for the MetroStars in a win against Real Salt Lake on Aug. 26, 2006. Buddle once scored four goals in a game for Columbus, Sept. 18, 2004 against the MetroStars.

Both sides will be at home next Saturday. The Galaxy will play host to Kansas City in a 7:30 p.m. PT match at The Home Depot Center that will be televised by HDNet. FCD will play host to Real Salt Lake at 7:30 p.m. CT.

Angel delivers first goal, win for NY

Down a man, Red Bulls don't relent

E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It might not be the result they were looking for when they arrived at Giants Stadium Saturday night. But the New York Red Bulls were certainly not disappointed with a 1-1 draw against the Kansas City Wizards, especially considering they equalized in the final 10 minutes down a man after Dave van den Bergh was sent off.

"I'm happy with the way they responded to my sending off," van den Bergh said. "I think everybody played their hearts out tonight and I think we got rewarded for our hard work."

The Red Bulls extended their unbeaten streak to five consecutive games and made it 12 in a row without a loss against the Wizards at Giants Stadium dating back to 2000. And they have a rookie midfielder from South Africa to thank for that.

For the second consecutive week, Danleigh Borman scored, this time leveling the game at 1-1 with a powerful first-time strike that went off of Kevin Hartman's hands and inside the near post nine minutes from full time.

As he did at The Home Depot Center after his first professional goal, he celebrated with a cartwheel and made the motion of an 'X' with his hands.

"I remember we discovered him in January in the Combine in Florida," Juan Carlos Osorio said of Borman, who played his college soccer at the University of Rhode Island. "At the time, I thought he was probably a good player with good potential and I think he's developing very well at the moment and he is contributing a great deal to our recent results."

Borman came on at halftime for Mike Magee as the Red Bulls switched from a 3-4-3 formation to a 4-4-2.

"He just said I needed to come in and be effective and try to make a difference in the game, to do what I do and take on players from my position, give it to Juan Pablo (Angel) and put crosses in," Borman said of his instructions from Osorio.

Borman's equalizer was one of the last things Osorio saw from the sideline. Referee Jair Marrufo sent the first-year Red Bulls coach off three minutes later and Osorio will not be allowed on the bench when the Red Bulls host his former club, the Chicago Fire, next Sunday.

"After being warned to conduct himself in a professional manner, Juan Carlos Osorio was expelled ... for inappropriate behavior for use of foul language," Marrufo said in a written statement. "After being expelled, Osorio continued verbal attacks to the referee and then to the fourth official while leaving the field."

Osorio, though, claims he didn't use profanity. That was one of the only things he said about his second MLS ejection in two years.

"I was issued a red card. I'm very disappointed with that decision," Osorio said after the match. "I think it's very unfair but that's as far as I comment about that."

Osorio appeared to still be steamed over van den Bergh's sending off in the 77th minute when the veteran midfielder was given a straight red card for elbowing Davy Arnaud in the face after he was grabbed from behind in the midfield. Arnaud was given a yellow card on the play.

"Obviously, my intention was never to hit him," van den Bergh said. "I don't think I did hit him. I think he had a good dive like he was in a swimming pool."

The Red Bulls rebounded well after being outplayed in a first half by a Kansas City side that deserved to take a 1-0 lead into the locker room. While the Red Bulls came into the game second in the league in goals against, they have been victimized off of set pieces and that was the case in the 20th minute when Jimmy Conrad's glancing header off Carlos Marinelli's corner put the visitors in front.

"I am very disappointed with that considering the height and the time that we dedicated to defensive plays during training," Osorio said. "But, give credit to the boys. They responded very well in the second half."

The Red Bulls peppered Hartman's net in the second half, but the veteran 'keeper did well to keep the hosts at bay, making seven saves. Arguably his best came in the 63rd minute when he robbed Angel from point-blank range, slapping away his attempt with his left hand.

The Wizards also twice cleared shots off the goal line. First was an acrobatic save by Jack Jewsbury to rob Jozy Altidore and the second was a header off the line by Sasha Victorine in the second half off a Kevin Goldthwaite shot following a wild scramble in front of goal.

Finally, the Red Bulls were rewarded for their effort nine minutes from full time on Borman's brilliant strike.

"Obviously to get David sent off changed the whole game and I think we got to give credit to the team that we came back and fought back even one man down," Angel said. "It was a great goal for him, (Borman) was in a great position and he took it well."

Angel delivers first goal, win for NY

Revs' early offense dooms Quakes

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- San Jose Earthquakes defender James Riley probably did not envision this kind of return to New England. His former team scored twice in the opening 23 minutes to seal a 2-0 victory at Gillette Stadium Saturday night.

Kheli Dube scored after six minutes to mark his first start with his first MLS goal before Riley, who played three seasons for the Revolution before San Jose selected him in the expansion draft last winter, headed inexplicably over Quakes 'keeper Joe Cannon from 18 yards to give his former team an unassailable two-goal lead.

New England earned its second consecutive victory with brisk ball movement in midfield and incisive wing play, forcing San Jose back for much of the first half and limiting the Quakes' chances to two wayward shots towards goal and one jarring effort off the crossbar from Ramiro Corrales. The victory marked the Revs' first win against San Jose since July 22, 2000.

For the Revolution, Taylor Twellman missed out with an ankle injury after scoring in last weekend's 2-1 victory at Chivas USA. Dube made his first career start with Adam Cristman again consigned to the bench. Mauricio Castro earned the start on the left wing with Khano Smith left out of the lineup.

Peguero Jean Philippe didn't make the trip for the Earthquakes after aggravating a knee injury. Ned Grabavoy slid onto the forward line to partner Kei Kamara with Joe Vide joining Ramiro Corrales in the twin-defensive midfield pairing at the crux of Frank Yallop's 4-4-2.

San Jose's defensive deportment came under pressure from the opening whistle as the Revolution surged forward in search of the goal to open up the game. Early wide distribution utilized the Revolution's strength in numbers, with Castro sounding a warning with his drive into Joe Cannon's stomach after four minutes.

Cannon wouldn't be able to stop the opener two minutes later. San Jose could feel aggrieved about the innocuous foul call on Ramiro Corrales on the sideline, but the slack defending that allowed Dube to thump home his first career goal at the far post also deserves scrutiny. Steve Ralston's cross curled into the box and the faintest of touches off the bottom of Shalrie Joseph's shoe set up Dube's cool finish.

New England continued to assert its dominance soon afterwards, pinging the ball around midfield and rotating the play from wing to wing without allowing San Jose much time on the ball.

The second goal loomed, and it arrived after 23 minutes from former Revolution defender Riley's head. Jeff Larentowicz humped the ball forward towards the Quakes penalty area. The Quakes defense let the ball bounce and the communication between Cannon and Riley broke down as Riley overcooked his header and looped it over Cannon into the vacant frame.

Yallop shifted Riley onto the right wing as his team shifted into a 3-5-2 in an attempt to get more possession in the offensive third, but aside from a Corrales free kick thumped into the wall, the Quakes couldn't find a way into the contest.

But Jason Hernandez prevented the damage from worsening 10 minutes before the break with a sliding intervention as Steve Ralston prepared to shoot inside the penalty area.

The Quakes sent on Ryan Johnson at the start of the second half as they searched for a way back into the contest. New England invited them into the offensive half and the Quakes responded with their best spell in the half's opening stages.

Yet even that spell didn't yield a shot on target, with Kei Kamara's blocked shot the closest effort toward the frame for the Quakes.

The Revs sent on Sainey Nyassi to spark the offense and the young Gambian responded by creating chances. His long-range drive forced a smart save from Cannon at the near post before Kenny Mansally couldn't send turn the resulting rebound home. Nyassi later whistled a shot just past the far post.

Cries rang out for handball on 73 minutes as a service from the left wing bounced in the area and whacked Revolution defender Chris Albright in the arm, but play continued uneventfully until Ramiro Corrales rang the crossbar shortly before the match entered stoppage time. It was the closest San Jose would come to a goal before New England sealed the victory.

Quakes’ offense awakens in loss

Dynamo pressure results in victory

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- There is a reason the Houston Dynamo have won back-to-back MLS championships. They don't play for the draw when a win is a possibility.

Bobby Boswell scored on a free kick sent in by Richard Mulrooney in the 82nd minute Saturday, leading the Dynamo to a 2-1 win against the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park. Dwayne De Rosario scored in the 17th minute to give the Dynamo a surprise 1-0 lead.

The Dynamo recorded their second consecutive win after going 0-2-4 in the first six games.

Playing in a constant, sometimes driving rain, against a Fire team that was enjoying its best season start ever, the Dynamo would not have been blamed for playing for the draw. But coach Dominic Kinnear's team had the run of play in the second half and put five shots on goal to just one for the Fire in the second 45 minutes.

"This is a team where we are capable of winning every game we step on the field," Boswell said. "We don't come in here to destroy the game and play for a draw. We want to win. We have our goals, to score goals and not give them up."

"(The winning streak) is a reward for how the team is working," Kinnear said. "Before that, we had some games we were playing well, playing on top of teams, and we just didn't get the result. The results are going our way now."

Mulrooney's free kick from 35 yards out on the right side went into the penalty area and Boswell's clean header went into the upper right corner of the box, over the head of Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch.

Despite an intense flurry of attacking activity by the Fire at the start of the game, the Dynamo scored first, in the 17th minute, on their first shot of the game. With the rain falling, midfielder Ricardo Clark fired a shot from about 25 yards out that deflected off a defender directly in front of him. It took a second bounce off of De Rosario and snuck past Busch, who had slipped on his first step toward the ball.

It was De Rosario's second goal of the season, both coming in the two victories, and only the fourth goal given up by the Fire in their first eight games.

The Fire got the goal back in the 28th minute off a free kick by Mexican superstar Cuauhtemoc Blanco from the right side. Blanco lifted the ball into the middle of the box, and forward Calen Carr headed it down off the turf, bouncing in front of and eventually past goalkeeper Pat Onstad. It was Carr's first goal of the season.

The rain, which had dissipated late in the first half, came back with a vengeance at the start of the second half and it rained on and off the rest of the game.

"I actually like the rain because the ball moves a little bit quicker, and we pass the ball better on those conditions," Kinnear said.

The Dynamo put a series of shots on goal in the second half, four of them in the first 11 minutes. De Rosario had a tremendous scoring chance in the 58th minute when he charged the goal from the right side and Busch made a strong punch save on the direct shot.

The winning goal came on a quick restart, and took place while Busch was still in the process of trying to get the defense organized.

"We watched some video this week and we knew they weren't really sharp on quick restarts," Boswell said. "I saw Richard, and he was giving a look like he was ready to do it quick. I was coming up made the run and the ball came right to me and I just put it away."

With the way the second half was played, it was not a surprise that the Dynamo took the late lead. The decision sort of evened the team's record out, although the Dynamo did have four draws in their first six games.

"I think we have just been unlucky with our results early in the year," Boswell said. "The breaks just weren't going our way. Or we were making one mistake here or there. But things are going to even out over a matter of time."

"We go to games and try to win them," Onstad said. "We don't ever play for a draw or sneak out games. At times that cost us games, but tonight we played a pretty good game of soccer."

Dynamo earn first victory of 2008

Dynamo breathe easy after first win

Borman's celebration catches eyes

MONTCLAIR, N.J. -- Danleigh Borman always dreamed of scoring his first professional goal. He just wasn't sure how or when it would happen.

But the celebration? He had that all planned out.

"In college I had the same celebration when I scored," Borman said. "I think it just came, I need to go to the corner flag and do my flip and roll."

However, when dream became reality Saturday night at The Home Depot Center, it wasn't exactly how Borman had it mapped out.

"I don't think it was as smooth," he said.

That's an understatement.

Borman did a cartwheel and then appeared to imitate the gestures Chicago Fire star Cuauhtémoc Blanco makes with his hands, which are in homage to ancient Aztec emperor Cuauhtemoc and his eagle-feather headdress. But Borman's display was instantly the topic of conversation among his teammates.

"They gave me a hard time," Borman said of his teammates. "I heard it was the worst celebration ever."

Borman said the most criticism came from John Wolyniec and goalkeeping coach Des McAleenan. He did have a few supporters though.

"It shows for one, he's got some (guts). Two, he actually thought about something maybe before he scored, which means he actually thought he was going to score, which I like because it shows a bit of confidence," said Chris Leitch, who said Borman's cartwheel was Robbie Keane-esque. "Did it look good aesthetically? You could argue probably not. However, at least there was an attempt to be creative."

"I just thought it was different, man," added Mike Magee. "For his first goal, to have the guts to do something stupid like that. I thought it was pretty sweet. I was right next to him when he did it. It looked awkward, it was funny, he was confident and I hope he does it again."

Borman, who again showcased the celebration in Thursday's training session, said it was inspired by his father Daniel, who would do backflips when he scored goals.

The gesturing had its origins from fellow Cape Town native Shaun Bartlett, who once played for the Colorado Rapids and the MetroStars and scored the goal of the year in the English Premiership when with Charlton Athletic in 2000-01.

"Shaun Bartlett used to do that and that was my celebration when I was younger," Borman said. "But I got a bit confused and ended up doing the Blanco."

While he didn't expect to score this early into his professional career -- after all, seven goals in four years at the University of Rhode Island didn't exactly light the Atlantic-10 Conference on fire -- Borman said he couldn't have dreamed up a better setting for it.

"It was amazing, especially in a game against the Galaxy, with Juan Pablo [Angel] playing and David Beckham, it's something I'll always remember," Borman said.

As for the goal itself, it was opportunistic. Angel flicked on a long throw by Hunter Freeman and Borman was there at the back post to follow up Jozy Altidore's rebound in the 21st minute.

The scenario played out a few times in preseason, but Borman didn't time his run well. But against the Galaxy, it was perfect.

Everything, that is, but the celebration.

"The goal was brilliant," Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio said. "The celebration was poor."

Return bittersweet for Twellman

CARSON, Calif. -- It was a bittersweet return to action for New England Revolution striker Taylor Twellman in the Revs' 2-1 win against Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center on Sunday afternoon.

Twellman, who had been sidelined all season after undergoing knee surgery in early April to repair a tear in his right meniscus, came on in the second half against Chivas USA. Less than 15 minutes after making his season debut he had returned to his scoring ways, racing to collect a long through ball from Steve Ralston on the back end of a one-two and powering home a low drive.

Then, minutes later, Twellman fell to the ground near midfield clutching his right ankle. He was tended to by New England's trainers and eventually returned to the field to finish out the match, albeit with a noticeable limp.

"I probably shouldn't have stayed in," Twellman said. "I was fortunate enough to put one in the net and unfortunate to get hurt again. It's frustrating to work so hard to come back in four weeks and have a lot of energy ... then hurting my foot. It's kind of a bummer."

The extent of the injury remains unclear. What was clear, however, was the immediate impact that Twellman and Steve Ralston had in their first match together all season. Ralston made his second consecutive appearance after missing five matches with an injury he picked up in the season opener.

Sharlie Joseph started the Twellman goal, knocking forward to Twellman. With his back to goal, he laid it off to Ralston in the center circle, then spun around to chase down the high ball Ralston sent over the Chivas USA defense before shooting past Brad Guzan in the Chivas USA goal.

"You'd never know that he'd been out for six weeks when he comes in and bangs one home," said Ralston of Twellman.

Revs coach Steve Nicol was pleased to see his two key players back on the field.

"Ralston adds that extra bit of quality, someone who can control the ball and pass the ball," he said. "And, you look for your striker to hold the ball and score goals and (Twellman) did both today. He could've had a hat trick but he hasn't kicked a ball for two months."

Shalrie Joseph was equally pleased to see his teammates back in the lineup as it removed some of the added pressure from his midfield role.

"Ralston makes a huge difference because he's definitely one of the best -- if not the best -- passer in the league. We tried to get him involved and get him the ball early," Joseph said. "And, Taylor is the best goal scorer in the league and having him back gives us the confidence we need up top."

The Revs performance was a drastic improvement from their last match, a 3-0 loss to the Chicago Fire.

"It was huge that we got three points today after our embarrassing performance last weekend," Joseph said.

The main difference in the matches, according to Ralston, was the team's organization. "We were really organized today. Our mindset was to get behind the ball and get in good spots. Last week we were going forward and got caught a few times," Ralston said. "We definitely needed this win today. We haven't played our best all year."

Revs embrace return to normalcy