Chivas USA Shuts Out New England Revolution - April 30, 2011 - Photo Credit: ISI Photos

Pro Soccer News: Chivas USA Defeats New England Revolution 3-0

"Chivas USA had an aggressive mindset, and overall we did a good job controlling most of the game..." says Chivas USA Head Coach Robin Fraser.  Chivas USA had New England Revolution on the run as they served up a shutout. Final score Chivas USA 3, New England Revolution 0

Chivas USA earned its second straight victory and ran its unbeaten record to five matches with an dramatic 3-0 win over the New England Revolution on Saturday night in front of more than 14,000 fans gathered at The Home Depot Center.  The entire Chivas USA team pulled together for a strong showing and forward Alejandro Moreno collected a goal and two assists in the game.

Nick LaBrocca scored his first goal for Red-and-White when he gave the team the lead 22 minutes into the match, making a run to the near post and flicking a header past Revolution goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth to the far post. Ben Zemanski earned an assist with his floated cross, while Moreno got his first helper of the night for his pass in the build-up.  

While New England Revolution may say they are strong and determined, it was the local Southern California soccer professionals that came out on top last night. 

New England Revolution's Coach Steve Nicol said, “There are always occasions in a season where you have just nightmare games. That was certainly one. But hopefully we’ve got rid of it for the season. Forgetting tactics and all kind of things, as soon as the whistle goes, you have to win the battle against your opponent. We better be ready for that next Saturday.” “

Chivas USA goalie Dan Kennedy deflects the ball from New England Revolution midfielder Zak Boggs during the match between Chivas USA and New England Revolution. Photo Credit ISI Photos David Bernal

The match was about to hit halftime when Moreno created another goal, beating his man to the ball on the end line and crossing into the middle. Marcos Mondaini scored his first Chivas USA goal with an acrobatic finish, jumping high into the air and hitting the ball on the volley from about eight yards out.

Chivas USA continued to apply pressure in the second half, and Moreno was rewarded for his hard work in minute 57. Taking advantage of a miscommunication between Revolution players Shalrie Joseph and Didier Domi, the striker slipped in to score his third of the season from close range.

Several Chivas USA players had opportunities to extend the lead, most notably Moreno and midfielder Jorge Flores, who forced two exceptional saves out of Shuttleworth in minute 71. First the New England Revolution goalkeeper stopped a point-blank flick from Moreno, and then he crossed the net quickly to stop Flores on the rebound.

On the other end of the field, goalkeeper Dan Kennedy earned his third shutout of the season, making three saves en route to the clean sheet. The best chance of the night for New England Revolution came when the Revolution’s Zack Schilawski flicked a shot over Kennedy, but the ball was cleared off the line by Heath Pearce, who continued his excellent play in central defense.

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 Head Coach Robin Fraser said on yesterday's soccer match, “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.” 

New England Revolution's Coach Nicol said, “You have to read the game, and you have to make good decisions. We didn’t do that. On the goals we made bad decisions, and we weren’t alert, we weren’t reading the plays well enough. Early on we had a couple decent moments. But when you’re under pressure for so long, eventually when you do get [possession], you don’t have the strength to use the ball well. The longer it went on, the harder it got for us, because we did all the chasing and all the running and that catches up with you eventually.”

The Red-and-White have Sunday off, and will train on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday before heading to Real Salt Lake for Saturday’s game. Chivas USA faces RSL on Saturday, May 7 at 1:00 p.m. PT, and have another road match at the New York Red Bulls on Sunday, May 15 at 4:00 p.m. PT before returning home.

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. 

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

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