MLB New England 1 - 2 DC United

Jose Moreno made his first MLS start and scored the opening goal in the sixth minute, but Maicon Santos and Chris Pontius responded for D.C. United to hand the visitors a 2-1 win over the New England Revolution on Saturday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.

It was Moreno’s first MLS goal after making his debut last week at FC Dallas and it gave the Revs (2-4-0, 6 pts.) an early lead for the second straight home game. The advantage was short-lived, however, as Santos scored the equalizer for United (2-2-2, 8 pts.) in the 19th minute and Pontius bagged the game winner in the 82nd minute just three minutes after entering the game as a substitute.

D.C. goalkeeper Joe Willis made six saves in the back-and-forth affair which saw the Revs (20) and United (22) combine for 42 attempted shots.

Shalrie Joseph’s absence through suspension forced the Revs to shuffle their midfield with Kelyn Rowe partnering Clyde Simms in the middle, flanked by Ryan Guy and Lee Nguyen on the wings.

Moreno wasted little time making an impact in his debut start, putting the Revs on top in the sixth minute. Nguyen’s clever pass sprung Saer Sène down the left wing and the Frenchman delivered a teasing cross into the box for Moreno, who volleyed home from eight yards out.

The visitors pulled level shortly thereafter when Santos put the finishing touch on a spectacular set piece. Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis was at full-stretch to deny Danny Cruz’s deflected drive in the 13th minute, but he could do nothing to stop Santos’ close-range effort six minutes later. The play began from a Nick DeLeon corner kick which Dwayne De Rosario met with a majestic bicycle kick, setting up Santos for the glancing header.

Nguyen was well-positioned on the post to prevent D.C. from pulling ahead from another corner kick in the 22nd minute as the midfielder cleared Robbie Russell’s goal-bound header off the line. Six minutes later the Revs hit the woodwork when Willis pushed Chris Tierney’s 25-yard free kick off the left post, before Tierney narrowly missed with another free kick in the 34th minute.

Tierney was involved again early in the second half, slipping Sène into the box with an inch-perfect pass in the 54th minute. Sène’s left-footed shot was saved by Willis and Moreno’s attempted bicycle kick on the follow-up looped over the crossbar. Willis denied Sène again in the 70th minute, diving to his right to smother a 10-yard header from Guy’s cross.

Reis came up big at the other end in the 81st minute to stop Josh Wolff’s bouncing effort, but he was helpless to prevent Pontius from scoring the winner in the 82nd minute. DeLeon’s header sent Pontius into the left side of the box, where he shook his marker before drilling a shot into the far side netting.

Both Guy (83rd) and Sène (91st) had late chances to grab an equalizer for the Revs, but Willis was on hand to stop both efforts and extend United’s unbeaten run to four games.

The Revs will be off next weekend and won’t return to action until Saturday, April 28, when they’ll visit the New York Red Bulls in another Eastern Conference showdown. Kickoff from Red Bull Arena is set for 3:30 p.m.