Revs Level Late 2-2 to Seattle

Revolution forward Blake Brettschneider collected his first assist in a Revolution uniform when he sent through the pass that led to Saer Sene’s 12th minute goal. (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Seattle striker Eddie Johnson scored twice within a 12-minute span, but Revolution forward Diego Fagundez scored a 94th minute equalizer to rescue a point in Saturday’s 2-2 draw.

Johnson’s goals in the 23rd and 35th minutes came after Saer Sene scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season for the Revolution in the 12th minute. But deep in stoppage time, Fagundez, who came on as a substitute in the 81st minute, converted a Fernando Cardenas cross to give the Revolution their second straight last-gasp draw.

“Credit our guys,” Revolution head coach Jay Heaps said. “They keep believing we can get back in games. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win, but it’s better than zero points. We’ll take the one.”

The Revolution draw extended their unbeaten form against Western Conference teams at home (3-0-1) while the Sounders winless streak (0-4-4) was extended to eight. Overall, the Revolution remain unbeaten in their last four (1-0-3).

Before Johnson’s brace, it was Sene who took center stage in the 12th minute. After the French forward took the ball forward from Shalrie Joseph, he sent it ahead to Blake Brettschneider, who sent it back to Sene, who easily tapped it through to open the scoring.

“I had the first action,” Sene said. “But I didn’t score. On the second one, Blake (Brettschneider) did well and I scored.”

However, the Revolution early-game form eroded by the 20th minute. The Sounders began dominating the possession and it was Ozzie Alsonso steering the Sounders forward.

Eleven minutes after falling behind, the Sounders responded when Mauro Rosales played it into the area, where Johnson snapped a header past Matt Reis to equalize in the 23rd minute.

The Revolution found a chance to get it right back in the 27th minute. Lee Nguyen pierced the Sounders’ backline and played it through to Brettschneider, but Marc Burch raced over to snuff out the chance before any damage was done.

Johnson returned to the scoresheet in the 35th minute with another header, this time via a Marc Burch cross to put Seattle on top. Johnson’s brace doomed the Revolution to a two-goal deficit for the second straight week.

“It’s just something we practice on,” Johnson said. “The out-back passing forward, back and then out wide. One of our strengths is getting the ball out wide and serving the ball in the box.”

Seconds later, Brettschneider almost snuck one past Andrew Weber when he grabbed a pass from Sene, turned and slipped a skipping shot toward the near post that Weber barely reached out to stop in the 37th minute.

The second half saw the Sounders – who were playing their fifth game in 15 days – form begin to evaporate. To its credit, the Revolution started to string passes together, hoping to exploit the Sounders as the game entered its final stages.

New England attempted to file to a reply in the 86th minute. Surrounded by a host of Sounders’ defenders, Fernando Cardenas poked a ball toward Sene, who’s header sailed over the bar. Sene collected four shots on the evening, but fell short of finding the back of the net after his 12th minute strike.

“(New England) moved the ball well,” Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid said. “They created spaces and created openings and we had to bunker in and defend.”

But for the second straight week, the Revolution mounted a comeback in the waning seconds. On a Cardenas cross from the left flank, Fagundez put his head on it and sent it through to give the Revolution the point.

“Last year, I had a good goal against Seattle,” Fagundez said. “This year I get another goal, so I guess this is a step forward right now. I’m going to keep working hard in practice and keep going forward.”

With their third straight draw, the Revolution’s record went to to 5-7-4 (19 points) while the Sounders’s record went to 8-5-5 (29 points). The Revolution return to action on Jul. 8 when they host the New York Red Bulls. Kickoff is set for 7pm.