Aug. 19, 2007 – Kansas City 0:1 Revolution at Arrowhead Stadium (Att. 9,035)

The New England Revolution (11W-5L-6D, 39 points) took over the lead in the race for the Supporter’s Shield on Taylor Twellman’s 72^nd-minute goal. Twellman made a back post run to finish Khano Smith’s cross, the sequence initiated by an Andy Dorman-Shalrie Joseph combination in a match played in near-90 degree temperatures and high-90 percent humidity.

“There are not that many players in the league who make that run,” Revolution assistant coach Paul Mariner said of Twellman. “And the ball was coming at some pace.”

Twellman’s performance served to confirm his advancement as an all-around striker, according to Mariner, who ran onto the field to embrace him post-game.

“I told him he was a top-class forward,” Mariner, now the Revolution’s color commentator, said after the game. “He held the ball up, the timing of his runs, his timing in the box. He used his brain and he stayed calm. Before the game, with no Rallie [Steve Ralston], I told him he was going to have to lead. He was going to be a key player for us and he needed to use his head and be smart out there.”

The goal was Twellman’s 89^th in his MLS career, and his scoring – 23 goals in all competitions (plus one for the U.S. national team) – carried the Revolution to their third successive MLS Cup final. Twellman provided the go-ahead score in a 3-2 win over Dallas in the U.S. Open Cup final Oct. 3, 2007; then, his goals made the difference in the playoffs, 1-0 victories over New York in the return leg on Nov. 3 and the Chicago Fire in the Eastern Conference final on Nov. 8, and gave the Revolution a 20^th-minute lead over the Houston Dynamo in the final on Nov. 18. But the Revolution’s 331-minute shutout streak was snapped as they fell, 2-1, to the Dynamo, their fourth MLS Cup final defeat in six years. Chris Aduama photo

TODAY IN NEW ENGLAND SOCCER HISTORY