Sousa, a 2011 Revolution draft pick, tallied for the Rams in the 17th and 33rd minutes, while Jordian Farahani brought one back for the Fury before the break. Ottawa equalized in the 66th minute from Carl Haworth, then went ahead in the 81st minute from Yannis Becker.

Ottawa victory’s opens their defense of the 2012 conference championship on a winning note, while Real Boston fell short in the franchise’s first road match.

The Rams return to action at 8pm on May 30 when they head to the Granite State to face Seacoast United Phantoms ( at Portsmouth High School.

Duckett’s 65th minute strike was all that the Rhinos needed to set up a May 28th showdown against its MLS affiliate, the Revolution, at Sahlen’s Stadium.

Goalkeeper Kristian Nicht recorded a trio of saves to pick up the clean sheet, while Matt Horth – also on loan from the Revolution – got the start up top alongside Thomas MacManus.

The second half was delayed by 30 minutes after thunderstorms rolled through the Rochester area Tuesday evening.

Duckett nearly orchestrated an early goal when he whipped a cross through to ex-Revolution forward Blake Brettschneider, whose header was narrowly saved by Portland’s Adam Perron in the 18th minute.

Portland nearly pulled the rug under the Rhinos minutes later when Jonathan Lupinelli set up Pierre Omanga. But Omanga’s header went wide of frame.

Although the match remained scoreless through the first half, Rochester’s propensity to push forward appeared to flummox the Phoenix, who committed 10 fouls prior to the interval.

After knocking on the door for much of the match, the Rhinos’ efforts were rewarded just after the hour when Danny Earls sent a cross to Duckett, who sent it through to put the hosts ahead.

Down a goal late, Portland appealed for a penalty when Caue Da Silva was taken down inside the area. But their cries fell on deaf ears as the game opened up with full time approaching.

DaCunha, 22, was outside of Hurricane O’Reilly’s on Canal Street with his girlfriend when he was attacked by six men. He was rushed by ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he is being treated for head injuries, broken bones and internal bleeding in the head trauma section of the hospital’s intensive care unit.

Boston Police is investigating the attack, but as of Tuesday afternoon, no arrests had been made.

Mass United released a statement on the attack on Tuesday and has provided updates on its official Twitter handle.

Mass United midfielder Luiz DaCunha is in critical condition at Massachusetts General Hospital. (Photo: Mass United FC)

“We at Mass United believe in the notion of club as family,” the release read. ”We are committed to the DaCuhna family in their time of need and will do whatever possible to ensure that the cowards that did this horrible, hateful thing will be identified and brought to justice.”

According to the police report, an unidentified person was harassing DaCunha’s girlfriend at the club shortly before 2:00am on Saturday. When DaCunha intervened, five other unidentified persons became involved and attacked him.

According to Mass United spokesman Michael Quigg, DaCunha has been ”in and out” of consciousness since the attack.

The club also conveyed its appreciation for the prayers and thoughts sent to DaCunha in last three days.

“The DaCunha family, and Mass United, would like to thank you all for your well wishes and support and ask that you continue to pray for and send positive thoughts to Luiz as he fights for his life.”

Anyone with information on the attack is encouraged to contact the Boston Police Department at 1-800-494-TIPS.

Pioneers striker Javoni Simms scored the late equalizer in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against the Azul. (Photo: David Perry/sweetdogphotos.com)

Javoni Simms scored an 88th minute equalizer to help the Western Mass Pioneers salvage a 1-1 draw against CFC Azul at  Central Connecticut State University on Saturday.

Simms’ late-game heroics canceled out a 29th minute strike from Azul striker Mario DiMiceli. Andrew Esposito collected four saves for the Azul, while Borja Angoita made a pair of saves on the evening.

The draw put the Pioneers at 0-0-1 (1 point), while the Azul remains unbeaten through their first two (1-0-1, 4 points).

CFC found the scoreboard just before the half hour mark when Luke Perry found DiMiceli for the opening salvo, sending the partisan Azul crowd to its feet.

The Azul held out hope for their second shutout victory until the 88th minute, when Ronaldo Vieira sent a pass to Simms, who beat Esposito for the score.

Western Mass returns to action at 7:30pm on Friday, when they open their home slate against GPS Portland Phoenix on the refurbished pitch at Lusitano Stadium. CFC will be back on the field at 7pm on May 31, when the Ottawa Fury welcome them to Algonquin College Soccer Complex.

Andrade struck first in the 18th minute, then added another in the 88th minute while the Rams benefited from a Voltage own goal in the 7th minute. Vermont’s only goal came from Haris Hadzalic in the 61st minute.

The Rams win puts their record at 1-1-0 (3 points) while the Voltage dropped to 0-2-0 (0 points).

Former Red Bulls midfielder Ryan Maduro helped the Rams get on the board when he sent a dangerous corner into the area, where Voltage defender Fillipo Martinuzzi accidentally sent it into his own net seven minutes into the match.

Eleven minutes later, Andrade grabbed the first Rams goal proper in when he followed up a shot from teammate Luke Finkelstein and slipped the rebound by Ben Perez to make it a two-goal game.

Vermont cut the lead in half just after the hour when Hadzalic got the drop on Real Boston keeper Keady Segel, as the guests made it clear they wouldn’t go quietly into the night.

Andrade capped the scoring two minutes from full time when he grabbed a loose ball, beat a pair of defenders, then ripped a shot from distance to end the evening on a memorable note.

The Rams head north in search of their second win when they to take on the Ottawa Fury at Algonquin College Soccer Complex. Kickoff is set 7pm. Meanwhile, the Voltage will get another crack at win number one on when they host the Rams for a rematch on Saturday at Collins-Perley Sports Complex. Kickoff for that match is set for 7pm.

Revolution center back Stephen McCarthy (center) was part of the defensive effort in Saturday’s 2-0 win. (Photo: Kari Heistad/CapturedImages.biz)

Following a convincing 2-0 win over a Dynamo team that had once been unbeatable at home, the Revolution had to feel like they just captured the Anschutz Trophy. Or at least another SuperLiga crown.

And why shouldn’t they? After all, few pundits predicted that the Revolution would stand a chance, nevermind grab all three points in Houston. Popular belief held that the wounds suffered in their streak-breaking 1-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City would pit a bloodthirsty Dynamo squad against an underperforming Revolution side that hadn’t won in H-town since Ilija Stolica and Marko Perovic were manning New England’s attack.

That may not seem like very long ago, so let’s introduce some context. In the days, months and years that followed the New England’s 2-1 win over Houston on that numerically memorable date of Oct. 10, 2010 (10/10/10), the Dynamo have switched conferences, earned a pair of MLS Cup berths, moved into brand new digs, developed one of the best keepers in the league, and cashed in on the transfer of one of their best players.

In other words, the Dynamo had put their former MLS Cup rivals in the rearview, as the Revolution were left to deal terrible runs of form, uneventful late-Octobers, a head coaching change, the signing/infiltration of a certain mustachioed ex-Dynamo center back, and a hasty trade of their skipper, among many, many other not-so-great things since the 2-1 win in Houston.

But all of the above made no difference on Saturday.

It was astonishing to watch. For 90 minutes, the Revolution played with poise and confidence, a certain level of swagger that isn’t often seen by teams who’ve only won two of their first 10. The Dynamo, for their part, appeared capable, only to have their form betray them as they got closer to the net. Putting it another way: the Revolution played like the Dynamo and the Dynamo played like the Revolution.

The question, of course, is whether the Revolution sustain the form they employed on Saturday night. Beating the Dynamo in Houston was an impressive feat, no doubt about it. But they can’t be tricked into thinking that, as big as the victory feels right now, they’ve accomplished anything more than picking up three points.

It was fitting that Lee Nguyen and Andrew Farrell ran into Scott Disick on Sunday. For if anyone’s career is cautionary tale of tricking oneself into a false sense of accomplishment, it’s Lord Disick’s.

One Kardashian reference is oftentimes one Kardashian reference too many, so let’s salvage this spiel by getting to the nitty gritty of what we learned from Saturday’s game.

1. It may be too early to say for sure, but it sure looks like Juan Agudelo is making Jerry Bengston expendable.  We all know what Agueldo would bring when the Revs acquired him earlier this month. We knew he’d bring a skill set the club was in dire need of given its attack, which was essentially catatonic at the time of his arrival. What we didn’t know how quickly Bengtson would be cast out to make way for the talented 20-year-old. During his 55-minute performance, Agudelo pretty much did what Bengtson had failed to do during the first few weeks of the season: create scoring opportunities. Given that Dimitry Imbongo got his second straight start and Bengtson failed to find the field at all, it’s appears that Bengtson’s days are numbered in Foxboro.

2. Diego Fagundez may have had a career game last week, but his performance against Houston could be a career-defining one. Over the past three seasons, we’ve watched Fagundez show flashes of brilliance. Moments in which we were teased by the teenaged playmaker’s abilities. The question, of course, was whether he could sustain it for more than game or two at a time. In recent weeks, he’s done well to ease any fears about his development, and has served as one of the team’s most dangerous players. But on Saturday, with the spotlight shining on him and his mohawk, he rose to the occasion, and essentially put to rest any questions about his role going forward.

3. The defense may have given up a ton of shots, but the way their gameplan ensured that most were of the low-percentage variety. On paper, Saturday’s win will go down as another clean sheet posted by the Revolution defense. A performance that the defenders will cash in as another measure of success. However, the real success can be found in the approach the defense adopted against the Dynamo’s prolific attack. Whenever the hosts entered the Revs’ defensive third, the defenders gave them a choice: shoot now or get the ball taken away. They dictated how the likes of Will Bruin and Giles Barnes made their moves. Note: anytime you can pull the strings on an opposing team’s attack, half the battle is already won. Yes, it wasn’t exactly a lights-out kind of performance by the Revolution backline. And yes, Bobby Shuttleworth may have had to plug a few holes. But the fact is the gameplan got the job done.

4. Speaking of the defense, Saturday’s performance was a reminder how important it is to have depth in the rear. Perhaps the most impressive part of Saturday’s shutout was the fact that it was orchestrated in part by two players who as recently as a month ago hadn’t played a single minute this season. While Stephen McCarthy has stepped in admirably for an injured A.J. Soares over the last few games, Darrius Barnes did his part on Saturday to show why he’s still a valuable piece to the defensive puzzle. Filling in for Chris Tierney out on the left, the versatile defender helped keep the Dynamo relatively quiet in front of their home fans. The moral of the story: you can never have too many quality defenders on your roster.

5. The Revolution played an inspired brand of football to be sure, but they were greatly aided by a Dynamo side that played right into their hands. We don’t know what Jay Heaps told his charges prior to Saturday’s game, but it’s probably a safe bet that the Dynamo’s collective state of mind was introduced. After all, Houston was no longer its unbeatable self at home after Sporting K.C. conquered them last week. And so the Revolution wisely anticipated that the Dynamo would bring a renewed energy to the pitch, and tailored their gameplan accordingly. Instead of a direct approach, they renewed their focus on the possession game, with the idea that it would tire out a team anxious to expend energy. They didn’t wait for Houston to make mistakes, but rather, took the initiative and pressed high. They baited the Dynamo into thinking this was still their game, even though it really wasn’t. Fagundez and his supporting cast deserve kudos for the win, but the fact is the Dynamo allowed its desperation to overwhelm them against an inferior team.

Lee Nguyen (left) nearly netted his second goal of the season on a 37th minute free kick against Houston on Saturday. (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com)

The Revs beat Houston 2-0 last night, adding a critical three points to their total. Considering both teams’ respective positions in the standings, the win was more important to the Revs than the loss was to the Dynamo. Give the Revs a lot of credit for achieving this result away from home and against a very good team. When you come out loaded for bear (as we used to say in my handball days), your chances of winning are always pretty good. The Revs made only one serious gaffe — in the 23rd minute when they failed to mark Giles Barnes on the corner. I’ll settle for that almost anytime.

The first half was even. The Revs started out strong, but Houston got two excellent chances in the 23rd and 30th minutes and ended the half with four corners to none for the Revs. Having both Lee Nguyen and Juan Toja on the field at the same time gave a major boost to the Revs’ possession superiority: 55% to 45%. Dimitry Imbongo must be credited for the two half chances he created—one following a beautiful pass from Nguyen—before his efforts were cut short by a red card.

At the beginning of the second half, I suffered an almost surreal sense of dislocation: for a few golden minutes I thought I was watching Barcelona, the way the Revs were playing. Diego’s goal was a pip, and a well-deserved climax to all the intricate passing. Give Clyde Simms full credit for an elegant assist. I always tell my players that, done right, the passing game will lull the opposition to sleep, till you can strike like a snake. The Revs proved my point last night.

From that point on, the main issue for the Revs was protecting their lead. The Dynamo got several good chances, but so did the Revs—namely, in the 69th and 70th minute when Nguyen nearly scored on a couple of good shots. I was a little worried that the Revs were going into a defensive shell too early to protect a one-goal lead, especially when defensive substitutions took both Toja and Diego Fagundez off the field. But what works, works. The Revs got their cushion in the 84th minute on a well-earned goal (even if it was of the “own” variety). More Houston chances then followed, but a stout Rev defense held firm.

Poor shooting technique was a problem for both teams. Two very good players, Nguyen and Will Bruin, are two (of several) that I fault. After shooting a free kick in the 37th minute, Lee was closer to falling backwards than moving forward and showed almost no follow-through. If the ball is shot properly, the shooter can put topspin on the ball, causing it to dip—maybe under the crossbar. The way Lee is currently shooting, I doubt we’ll ever see him do this.

Thankfully for the Revs, the case with Bruin was significantly worse. He created fair to good shooting chances in the 56th, 83rd, 88th, and 90th minutes but then flubbed the shots—all but one, I think, off-target. He needs a complete technical overhaul.

One thought on Darrius Barnes’s long throws into the penalty area: I was told long ago by former U.S. Men’s National Team coach Walt Chysowitz that if a team has a player who is capable of these throws, he should always take them — and he meant always. I totally disagree. This policy takes away any advantage that might come from a quick throw or a throw to a player in position to cross the ball. My main point is that teams should do whatever they can to be unpredictable. When Barnes runs across the field to throw the ball in, everyone in the park knows what is about to happen.

This was a big win for the Revs, in my opinion their most accomplished effort. I hope they are careful to guard against a letdown vs. Toronto next Saturday.

Sousa opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, and assisted on Jenna Fisher’s 83rd minute goal. Jewel Robinson scored the second Mutiny goal in the 53rd minute, while Lydia Simmons pulled one back for the Phantoms in the 90th minute.

Mutiny forward Tori Sousa (left) helped steer her club to a 3-1 victory. (Photo: Mutiny Media Relations)

“It was a great start to our season and we scored some really good goals,” said first-year Mutiny head coach Roy Gurnon in a team release. “Once we got rolling, the team was fun to watch especially with our backs getting forward. Its always hard to pull the team together for the first game, but we got a great result tonight.”

Sousa helped put the hosts out in front when she tapped through a pass from Rachel Ugolik right on the doorstep, and just like that, any worries about cohesion began to erode.

The Mutiny put another one on the board in the 54th minute when Kacey Richards played it to Robinson, who rocketed a shot past the dive of goalkeeper Jamie Gillis.

“After kind of a rusty first half, I decided to do what I do best and take people on,” said Robinson about her goal in a team release.

New England didn’t quit in the waning moments, as Sousa found Fisher, who ripped a shot from distance to cap the scoring for the hosts.

Although the Mutiny were in firm command, Simmons salvaged a measure of success for the guests when she beat Niki Deiter before full time.

The Mutiny return to action at 7:30pm on May 22 when they face the Boston Breakers Academy at Dilboy Stadium.

The Taunton Eagles’ attack went on a tear on Saturday, scoring a half-dozen goals against East Providence at Shores Street Field. (Photo: Brian O’Connell)

TAUNTON, Mass. – The Taunton Eagles scored five goals after the interval en route to an easy 6-0 victory over East Providence Sports on Saturday at Shores Street Field.

Kevin Lazaro scored in the 19th minute to give the hosts the lead going into halftime. From there, the Eagles put considerable distance on their guests thanks to goals from Almir Barbosa (57′, 67′), Josh Chao (63′), Eddy Lopes (85′) and Daniel Xavier (88′). Goalkeeper Sean Gonsalves made two saves to earn the clean sheet.

East Providence entered the game knowing they were on borrowed time, without the benefit of having a single substitute on the bench. To that end, they opened up looking for early paydirt, and tipped the field in their favor shortly after the whistle.

Kyle Lopes and Cory Lopes worked the attacking third, and opened up opportunities for Kyle Teixeira. Gonsalves was challenged on a shot by Kyle Lopes in the fifth minute, but it wasn’t long before the tide turned on East Providence.

Chao and his teammates started to storm the East Providence backline near the 10th minute, and Jimmi Underhill walled up a shot from Chao. Taunton came closer in the 12th minute when Edens Chery hit the near post, as the clouds began to darken over the guests.

In the 19th minute, the hosts broke through when Barbosa converted a corner kick, and the Shores Street Field faithful whistled and cheered its approval.

The applause continued into the second frame, when the Eagles counterattacked and put the ball in front of Barbosa, who rifled a shot under the dive of Underhill minutes before the hour mark.

After the hour, the Eagles poured it on, as East Providence, without any substitutes at their disposal, started to tire just as their adversaries started to replenish their personnel.

Another quick break yielded a 63rd minute goal from Chao nearly identical to Barbosa’s cannon shot minutes earlier, while Barbosa netted his second tally in the 67th minute when he chipped through a pass from Xavier in the 67th minute.

To their credit, East Providence refused to bunker in and stop the bleeding, and kept their attacking ambitions alive. Teixeira and Cory Lopes fired dangerous free kicks before the 80th minute, but Gonsalves collected both well in front of his line.

But the Eagles were far from finished, even with five minutes left. Eddy Lopes struck in the 85th minute, while Xavier, who helped spark the attack in the second half, claimed a well-deserved goal in the 88th minute when he grabbed a pass from Anthony Dos Santos and blasted one off the bottom of the bar before it crashed through.

The Eagles will look to continue their winning ways when they host Benfica Washington Park at Shores Street Field on Sat., May 25 at 7pm. East Providence will only have to wait three days to put the loss behind them, as a mid-week match against Casa do Benfica awaits on Wed., May 22 at Billy Gonsalves Field in Fall River, Mass. at 6pm.

Not only was Saturday the Breakers’ (2-1-2, 8 points) first loss of the season, but it was also marked the first time they failed to crack the scoreboard.

“As we expected, Kansas City is a good team. They have good players all over the pitch,” Breakers Head Coach Lisa Cole said in a team release. “I thought we did a good job early on, creating opportunities, but we didn’t capitalize on those opportunities. They were able to find the net first, and that put a little pressure on us.”

A stacked Kansas City midfield that included Cheney and Kristie Mewis overwhelmed the Breakers and goalkeeper Cecilia Santiago, who made her debut NWSL start and allowed a goal in each half.

Cheney set up the first goal in the 17th minute, the former Breakers player finding Renae Cuellar in behind Boston’s backline with a long ball. Cueller collected Cheney’s pass, took a touch, and finished past Santiago for her fourth goal of the season.

Cheney doubled the lead against her former club midway through the second half. In the 64th minute, she poked a freekick by Casey Loyd in past Santiago for her first goal of the season.

Though Kansas City outplayed the Breakers, they did need Nicole Barnhart to make a few key saves. In the 69th minute, she reacted fast enough to tip away an effort by Kyah Simon from the top of the penalty area. Next, she saved a long distance effort by Lisa-Marie Woods in second half stoppage time to ensure victory and preserve her league-leading third shutout of the season.

“They were just better than we were today,” Cole said. “But it was a good matchup, and we look forward to getting back on the field and changing the score the next time.”

The game, which was originally scheduled for April 20, was postponed to Saturday as a result of the Boston Marathon attacks.

Boston will take on the Washington Spirit at Dilboy Stadium in Somerville, Mass. this coming Saturday.