Revs Downed in DC

By Greg Johnstone
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Updated: August 26, 2017

Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz

The well-documented road woes of the Revolution hit a new low on Saturday as the locals fell 1-0 to last-place DC United at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

Luciano Acosta was the lone scorer in a tight match that saw multiple scoring opportunities from both sides. Bill Hamid made four saves to collect the clean sheet and stonewall a Revolution squad that was missing Lee Nguyen (hamstring) and Kelyn Rowe (right knee).

With New England’s offense diminished, United were the more assertive side in the first half, threatening the Revolution with six corner kicks, eight shots and three shots on goal. Most notably, former Revolution forward Patrick Mullins headed a free kick towards the near post, forcing a diving save by Cody Cropper.

Midfielders Zoltan Steiber and Paul Arriola also had solid opportunities in the first half, firing low shots from just inside the box, but both failed to beat Cropper.

New England had the first scoring chance of the second half with newly-acquired center back Claude Dielna got a crack at first MLS goal. The Revs played a corner kick short, leading to Xavier Kouassi crossing to the far post, where Dielna unleashed a powerful header past the wrong side of the post.

In the 61st minute, Je-Vaughn Watson, who made his way back into the starting lineup this week, nearly broke the scoreless deadlock. Watson made a run down the left wing and, after fighting through a challenge, shot a rocket low and to the near post, where Hamid turned it around the post.

Despite the Revolution controlling the game at the beginning of the second half, Acosta put the home team on top in the 71st minute. Defender Kofi Opare headed a free kick to the other side of the box, where Acosta was streaking unmarked. Acosta played the ball perfectly on a volley, slotting the ball past a helpless Cropper.

Moments later Cropper kept the visitors in the game, stopping a Steiber chance point blank. After working the ball around the box, DC beat the Revolution back line and with the help of a through ball, Steiber had only Cropper to beat, but the keeper pushed the shot out for a corner.

The Revolution never gained momentum and seemingly ran out of energy after the goal, unable to find an equalizer. Late sub Femi Hollinger-Janzen had an opportunity in the final moments of stoppage time, heading a Scott Caldwell cross onto goal. The header, however, fell into the arms of Hamid who covered the ball, effectively ending the game and dooming the Revolution to a woeful 0-10-3 road record.

A loss to the only team behind them in the conference is a crushing blow to New England’s dwindling playoff hopes. With the loss, the Revolution (29 points) sit only one point above last-place DC (28 points) with nine games left in the regular season.