Pro Soccer News: Chivas vs New England Revolution 

Chivas USA midfielder Jorge Flores  heads the ball during the match between Chivas USA and New England Revolution

Chivas USA head coach Robin Fraser, was full of praise for his players as they ran out 3-0 winners against the New England Revolution, Saturday night at the Home Depot Center.

“A lot of things were coming together for us. It wasn’t just this game; it’s been the last series of games…. In terms of things in final third and this aggressive mindset, we’ve gotten better at that and as a result, we scored quite a few goals and overall we did a good job controlling most of the game,” said a happy Coach Fraser.

Soccer goals from three different players and a shut out defensively was music to the coaches’ ears. First it was Nick La Brocca stealing in at the near post to direct the ball, with his head, into the far side of the net with New England Revolution's goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth left clutching at air.

The Red and Whites went two up right before the end of the first half. Alejandro Moreno, who was to be a thorn in the Revolution’s side all night, made a great run down the left wing before sending in a cross that Marcos Mondaini somehow managed to volley across the goal line.

The New England Revolutions's defense was having a bad night up to this point, but worse was yet to come. In the 57^th minute Shalrie Joseph, inside his own penalty box and facing his own goal, sent a back pass to Didier Domi. Domi was totally taken by surprise and tried to control the ball but ended up laying off the ball to the effervescent Moreno, who promptly deposited it into the back of the net giving the Goats a 3-0 lead and all three points.

Fraser also had special praise for his team’s defensive effort. “We talked earlier this season about individual defensive errors, but tonight we saw great defensive teamwork. That is a testimony to the work on the training ground,” commented Fraser.

New England head coach Steve Nicol was not too happy with his team’s performance. On his young defensive group he had this to say. “We were in the right areas of the field but we did not react quickly enough to the dangers. This comes from experience and hopefully from these types of games we can learn.”

AJ Soares, a young Southern California product (and former San Diego Surf Soccer Club player) and the Revolutions first round draft pick, had this to say. “We were a little disjointed tonight but all in all we know where we made mistakes and we can solve those problems going forward.”

Chivas USA Head Coach Robin Fraser  Photo Credit: ISI Photos

Chivas USA has had a great month in April going undefeated but May is still undetermined and we will find out what this team is made of as they travel to play against Real Salt Lake and then on to visit the New York Red Bulls before coming home to face the LA Galaxy. The next three games should answer the questions about The Red and Whites ability to compete.

The win moved Chivas USA to 2-2-3 (W-L-T) in 2011, and into sixth place in the Western Conference, just one point behind the Portland Timbers and Colorado Rapids, and three behind Real Salt Lake and the Seattle Sounders.

Chivas USA Next home game: Chivas USA faces the LA Galaxy in the first Honda SuperClásico of 2011 on Saturday, May 21, at 7:00 p.m. 

MLS Pro Soccer Game Highlights: Chivas USA 3:0 New England Revolution on April 30, 2011 – The Home Depot Center

Scoring Summary:

CHV -- Nick LaBrocca 1 (Ben Zemanski 1, Alejandro Moreno 1) 22

CHV -- Marcos Mondaini 1 (Alejandro Moreno 2, Ante Jazic 1) 45

CHV -- Alejandro Moreno 3 (unassisted) 57

Chivas USA -- Dan Kennedy, Zarek Valentin, Andrew Boyens, Heath Pearce, Ante Jazic, Ben Zemanski (Mariano Trujillo 70), Simon Elliott, Nick LaBrocca, Jorge Flores (Francisco Mendoza 78), Marcos Mondaini (Justin Braun 66), Alejandro Moreno. Substitutes Not Used: Victor Estupinan, Gerson Mayen, Michael Umana, Zach Thornton.

TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Flores 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 8 (3 tied with 2); FOULS: 14 (Zemanski 4); OFFSIDE: 3 (Moreno 2); CORNER KICKS: 6 (Pearce 4); SAVES: Kennedy 3

New England Revolution -- Bobby Shuttleworth, Kevin Alston, Franco Coria, A.J. Soares, Didier Domi (Chris Tierney 76), Zak Boggs, Benny Feilhaber, Shalrie Joseph, Kenny Mansally (Sainey Nyassi 46), Rajko Lekic, Zack Schilawski.Substitutes Not Used: Darrius Barnes, Ryan Cochrane, Kheli Dube, Stephen McCarthy, Matt Reis.

TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (4 tied with 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (4 tied with 1); FOULS: 7 (Lekic 2); OFFSIDE: 2 (Boggs 1, Lekic 1); CORNER KICKS: 3 (Boggs 2); SAVES: Shuttleworth 5

Misconduct Summary:

NE -- Franco Coria (caution; Reckless Foul) 33

NE -- Shalrie Joseph (caution; Reckless Foul) 39

CHV -- Ben Zemanski (caution; Persistent Infringement) 66

Referee: Mark Kadlecik

Referee's Assistants: Sean Hurd; Mike Kampmeinert

4th Official: Sorin Stoica

Time of Game: 1:50

Weather: Partly Cloudy and 76 degrees

Attendance: 14,058