New England Soccer Today

Rocky Mountain Low

Commerce City, Colo. – Omar Cummings and Conor Casey powered a potent attack as the Colorado Rapids claimed a 3-0 victory over a listless New England Revolution Saturday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Stadium.

Cummings put the Rapids on the board early with a 5th minute goal while Casey followed up in the 35th minute to give Colorado a commanding lead before the half. The dagger, however, appeared in the 83rd minute, when former Revolution midfielder Wells Thompson scored his first goal of the season to put the game on ice.

It was evident from the opening whistle that the tone Colorado intended to introduce was an aggressive one. The home side wasted no time setting the tempo, taking over the midfield, and pinning the Revolution deep in their defensive third.

And while New England hurried to contain the attack, Brian Mullen sent a warning shot in the fourth minute that Matt Reis went sideways to save.

Although they averted danger for the moment, the Revolution was caught flat-footed only seconds later. After a pair of quick passes through the middle, Jamie Smith put a ball ahead to Cummings into the box, where the slippery striker pushed one through to the far post to make it 1-0 in the 5th minute.

Battling altitude and awful touches, New England failed to assemble themselves, all the while the Rapids played with grace and élan.

Casey nearly made it two goals in the 23rd minute when he blasted a shot that rattled the far post.

At the half hour, there was little progress on the Revolution front, as they kept chasing the game with the Rapids dominating possession and playing attacking soccer.

And the Rapids exquisite passing paid off when Cummings played a perfect ball ahead to Casey, who charged the box and put a left-footed shot past Reis in the 35th minute.

Down 0-2 entering the second half, the Revolution attack finally showed a sign of life when Sainey Nyassi fed a ball to Kevin Alston, who sent a skipping shot just outside of the far post in the 46th minute.

But it wasn’t long before they were forced to return to their defensive stance. After a succession of passes through the midfield, Casey nearly put himself in position to score before his touch betrayed him in the area and lost possession in the 52nd minute.

Then, in the 56th minute, the Revolution found another opportunity when Marko Perovic speared an attack from the middle and launched a missile that Matt Pickens pushed away to give New England its first shot on goal.

Even though the Rapids backed off the gas as the hour mark approached, the game still belonged to them.

Sitting on a two-goal lead late, Jeff Larentowicz, another former Revolution midfielder, joined the attack when he pressed forward and gave it a go from 25 yards before Reis pushed it over the bar.

They say that revenge is dish best served cold, and Thompson made that proverb reality in the 83rd minute.

With the game well out of reach for his former team, the midfielder asserted himself well by cutting into the box and depositing a close-range shot into the net to complete a cataclysmic night for New England.

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