Nguyen Nets Two—Revs Take Down Dynamo

Friday, October 17, 2014

Matt LaPan, GoLocal Worcester Sports Reporter

On a night where soccer was overshadowed in New England by a football game, the New England Revolution took another huge step towards the MLS Cup Playoffs when they defeated the Houston Dynamo 2-1 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston.

The Revolution employed a new lineup, likely to give some of their regular players a much-needed rest as they approached the playoffs. Coach Jay Heaps made five changes to the starting lineup -- inserting Darrius Barnes on defense, Scott Caldwell, Diago Kobayashi and Steve Neumann into the midfield and Patrick Mullins at forward. The lineup was still bolstered by stalwarts such as Jose Goncalves and Lee Nguyen. It also saw the return of Andrew Farrell after he did not play last week in the Revs' 2-2 draw with Montreal.

The game started slow for both teams, but in the 32nd minute the Revolution and their fans all had a reason to pay attention as 2nd-year defender Andrew Farrell appeared to roll his ankle trying to make a defensive play. Farrell would remain in the game, but was obviously hobbled.

Just minutes later the Dynamo were able to strike first when Omar Cummings put a strong shot on frame that was saved by Bobby Shuttleworth. Shuttleworth left a juicy rebound out in front of the net, however, and it was cleaned-up by Giles Barnes for the opening goal in the 37th minute.

That lead stuck into the half for the Dynamo, with the Revolution struggling on offense throughout the half.

The 2nd half started in a disastrous way for the Revolutio when Jermaine Taylor stepped on the foot of Andrew Farrell, injuring the Revs defender. Farrell was carried off the field in a stretcher and would not return -- officially being listed with a right leg injury.

The Revs then relied on their superstar midfielder, and MVP candidate, Lee Nguyen. Nguyen was fed on a good pass from Kevin Alston to the top of the box where he made a defender miss before burying a beautiful shot in the top right corner, where Dynamo goalkeeper Tyler Deric had zero chance to get the ball. The goal extended Nguyen's club record for goals by a midfielder to 16.

Nguyen was not done. Nguyen was able to find the net again in the 87th minute to get another game-winning tally on his MVP resume. The ball was delivered in on a free kick by Kelyn Rowe and was popped up by Deric. The Dynamo were unable to clear as the ball ended up at the feet of Jermaine jones. Jones crossed the ball to Charlie Davies who put a shot on target, but was cleared off the line by Houston. The ball only made it to Darrius Barnes, just inside the six, who fed it to Nguyen. Nguyen snuck the shot behind Deric, even though the keeper was able to get a hand on the shot. It was Nguyen's 17th goal of the season and lifted the Revolution to a 2-1 win -- ensuring a top-3 playoff seeding in the Eastern Conference in the process.

The Revolution now have 52 points on a 16-13-4 record. They have one remaining game in the regular season, as they will host Toronto FC on October 25.