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Ralston becomes all-time assists leader as Revolution top Red Bulls

Jul 15, 2007 - 3:24 AM EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Steve Ralston became MLS's all-time assists leader as the New England Revolution moved into first place in the Eastern Conference with a 1-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium on Saturday night.

The Revolution (7-3-5) entered the night one point behind the conference-leading Red Bulls (7-6-3) but moved ahead with Saturday's victory. New England now has 26 points to New York's 24.

Ralston notched his 115th career assist in the winning effort to pass Carlos Valderrama in the MLS record book.

"(The milestone) is a reflection of my longevity," Ralston said. "I have been fortunate to play with some great players."

One of the greatest Ralston played with was the one he passed in Valderrama. The two were teammates with the Tampa Bay Mutiny.

"Passing Carlos is special because he was such a big part of my career," Ralston said. "I'm glad it's past me now so we can move on."

Ralston began the play when he stole the ball and immediately sent it to Shalrie Joseph, who found Dorman moving up the right flank. Dorman buried his 20-yard strike into the far lower corner of the net.

Jon Conway took the loss in net for the sliding Red Bulls, who will remain home for the next four contests following the upcoming All-Star break. New York has won only once in its last six outings, five of which were on the road.

Despite the continuation of his team's struggles, New York coach Bruce Arena was not disappointed with the effort.

"For 90 minutes, I think that's the best we've played in a long time," Arena said. "We played against a good team with a lot of experience."

Conway, who made seven saves, received the nod in goal shortly before the contest. He was called upon to replace starter Ronald Waterreus, who was scratched after suffering a left ankle injury in warmups.

New York already was without the services of Carlos Mendes (right calf contusion) and Deva Kovalenko (right groin strain).

"Both teams had some good chances in the first half, and they converted," Arena said.

The Red Bulls' first scoring chance came in the 16th minute, when a shot by Clint Mathis from inside the penalty area hit off the left post.

New York missed another scoring opportunity 12 minutes later, when All-Star Juan Pablo Angel sent a shot from 20 yards out that hit the crossbar.

Angel nearly converted another opportunity in the 61st minute, when Hunter Freeman sent a cross into the left side of the penalty area. But Angel could not cleanly connect on the header and eventually was ejected from the game after throwing an elbow in the 91st minute.