New England Revolution Vs. D.C. United, 2012 MLS: Chris Pontius Wins It For United

The New England Revolution are going to feel as if they got a raw deal on Saturday afternoon. Despite scoring a fine goal and coming agonizingly close to scoring on several opportunities, they only managed the one goal and that was not enough to beat D.C. United. That's because Maicon Santos leveled for United not long after the Revs went in front, then Chris Pontius struck the winner eight minutes from full time to net the visitors a 2-1 win at Gillette Stadium.

A brilliant piece of play got New England their goal just six minutes in. A tidy one-two between Saer Sene and Lee Nguyen freed up Sene down the left. He raced down and delivered a blistering cross to the top of the six-yard box. There, Jose Moreno met it and despite it being a hard, waist high cross, he volleyed it home on the first touch for his first Revolution goal.

Unfortunately, that lead wouldn't even last 15 minutes. A floated cross from a corner for Dwayne De Rosario was behind him, forcing him to hit a bicycle kick from 15 yards. He hit it wel, but straight down, where it skipped off the turf and to Santos in the crowded box. The United striker was first to it, redirecting the ball towards goal with a header that equalized for the visitors.

The rest of the match saw both teams getting their fair share of the ball, New England getting the better of the chances. Chris Tierney almost scored twice, just missing side of the post on a good free kick and hitting the bar another time. Even so, it didn't result in a goal and that came back to bite them in the 82nd minute.

Pontius came off the bench and was free up on the left side of the box with just one defender there. One v. one, Pontius is always going to have the edge and he cut inside before hitting a great curling shot just inside the far post for the winner.