MLS Standings 2012: New England Revolution Struggling In Eastern Conference

The 2012 MLS season is winding down and the playoffs are right around the corner. As teams across the league look to make one final push, the New England Revolution appear to be out of the running in the Eastern Conference.

As of Monday, the Revolution feature a record of 7-15-8, which places them in ninth place in the East. With just 29 points, there is a decent chance they finish with the second-worst record in MLS, ahead of only Toronto FC.

As for the rest of the Eastern Conference, Sporting Kansas City leads the way with 55 points. The Chicago Fire are in second with 53 points, while the New York Red Bulls and D.C. United are tied for third with 50. The Houston Dynamo hold a one-point lead over the Columbus Crew for the fifth and final playoff spot.

In the West, the San Jose Earthquakes led the league with 18 wins and 60 points. The LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake are tied for second place with 49 points, while the Seattle Sounders are right behind them with 48 points. The Vancouver Whitecaps hold the fifth and final playoff spot with 38 points, two more than FC Dallas.

You can find a complete standings list here.

For more New England Revolution coverage, visit our team page and The Bent Musket.

Revolution Vs. Red Bulls Final Score: New England Salvages 1-1 Draw

By Corey Majors - Contributing Editor, The Bent Musket.

Coming into Saturday's match, the New York Red Bulls hadn't won at Gillette Stadium in 15 games. Darrius Barnes made that number 16 with his stoppage time goal, helping the New England Revolution salvage a 1-1 draw against their bitter Eastern Conference rivals.

Although nothing really changed after Saturday's draw, the Revs will cbe holding their heads high, especially after Joel Lindpere's 91^st minute goal appeared to be the game winner.

It was a relatively eventful first half for both sides, with both keepers being tested on several occasions. Although having only 39 percent of possession, the Revs managed to tally seven attempts on goal, with three of them on target. New England also had a goal denied by the linesman in the 5^th minute when Jerry Bengtson was whistled off-side, though replay showed him to be on.

"I don't want to comment further than to say that it was a goal, you know, what can you do," said head coach Jay Heaps after the game. "And that's tough because that changes the entire game... That's the second one this season, in that same goal, that's been disallowed that we've been told that's completely the wrong call."

Despite the unjust call, New England fought on. First half chances from Lee Nguyen from a free kick in the 18^th minute as well as Bengtson once again in the 43^rd all came close but were denied by Bill Gaudette. On the other side of the pitch, Bobby Shuttleworth (who started in favor of Matt Reis for the first time since July 15^th) didn't really have much to worry about until the second half.

What the first half lacked in excitement, the second half more than made up for. Referee Sorin Stoica -- whose only cautions came vocally in the first half -- issued six yellow cards in the second half, including two to New York right-back Connor Lade, leading to his ejection in the 74^th minute.

Benny Feilhaber and Juan Toja eventually made their way into the game as substitutes (Toja notably playing for 35+ minutes) to try to help get their squad on the board. However, it was Joel Lindpere who eventually broke the standstill in the 91^st minute when a cross into the box was mis-handled by Shuttleworth and the Revolution defense, allowing the Estonian midfielder to head it in with ease.

Just as it seemed all but over, the Revolution found a way in the final moments of the game. Rookie Kelyn Rowe recycled a New England attempt on goal and managed to play a ball out to Ryan Guy on the right wing. The Guam international sent a cross into the box that met the head of an ensuing Darrius Barnes, leading to a 95^th minute goal and the equalizer.

"It kind of felt like LeBron winning his first championship," joked Barnes, whose goal was his first of his 88-game professional career. "When they got that goal, we didn't let it deflate us, we kept pushing and we got numbers forward and [we were] putting balls into the box, and when you put balls into the box anything can happen. And I was fortunate to get on the end of Ryan Guy's perfect ball into the box."

The Revolution will now head out on the road for their next two games against the Houston Dynamo and the Philadelphia Union before returning to Gillette Stadium to close out their 2012 home account against the Chicago Fire on October 20^th.

For more New England Revolution coverage, visit our team page and The Bent Musket.

Revolution Vs. Red Bulls Update: Barnes And Lindpere Trade Late Goals In Thrilling 1-1 Finish

The New England Revolution and the New York Red Bulls looked poised for a 0-0 draw, but a flurry of activity in stoppage time created drama for a season-best crowd of 24,364. Joel Lindpere opened the match scoring, but just a few minutes later, Darrius Barnes scored the first goal of his career to salvage a point and maintain New England's long home unbeaten streak against New York.

Lindpere put the Red Bulls on the board in the first minute of stoppage time after a defensive miscue. A lofted cross from the left drifted to the far post, where Tim Cahill challenged A.J. Soares in the air. Bobby Shuttleworth came out to punch clear, but got mixed up with Soares and failed to clear the ball. It bounced high and Lindpere barged in, nodding the ball into the goal with Shuttleworth off his line and out of the net.

With the wind knocked from the crowd, the Revs didn't give up, and in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, they found their equalizer. Ryan Guy played an excellent cross in from deep, and Barnes rose highest above all - including New York goalkeeper Bill Gaudette - to thunder home a header. The goal was Barnes' first of his career, coming 88 games after his Revolution debut.

Revolution Vs. Red Bulls Halftime Update: New England Creating Chances But Unable To Capitalize, Tied 0-0

The New England Revolution have made it through a half of soccer without conceding against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night, but may feel they should be going into the interval with the lead. The Revs created a number of solid chances, and had an early goal called back for offside when the replays showed that the officials may have gotten it wrong.

Jerry Bengtson was sent in on goal in the 4th minute by Lee Nguyen and buried his shot into the back of the net. The assistant referee waved for offside, though, erasing the advantage. Upon replay, it looked as though Diego Fagundez was certainly offside, but the teenager wasn't involved in the play, and Bengtson seemed to be level with the last defender when Nguyen played the ball.

Bobby Shuttleworth was called into action a minute later, catching a volleyed attempt from Jan Gunnar Solli. That was one of the Red Bulls only real chances, however, and the Revs came raring back in the 16th minute when Fagundez received a feed from Rowe and blasted a shot from just inside the area on frame, forcing Bill Gaudette to punch away.

Nguyen nearly had a goal of his own in the 18th minute off a direct free kick, but Gaudette did very well to dive to his right and parry a shot that was curving wickedly and had very good pace. Darrius Barnes headed a Nguyen free kick over the bar just two minutes later as New England continued to pile on the pressure.

The 35th minute saw a pair of substitutions forced by injury. Red Bulls midfielder and designated player Rafa Marquez was replaced with Joel Lindpere after trying unsuccessfully to play through a hamstring injury. For the Revs, Florian Lechner made way for Stephen McCarthy after struggling with a knee complaint, though it appeared he wanted to soldier on.

Tim Cahill had the Red Bulls best chance of the half in the 36th minute, pouncing on a loose ball just outside the area and ripping a shot that he pulled just wide of the left post with Shuttleworth likely beaten. The Revs followed up on that with a well-worked move in the 42nd minute, as a long ball out of the back from Barnes was headed into the path of Bengtson by Clyde Simms. The Honduran striker had a rip, and Gaudette just managed to get a finger to it to put it off the crossbar and out.

For more Revolution coverage, visit our team page and blog, The Bent Musket.

Revolution Vs. Red Bulls Lineups: Fagundez, Barnes Start Again, Reis On The Bench

With the playoffs now out of the picture, the New England Revolution have the freedom to experiment with matchday lineups, and against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night, head coach Jay Heaps took the opportunity to tinker with his defense. The Red Bulls, for their part, trotted out an expected full-strength lineup.

Matt Reis is on the bench for the first time in several months, giving backup goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth a chance to showcase his talents. Reis has played fairly well recently, but Shuttleworth put in several very good performances earlier in the season and looks to be the organization's choice of keeper for the future.

The defense in front of him also changed up a bit. Heaps is apparently a fan of Kevin Alston at left back, and elected to keep him out there with Florian Lechner on the right. A.J. Soares returned to the lineup for the first time since August 29th, with Stephen McCarthy making way as Darrius Barnes retains his spot in central defense.

Diego Fagundez earned another consecutive start alongside Jerry Bengtson at striker. Also notable, midfielder Blair Gavin will feature on the bench. Gavin was the player the Revolution received in the Shalrie Joseph trade, but hasn't made the matchday 18 yet due to injury.

Lineups

Revolution: Shuttleworth; Alston, Soares, Barnes, Lechner; Lee Nguyen, Clyde Simms, Ryan Guy, Kelyn Rowe; Fagundez, Bengtson

Bench: Reis, Gavin, Toja, Feilhaber, McCarthy, Cardenas, Imbongo

Red Bulls: Bill Gaudette; Wilman Conde, Heath Pearce, Markus Holgersson, Connor Lade; Jan Gunnar Solli, Rafa Marquez, Teemu Tainio, Dax McCarty; Tim Cahill, Sebastien Le Toux

Bench: Robles, Sam, Lindpere, Hertzog, Keel, Barklage, Cooper

Revolution Vs. Red Bulls: New England Looks To Finish Strong Against New York

The New England Revolution have naught but pride on the line as they welcome the New York Red Bulls to Foxboro on Saturday night. The Red Bulls have never won at Gillette Stadium in the regular season. (TV/Radio: CSN/98.5)