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Ralston reaches milestone as Revolution and Chivas play to draw

Jul 8, 2007 - 5:03 AM FOXBORO, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- Captain Steve Ralston notched the 114th assist of his MLS career when he set up Andy Dorman in the 64th minute as the New England Revolution posted a 1-1 tie with Chivas USA on Saturday.

Ralston joined his former Tampa Bay Mutiny teammate Carlos Valderrama atop the league's all-time assists list.

Ralston, always the team player, had other opinions about his feat.

"I'm more upset that we didn't win this game, honestly," he said. "Like I said, it's just a reflection of my longevity. I've been able to play for a long time and I've played with some great players, so they're going to add up."

The Revolution (6-3-5) entered Saturday's game seeking redemption for last week's 2-0 loss to Chivas (6-5-3), which was coming off a 2-0 loss to FC Dallas on Wednesday.

Chivas captain Claudio Saurez scored the only goal of the first half, putting home a header in the fourth minute off a pass from midfielder Alex Zotinca.

Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis made two diving stops to keep his team close in the first half. Teammate Adam Cristman got off three shots, including one on goal, but was unable to capitalize on the scoring opportunities.

New England coach Steve Nicol admitted his team wasted some legitimate scoring opportunities.

"We could have sunk battleships with the amount of chances we had tonight," Nicol said.

New England coach Steve Nicol made two moves at the beginning of the second half that paid off, substituting forward Taylor Twellman for Cristman and Khano Smith for fellow defender Avery John.

Smith helped keep play in Chivas' territory for most of the second half.

"(Khano) needs to realize the tools he has, and he has some fantastic tools," Nicol said. "He did a good job tonight when he came on."

Twellman also made his presence felt with an aggressive shot on goal that was denied by goalkeeper Preston Burpo, who was perfect until Dorman tied the game.

"Burpo's performance was one of the best by a goalie that I've seen in my career," Ralston said. "He just made some unbelievable saves."

Both teams return to action on July 14, with Chivas hosting Columbus and New England visiting the Red Bulls in New York.