Kelyn Rowe Suspension: New England Revolution Forward Suspended For Foul Against Red Bulls

New England Revolution rookie forward Kelyn Rowe has been suspended for match one and fined an undisclosed amount for a foul on New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Ryan Meara on July 8 (via MLS).

Rowe was chasing a loose ball during the match and his leg struck Meara's head inside the penalty area in the 87th minute. The Revs went on to win the match, 2-0. Rowe did not receive a card for the play during the match.

The MLS Disciplinary Committee determined that Rowe's play endangered the safety of Meara and that Rowe made no attempt to pull out of his challenge for the ball. Rowe will be the second Revolution player suspended this season. Shalrie Joseph was suspended in April for a foul on FC Dallas midfielder Ricardo Villar.

Here is the play which sparked the one-match ban and fine:

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

Revolution Vs. Red Bulls: Lee Nguyen And Jerry Bengtson Score To Earn A 2-0 New England Victory

The New England Revolution defeated Eastern Conference rivals New York Red Bulls on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium. Jerry Bengtson scored the second goal on his debut, the first goal of his MLS career.

Revolution Vs Red Bulls Score Update: Jerry Bengtson's Debut Goal Puts New England Ahead 2-0

There was much ado about the New England Revolution's signing of designated player Jerry Bengtson this past week, and on Sunday night against the New York Red Bulls, Bengtson showed the home fans why they should be excited. In the 84th minute with the Revolution leading 1-0, Bengtson cleaned up a rebound to double the Revs' advantage and likely put the match away.

Saer Sene started a counterattack down the right, flying toward the box before cutting inside and moving laterally to the D. Shalrie Joseph was waiting, and Sene laid it off lightly to the usual captain, who put his foot on the ball and then slipped a ball over the top to Sene, who had turned his run into the box. Sene got the better of Wilman Conde and was one-on-one with Ryan Meara, but Meara made a great save. Unfortunately for him, Bengtson was lurking, and he touched up the ball real quick before tapping into an open net for his first-ever MLS goal in his debut.

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

Revolution Vs. Red Bulls Halftime: New England Wastes Chances But Still Leads 1-0

The New England Revolution have been deplorably wasteful in front of goal, but just one moment of accuracy from Lee Nguyen was all that was required to take the halftime lead over the New York Red Bulls in Gillette Stadium on Sunday night. Nguyen's strike is the exclamation point on a half where the Revs demonstrated raw dominance over their opponents.

Nguyen's goal, his third of the season, was a ranged strike from just outside the D that appeared to take Ryan Meara by surprise before slipping inside the left post. Chris Tierney assisted on the goal, taking the Revolution team lead in that stat category with four.

New England created the only meaningful chances of the half, and by all rights should have been up by three or four goals going into the half. Blake Brettschneider had a one-on-one opportunity in the 12th minute after Saer Sene sprung him with a great pass, but Ryan Meara was out quickly and saved off of Blake's foot.

Brettschneider then wasted an even better chance three minutes later, getting a free header off a chipped cross from Nguyen, but despite going up uncontested for the ball, he somehow managed to head high over the crossbar. Just a minute later, Sene tried his hand at playing provider yet again, driving in on the left and then cutting the ball back to Benny Feilhaber, but the skilled midfielder tried to go for finesse over power and instead awkwardly deflected the ball wide of the far post.

Blake Brettschneider yet again missed a golden opportunity in the 20th minute when Kevin Alston played him in, but this time it was Ryan Meara's goalkeeping skills that kept the match level as he parried away the stinging drive. Nguyen's goal in the 24th was timely, but didn't spark the Revs finishing, as just a moment later Sene was the goat when he sent his one-on-one with the 'keeper wide of the far post.

Finally, in perhaps the best chance of the evening, a Feilhaber free kick found the head of A.J. Soares, who did excellently to put a spinning header on frame. Meara made a breathtaking acrobatic save just to put it off the crossbar, but it fell to Blake near the line with an open net. Brettschneider had two bites of the apple, but some last-ditch defending from New York kept the ball out and it was eventually cleared.

Incredibly, the Revolution defense has held the Red Bull's potent attack to zero attempts on goal, which includes shots on target, off target, and blocked. The back line has done well to deal with the speed of Dane Richards and the size of Kenny Cooper.

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

Revolution Vs. Red Bulls Score Update: Lee Nguyen Fires The Home Team Ahead 1-0

The New England Revolution have had the best of play in the early going at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, and it did not take them long to capitalize. Lee Nguyen scored his third goal of the season, sneaking a shot from outside the box that nestled into the bottom left of the goal.

The play began with Chris Tierney dribbling into the corner of the box from the left. While it looked like Tierney might have had an opportunity himself, he was eventually closed down and, with no other options, cut back to his partner on the left, Nguyen. Usually, the former USA international takes a few touches and looks for the killer pass, but in this moment, he ripped off a quick shot from just outside the D that apparently had Ryan Meara fooled.

The Revs have created several chances this half. Blake Brettschneider and Benny Feilhaber will both rue their finishing, as each of them passed up golden opportunities to score. Saer Sene also fired wide just a minute or two after Nguyen's goal.

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

Revolution Vs. Red Bulls Lineups: Shalrie Joseph, Matt Reis Are Subs, Jerry Bengtson Makes Bench

New England Revolution head coach Jay Heaps has made some very interesting lineup decisions ahead of Sunday night's match with the New York Red Bulls. With the injury report full of several prominent names, Heaps did some considerable reshuffling to field a full and balanced side.

In an altogether unexpected move, Matt Reis will start the game on the bench, while Bobby Shuttleworth will get his first competitive appearance of the 2012 season in goal. Reis was not listed as injured on Friday and no word has yet been given on whether or not Reis picked up an injury in the meantime. Speculation will undoubtedly fly that perhaps Heaps is sending a message to Reis after the normally-reliable keeper exhibited some weaknesses in the last couple of games, but at this point any talk of that nature would be unsubstantiated.

Shalrie Joseph will also start the match on the bench, something he hasn't done since the Dark Ages. This is a little more explainable, however, given that he was listed as doubtful on the Friday injury report with a left knee sprain. Also, Kevin Alston will start at right-back, despite a questionable listing due to the hamstring injury he suffered two weeks ago in Toronto.

Perhaps the most exciting news of the night is that Jerry Bengtson, New England's brand-new Designated Player signing, is on the bench. Evidently his ITC and P-1 Visa came through this weekend, and the team was cleared to include him in the 18 for this match. It would be a good bet to expect that Bengtson will make an appearance in this match.

On the New York side, neither Thierry Henry or Rafa Marquez are in the squad for this matchup. That isn't at all surprising, considering Henry (unofficially) never plays on turf, and there was plenty of talk about how Marquez was going to miss out on this game throughout the week.

Lineups

Revolution: Shuttleworth; Alston, Stephen McCarthy, A.J. Soares, Chris Tierney; Kelyn Rowe, Benny Feilhaber, Clyde Simms (captain), Lee Nguyen; Blake Brettschneider, Saer Sene

Bench: Reis, Barnes, Bengtson, Cardenas, Fagundez, Guy, Joseph

Red Bulls: Ryan Meara; Brandon Barklage, Stephen Keel, Wilman Conde, Roy Miller; Mehdi Ballouchy, Connor Lade, Joel Lindpere, Dax McCarty; Kenny Cooper, Dane Richards

Bench: Vuolo, Arteaga, Borrajo, Maduro, Palsson, Ruthven

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

Revolution Vs. Red Bulls: New England Welcomes New York In Classic Rivalry

Benny Feilhaber and the New England Revolution are set to welcome the New York Red Bulls to Gillette Stadium on Sunday night in a vital Eastern Conference rivalry clash. (TV/Radio: Galavision/98.5)