New England Revolution started the game forcing a corner and Joseph was on the spot to head home a cross from Marko Perovic.

The LA Galaxy thought they had scored the equalizer in the 17th minute, David Beckham hit an inviting free kick into the middle of the box from the left wing. Goalkeeper keeper Matt Reis got to the ball first but did not appear to hold on to the ball. Juninho knocked the loose ball into the back of the net, but referee Hilario Grajada waved the goal off, calling a push on the Revolution goalkeeper.

New England Revolution's defender AJ Soares, playing in his first MLS game.  AJ Soares is a former Surf Soccer Club player and a San Diego Native.

LA Galaxy picked up the gauntlet and attacked throughout the first half and they were rewarded with six minutes left in the first period. New England Revolution's defender AJ Soares, playing in his first MLS game did not clear the ball and the ever alert Juninho pick up the loose ball and fired a rocket past the helpless New England goalie Matt Reis.

LA Galaxy continued to attack and was unfortunate to have an offside decision go against them, when Mike Magee deposited the ball in the back of the net.

Juan Pablo Angel and Paolo Cardozo came into the game in the 63^rd minute, replacing Chad Barret and Magee for their LA Galaxy debuts. It was also Cardoso’s MLS debut. Angel was involved in a controversial decisions as he was called offside in the second minute of stoppage time much to the dismay of the LA Galaxy faithful.

“I think on the night, our team played very well. Obviously, conceding a goal in the opening minutes put our backs to the wall. I think we responded well and got a goal back and probably had another goal, although the referee doesn’t agree with that. I think we played well. We could have scored a bunch of goals. We fell short there, but overall the passing of the ball, creating chances, defending was good. We just didn’t get that second goal. I thought we did a lot of good things tonight. Overall, it was a positive performance. Certainly, we are not happy with a point. This is a game we should win,” said a disappointed LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena.

The LA Galaxy was without several players on the night. Gregg Berthalter, Adam Cristman, Omar Gonzalez, Dan Keat and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts were all missing due to injury. The home opener attendance was 27,000, a sellout, the first full capacity home opener since 2008.

LA Galaxy is back in action on Saturday night when they head to Utah to take on Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium. The game kicks off at 6 p.m.

Scoring Summary:

NE – Shalrie Joseph 1 (Marko Perovic 1) 3’
LA – Juninho 2 (Unassisted) 39’

Misconduct Summary:
None

Lineups:

LA Galaxy:
Josh Saunders; Sean Franklin, A.J. DeLaGarza, Leonardo, Todd Dunivant; Chris Birchall, Juninho, David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Chad Barrett (Juan Pablo Angel 63’), Mike Magee (Paolo Cardozo 63’).

Subs Not Used:
Brian Perk, Frankie Hejduk, Michael Stephens, Jovan Kirovski, Bryan Jordan.

Injury Update: Adam Cristman (Left Knee – Surgery), Dan Keat (Left Heel – Fracture), Gregg Berhalter (Left MCL – Sprain), Donovan Ricketts (Right Hamstring – Strain) however Omar Gonzalez (Right Shoulder – Sprain) is improving.

New England Revolution:
Matt Reis; Darrius Barnes, Franco Coria, A.J. Soares, Chris Tierney; Zak Boggs, Pat Phelan, Stephen McCarthy, Marko Perovic (Kenny Mansally 22’), Shalrie Joseph, Zack Schilawski (Sainey Nyassi 74’).

Subs Not Used:
Bobby Shuttlesworth, Ryan Cochrane, Kheli Dube, Seth Sinovic, Ilija Stoloca.

Referee: Hilario Grajeda
Referee's Assistants: Bill Dittmar; Brian Poeschel
4th Official: Ramon Hernandez
Attendance: 27,000
Weather: Rain and 57 degrees