The New England Revolution fell to Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 4-1, on Tuesday night at Grande Sports World. Whitecaps forward Darren Mattocks recorded a hat trick in the first 15 minutes of the game to help stake the Whitecaps to a lead they would not relinquish.
Mattocks put Vancouver on the board 65 seconds into the game when he slotted a Kekuta Manneh low cross past Revs keeper Bobby Shuttleworth. Four minutes later, he struck again when he avoided an offside call and tookCamilo Sanvezzos defense-splitting pass up the middle and slotted home past Shuttleworth.
Chris Tierney pulled one back for the Revs in the 11thminute, converting a penalty kick with a hard shot past Caps keeper Joe Cannon. Newly-signed Matt Horth drew the call when he was taken down in the box while attempting to connect with a Tierney cross.
Mattocks struck for the third time in the 15thminute, this time rising above all players in the box on an Alain Rochat free kick.
The score remained 3-1 until halftime, despite the Revs pushing the attack for the final 25 minutes.
Both teams made almost wholesale changes to their lineups at halftime. After the new players settled in, the Revs picked up where they left off in the first half and strung together long stretches of possession.
Twenty minutes into the second half, however, Vancouver benefited off the counter attack. The Caps were awarded a penalty after Stephen McCarthy stripped Matt Watson in the box with a sliding tackle. Kenny Miller stepped up and buried his shot past substitute keeper Luis Soffner, who dove the correct way, to put Vancouver up, 4-1 in the 65thminute.