Alhassan Yusuf Scores, Matt Turner Seals It Late as Revolution Edge D.C. United 1-0

Not every win needs a highlight package set to a movie trailer score. Some just need one clean finish and a goalkeeper willing to throw his body in front of everything. The New England Revolution had both on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.

Alhassan Yusuf scored in the 35th minute, Matt Turner made four saves including a big one in stoppage time, and the Revolution beat D.C. United 1-0 in front of 15,454. New England is now perfect at home, and D.C. heads back down I-95 still looking for goals.

A Post, a Pause and a Breakthrough

D.C. nearly scored in the third minute. Matti Peltola let fly from outside the box and smacked the left post, and Aaron Herrera dragged another shot just wide two minutes later. For a team that the AP noted had scored only four goals all season, it was an encouraging start.

The match then turned choppy. Herrera and Will Sands needed treatment in the seventh minute, and play stopped again around the half-hour mark for Jackson Yueill and Lucas Bartlett. Luca Langoni forced a save out of Sean Johnson from distance in the 12th minute, and Turner handled a long-range Gabriel Pirani effort in the 19th.

New England broke through in the 35th minute. Dor Turgeman found Yusuf in the middle of the box, and the midfielder drilled a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner. The Revolution said it was Yusuf's second goal of the season, putting him level with Peyton Miller and Brayan Ceballos for the team lead. The AP credited Sands with a secondary assist; ESPN's data lists Turgeman alone.

Pirani had one more chance in the fifth minute of a seven-minute stoppage period, but Turner saved again, and the hosts took a 1-0 lead into the break.

D.C. Pushes, Turner Answers

The second half was D.C.'s best spell. Herrera had a shot blocked and then sent one just wide after a set piece. Jackson Hopkins and Peltola were blocked on consecutive attempts in the 56th minute, and Bartlett headed a Silvan Hefti cross just past the post a minute later.

The clearest look came in the 69th minute. João Peglow crossed and Bartlett met it from very close range, but Turner saved the header at the top of the goal. That save, more than anything, kept the shape of the night intact.

New England had chances to kill it. Johnson saved a Turgeman header off a Griffin Yow cross in the 81st minute, and substitute Miller hit the left post from the left side of the box four minutes later. Miller then forced another stop from Johnson in the 89th. Both Bartlett and Miller later left the match because of injuries, replaced by Caden Clark and Eric Klein.

The Turning Point: Turner's Foot

In the second minute of stoppage time, Peglow let fly from the middle of the box and Turner saved it. Assistant coach Michael Morris, part of the group that led the Revs on the night, singled out a late Turner save in which the keeper came off his line and stopped the ball with his foot. The Revolution noted it was the second straight week Turner had preserved a shutout with a decisive late save.

"At the end of the game, obviously, that's an amazing save that Turner had. And the bravery that he showed to come off his line and make that save with his foot," Morris said, per the club.

Morris was on the bench in a leading role because head coach Marko Mitrović was serving a suspension following a red card against CF Montréal the previous weekend, per the Revolution.

Star Watch

Turner was the man of the hour: four saves, a clean sheet, and the stop that sealed it. Yusuf scored on his only shot, and Turgeman added the assist along with three shots of his own. Miller was lively off the bench with three shots and that strike off the post.

For D.C., Peglow was everywhere. The club said he recorded 10 tackles and won 11 ground duels, and he also had three shots, created chances for teammates and committed five fouls. Peltola, Herrera and Pirani all had moments. Johnson, whom the AP described as fourth on the all-time list for appearances by a goalkeeper, made three saves.

D.C. was without leading scorer Tai Baribo because of injury, according to the club, and it showed in the final third.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: D.C. 14, New England 11, with four on target for each side.
• Saves: Turner 4, Johnson 3.
• Woodwork: One post apiece, Peltola for D.C. and Miller for New England.
• Tackles: D.C. 27, New England 17.
• Clearances: New England 28, D.C. 15, a sign of how much defending the Revolution did.

What It Means

New England moves to 3-0-3 with 9 points, and the split is almost comical. According to the AP, the Revolution have lost all three road matches but have outscored opponents 10-1 while winning their first three at home. This was also a second straight shutout win, after a 3-0 home victory over Montréal. Morris liked the edge in it.

"Not every single win is going to be beautiful, especially at this point in the season. So that resilience, that ability to grind from the players, that is also a major component of teams being successful over the long run," he said.

The Revolution host Rhode Island FC in the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday before welcoming the Columbus Crew to Gillette Stadium on April 18.

D.C. falls to 2-1-4 with 7 points after back-to-back losses, the first a 4-0 home defeat to FC Dallas. Four goals in seven matches is not going to cut it. D.C. faces One Knoxville SC in the Open Cup on Wednesday before a trip to Philadelphia.

Closing Take

Morris put it best: New England had to "find the ability to grind out results like we did today." This was a grind in the purest sense, more lunch pail than lightshow. But the Revs have figured out something important at home, and the AP's 10-1 scoreline across three games at Gillette Stadium is the kind of number that wins arguments later in the season.

Stats from ESPN's match data and the AP recap via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the New England Revolution (revolutionsoccer.net); additional details from D.C. United (dcunited.com).