Khano Smith and the Revs had plenty of chances, but couldn't capitalize against the Rapids Photo: Keith Nordstrom

Revolution Adidas 2009 Shorts Revolution Youth GoalSide Tee Revolution Ladies Pink Tee Revolution 3 Stripe Cap-White/Navy RevsWrap - 4/12/2008 Postgame Quotes: Colorado 1, Revolution 0 Game Preview: Colorado at New England

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Colorado midfielder Nick LaBrocca’s first career goal midway through the second half was enough for the visiting Rapids to down the New England Revolution, 1-0, on a rain-drenched Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.

The Rapids (2-1-0, 6 pts.) managed to leave Foxborough with the full three points, despite being outshot by the Revolution (2-2-0, 6 pts.), 17-4.

The heavy rain nearly contributed to Colorado opening the scoring in the 22nd minute, as Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis fumbled a low, hard cross on the slick surface. Christian Gomez picked up the loose ball and maneuvered his way into an open position, but his hard shot from six yards out was cleared off the line by Jay Heaps.

Just two minutes later, New England had a chance to take the lead, as Shalrie Joseph’s lofted ball over the top of the Rapids’ defense sent Kenny Mansally in alone on Colorado goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul. Mansally struck a low, left-footed shot from close-range, but Coundoul got down well to make the save and keep the score at 0-0.

Each team made a change at the half in an effort to break the scoreless deadlock. New England introduced Argenis Fernandez for Sainey Nyassi, handing the young Costa Rican his MLS debut. Fernandez slotted into an attacking midfield role, pushing Mauricio Castro from the center to the left side of midfield and moving Khano Smith from the left wing to the right. Meanwhile, Colorado brought on Scottish forward Tom McManus – who just signed with the club on Thursday – for Gomez.

Castro, who created two goals with free kicks on Wednesday night at Kansas City, nearly did it again shortly after the halftime break. The Honduran’s 49th-minute free kick from a tight angle forced Coundoul into an awkward save, as the Senegal native could only push the ball onto the crossbar and over for a corner kick.

The Rapids scored the game’s only goal in the 68th minute, as LaBrocca netted his first career goal in just his fifth career MLS appearance. Omar Cummings’ run deep into the left corner earned Colorado a free kick from a dangerous position, and Jose Burciaga Jr. used the opportunity to send an outswinging cross towards the far post. LaBrocca out-leaped his defender and finished with a header from eight yards out.

The Revolution’s best chance to equalize came in the 77th minute, when Mansally’s looping header off of a Smith cross forced Coundoul to push the high shot straight up. The ball landed just inches short of the goal-line before Coundoul secured it and cleared the danger.

Coundoul stopped nine shots to earn his second shutout of the season, while Reis didn’t record a save.

The Revs will be on the road for their next match on Saturday, April 19, when they will meet the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium at 7:30 p.m.

Colorado Rapids at New England Revolution
April 12, 2008 – Foxborough, Mass. (Gillette Stadium)

Scoring Summary
COL – Nick LaBrocca (Jose Burciaga Jr.) 68

New England Revolution: Matt Reis, Amaechi Igwe, Michael Parkhurst, Jay Heaps, Khano Smith, Shalrie Joseph ©, Jeff Larentowicz, Mauricio Castro, Sainey Nyassi (Argenis Fernandez 46), Kenny Mansally, Adam Cristman (Kheli Dube 76)

Substitutes Not Used: Doug Warren, Gary Flood, Joe Franchino, Chase Hilgenbrinck, Wells Thompson

STATS: Shots 17; Shots on Goal 9; Saves 0; Corner Kicks 4; Offsides 3; Fouls Committed 16

Colorado Rapids: Bouna Coundoul, Jose Burciaga Jr., Stephen Keel, Facundo Erpen, Kosuke Kimura (Kelly Gray 80), Colin Clark, Nick LaBrocca, John DiRaimondo, Christian Gomez (Tom McManus 46), Terry Cooke ©, Omar Cummings (Herculez Gomez 78)

Substitutes Not Used: Rafael Gomes, Jordan Harvey, Jacob Peterson, Chris Sharpe

STATS: Shots 4; Shots on Goal 2; Saves 9; Corner Kicks 1; Offsides 4; Fouls Committed 18

Misconduct Summary:
NE – Amaechi Igwe (caution) 17
COL – Kosuke Kimura (caution) 39
COL – Facundo Erspen (caution) 66
COL – Terry Cooke (caution) 79
COL – Colin Clark (caution) 93+

Referee: Mark Geiger
Referee’s Assistants: Kermit Quisenberry (SAR), Anthony Vasoli (JAR)
Fourth Official: Jozef Batko
Time of Game: 1:50
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 58 degrees
Attendance: 8, 309

NOTES

• Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis made history in the 79th minute, claiming the MLS record for consecutive minutes played (regular-season games only), having played in the team’s last 6,660 minutes … Reis passed Houston’s Pat Onstad, who had previously held the record with a 6,648-minute stretch from 2005-07 … he has also now started and played every minute (including overtime in played) in each of the Revs’ last 82 MLS matches – regular-season and playoffs – dating back to September, 2005, a span of 7,180 minutes, although MLS does not recognize that record … Reis has started 73 consecutive regular-season games for the Revolution, which represents the longest active streak in MLS among all players … the all-time record is 93, held by Kansas City goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.
• Defender Chris Albright, who was declared fit for the match after undergoing a pre-game fitness test, was a late scratch after being named in the initial starting lineup, handing 19-year-old Amaechi Igwe his second consecutive start at left back after making his MLS debut on Wednesday at Kansas City.
• For the second straight game, the Revolution started three 19-year-olds (Amaechi Igwe, Sainey Nyassi and Kenny Mansally) … prior to the trio starting the Revs’ past two games, the last time three players under 20 years old had started for the same team in an MLS game was on Oct. 1, 2005, when Michael Bradley, Eddie Gaven and Tim Ward all started for New York.
• Costa Rican Argenis Fernandez made his MLS debut, entering the game at halftime for Sainey Nyassi and slotting into an attacking midfield role, pushing Mauricio Castro out wide to the left and Khano Smith out wide to the right.
• The victory for Colorado marked the first time since July 24, 2002 that the visiting team won a game in the overall series between the Rapids and the Revolution … on that day, Colorado defeated the Revs, 3-2, in the team’s first-ever visit to Gillette Stadium … New England had been 5-0-2 in the club’s last seven home games against Colorado.
• The last time the Revolution was shut out at home was August 5, 2007, a 3-0 loss to D.C. United.