New England Revolution 1 - 2 Seattle Sounders: Revs Still Searching For A Win

The New England Revolution could not snap their five-match winless streak at CenturyLink Field this afternoon as they fell to the Seattle Sounders 2-1 in a match that would not have been one for the neutrals. The Revs hopped out to an unexpected early lead but their inability to string passes together and create chances again sank them after the Rave Green regained their composure.

Sainey Nyassi opened the scoring early after a heads-up play from a corner by Benny Feilhaber. Tyson Wahl's first-ever MLS goal (and a peach of a goal it was) tied it up in the first half. Finally, a well-worked goal with a decent finish from Alvaro Fernandez gave the home side the lead before halftime, and they never looked back.

FIRST HALF

The Revolution couldn't have asked for a better start to this match. In just the third minute, Benny Feilhaber lined up to take a corner and noticed Sainey Nyassi open and available for a run from deep. He played the corner along the ground and in front of the Gambian, who ran onto it and fired from the top of the box, slipping it past a screened Kasey Keller and into the far corner.

The game was pretty chippy and as a result few chances were created in the first half. The Revs had a second in the 16th minute after Nyassi collected a clearance. He ran with it for about fifty yards before he was challenged by Tyson Wahl. The winger took him on, cut to his right and then drilled a long shot on target that Keller parried out for a corner.

Pat Phelan was lucky to remain on the field in the 23rd minute after he nearly dismembered Servando Carrasco with a late challenge. Fortunately for the Revs he was only shown a yellow card. The Sounders would answer with a goal, however. Ryan Cochrane was whistled for a foul just outside the box and Wahl stood over it. In the 34th minute, he showed unprecedented class to float a curling ball to the far-post upper-90 and sink it for the equalizer.

Seattle made it 2-1 six minutes later. Some good buildup play resulted in Roger Levesque cutting into the box. He then laid it off to Alvaro Fernandez, who was flying in diagonally from the left, and the Uruguayan fired a shot to the far post across the face of a despairing Matt Reis. Reis could be faulted for leaning near post when he may have gotten a better piece of it by staying honest, and even further back than that, most Revs fans will feel that a foul should have been called after a tackle on Feilhaber just before the build-up that led to the goal.

The Revs had the last serious chance of the match when Feilhaber set up Nyassi for a shout outside the box in the first minute of stoppage time, but his blast flashed wide left.

SECOND HALF

The Revs again created the first chance of the half, but this time were unable to convert. A Feilhaber corner in the 50th minute reached the head of Shalrie Joseph from about the penalty spot. The captain snapped it on frame, but Keller was able to get to his left and make the save.

Ryan Guy and Rajko Lekic nearly combined for the equalizer in the 61st. A clearance from a Nyassi cross reached Guy outside the area on the left. He chested it up and then flicked it over his right shoulder with his foot to where he knew Lekic was lurking. The Dane ran onto it in the area and tried a left-footed shot to the far post but it rolled just wide of the woodwork.

Seattle tested Reis in the 68th minute after some good work from Mauro Rosales. The Argentine bombed down the right side to the byline and floated a beautiful bending cross right onto the head of Roger Levesque, but the long-time Sounders frontman put his header right at Reis, who parried and then held.

Former Revolution favorite Pat Noonan came on as a 69th minute sub for the Sounders. Almost ten minutes later, Rajko Lekic received a yellow for dissent with the referee as play continued to get more and more physical, frustrating New England players who felt they weren't getting the calls they deserved. Substitute Zack Schilawski broke up the monotony of fouls by manufacturing an excellent scoring chance in the 85th minute. He received the ball in midfield, about 25 yards out, and turned on his left and just crushed a long drive that slammed against the cross bar and bounced over with Keller beaten.

Tyson Wahl was shown yellow for time-wasting in the 87th minute before A.J. Soares became the next Revolution player to see a card for dissent with officiating after he abused the linesman. Feilhaber had the last chance of the match after he received a rough pass from Schilawski. The USA international controlled with his right foot but was already over-extended, and his attempted toe-poke half-volley scooted wide of the left post.