New England Soccer Today

Postseason Ticket Punched

Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz

Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz

If Lee Nguyen felt slighted after his name wasn’t called by Jurgen Klinsmann for U.S. Men’s National Team duty, he certainly didn’t let it affect him on Saturday.

Nguyen’s clever chip in the 69th minute allowed the Revolution to book their ticket to the postseason after securing a 2-2 draw against the Montreal Impact at Stade Saputo.

“Lee has been awesome and I thought tonight he played well again,” Revolution coach Jay Heaps told the media after the match. “It’s a battle; you go down twice on the road, especially here in Montreal, which is one of the hardest venues to play in. Montreal was really good tonight.”

After falling into a pair of first-half deficits courtesy of Marco Di Vaio, who scored in the 12th and 40th minutes, the Revolution responded twice with goals from Kelyn Rowe, who scored in the 16th minute, and Nguyen, who tallied his team-leading 15th goal.

Nguyen’s strike came from a play in which Scott Caldwell put a ball in front of the shifty midfielder. With a defender closing in and Evan Bush off his line, Nguyen chipped it over the reach of the Impact keeper before it settled into the back of the net.

Before the Revolution midfielder scored, the key player was undoubtedly Di Vaio, who bagged a brace in his penultimate home game with the Impact. The Italian striker announced last week that he would retire at the end of the season, yet showed his trademark ingenuity and polish on both of his goals.

The draw sent the Revolution to the postseason for the second straight year. Last year, the locals secured their spot in the playoffs on the final day of the regular season.

How the Revolution did it: Nguyen’s goal will likely be talked about as the key to getting the result, no doubt. But what shouldn’t be overlooked is Scott Caldwell’s entrance in the 59th minute. His presence on the pitch didn’t just stabilize the midfield; it bolstered the attack. His pass to Nguyen showed exactly why Jay Heaps decided to go with Caldwell rather than Steve Neumann.

Man of the match: Nguyen, and it’s not even a question. Time and time again, the 28-year-old midfielder has risen to the occasion, and Saturday’s clincher was further proof of his value to the Revolution.

Farrell rested: Starting right back Andrew Farrell was absent from the gameday 18. Farrell, who was not listed on the team’s injury report leading up to the match, was presumably given a rest after starting the team’s previous 31 games. Kevin Alston got the start in Farrell’s place.

Back in second place: After Sporting K.C. leapt ahead of the Revolution for second place following a 2-0 win over Chicago, the locals returned to the second spot with the draw. According to sportsclubstats.com, the Revolution have a 52 percent chance of finishing second, a nine percent chance of claiming first, and a 33 percent chance of finishing third.

What’s next: The Revolution head to Houston for their final regular season road game on the season at BBVA Compass Stadium, where they’ll face the Dynamo. Kickoff is set for 8:00pm ET. The Revolution and Dynamo have split the season series so far.

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