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11/04/2007 - Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England forward Taylor Twellman scored his eighth career Major League Soccer playoff goal Saturday to lead his squad to a 1-0 Eastern Conference Semifinal Series win over the New York Red Bulls.
With New York star striker Juan Pablo Angel on the sideline trying to decide if he was going to return to the game after taking a knee to the face, Revs midfielder Shalrie Joseph played a long ball to Steve Ralston in the offensive third. Ralston, the MLS all-time leader in assists, then played a perfect pass across the penalty area to an onrushing Twellman, who just slipped the ball over the goal line, off the fingertips of New York goalkeeper Jon Conway.
The victory propels second-seeded New England (15-8-9) to its sixth straight Eastern Conference final while improving the team's playoff record at Gillette Stadium to 7-0-3.
New York (12-12-8), on the other hand, fails to advance past the first round for the sixth straight season, with three of those exits coming at the hands of the Revolution.
The 1-0 victory comes a week after the two teams battled to a scoreless draw in the first leg of the total-goals, home-and-home series at Giants Stadium.
The game started with both teams adjusting to the wet conditions, but the Revs got the first scoring opportunity 21 minutes in. Midfielder Jeff Larentowicz received a flick pass from Twellman in the box, but the shot went wide.
New York was dealt its first blow just four minutes later when captain Claudio Reyna came out of the game with an unspecified injury. Clint Mathis, who has seen his minutes reduced in recent games, came on in his place.
New York finally generated its first quality chance about 10 minutes before the break when striker Jozy Altidore received a pass from Angel in the penalty area. Altidore then played a pass across the box in the direction of left back Dave van den Bergh, but the defense deflected it away before he could get on the other end.
Mathis created New York's best chance of the half just two minutes later when he received a pass at the top, right side of the box, turned and played the ball through defender Avery John's legs and fired at New England goalkeeper Matt Reis, but the shot hit the outside, side netting.
Conway made a great save on Revs rookie Wells Thompson in 41st minute after he one-timed a pass from inside the box and the teams headed into the break scoreless.
Reis made his best save of the game in the 52nd minute when Angel got position just outside the six-yard box and headed a Van den Bergh service on goal. Angle hung his head after the missed opportunity, as his header went right at the veteran 'keeper.
About five minutes later, with Angel and defender Jay Heaps battling for a ball in the air, Heaps inadvertently struck the Colombian striker in the jaw with his knee, sending him to the turf. Angel was sprawled out on the field for several minutes before being helped to the sideline, forcing the Red Bulls to play down a man.
While the New York training staff was trying to decide whether or not to bring Angel back into the game, the Revs took advantage, scoring the lone goal of the series.
New York forward John Wolyneic was actually up on the sidelines, warming up to come in after Angel, who apparently was concussed, could not convince the trainers to let him back into the match. With Wolyneic stretching the Revs scored the winner.
After the goal, New England backed off, slowing the game down.
New York's best chance for the equalizer came on a Wolyneic header eight minutes from time after a great cross from right back Hunter Freeman. The veteran striker positioned himself in the box and snapped the header from about 12 yards out, but it went high.
A Mathis volley from the backside after a corner kick in stoppage time went high and the Red Bulls season ended with their two designated player signings - Reyna and Angel - on the bench with injuries.
New England will now host the Eastern Championship match on Thursday against the Chicago Fire, who knocked off top-seeded D.C. United on Thursday.
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NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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