Early promise on offense fails to appear

New England pins shutout setback on Cabrera’s club; Beasley is ejected

After scoring four goals in a Major League Soccer season-opening shutout win, the Dynamo suffered their second loss of the season, to the New England Revolution 2-0 on Saturday night at BBVA Compass Stadium.

“We made some individual mistakes that made us pay really hard,” coach Wilmer Cabrera said. “Sadly, we couldn’t finish.”

The Dynamo (1-2-1) opened the game on the attack, with Alberth Elis, the Honduran international, having played a role in five of the team’s seven goals. He swerved and sprinted past defenders but was unable to connect.

The Dynamo maintained that aggression through the early moments. But in the 15th minute, New England’s Luis Caicedo broke down the right side with space and numbers. Caicedo, an offseason acquisition for New England (2-1-1), tapped a pass to his right before Cristian Penilla crossed it back inside the box. Teal Bunbury then jabbed the ball toward the center of the net for his first goal of the season.

Matters got worse for the Dynamo in the 34th minute when veteran defender DeMarcus Beasley was shown a red card. Beasley was dashing back into position, recovering on a long pass to Penilla who was racing past his hip.

The defender brought Penilla to the ground at the right corner of the penalty arc.

Up a score and in position to double their lead, the Revolution couldn’t capitalize on a set piece as the shot ricocheted off the top of the crossbar.

“Every time we play here at home we’ve been dominating everyone and now the thing that we’ve been facing is the counterattacks,” Cabrera said. “We need to work harder and that’s on me.”

Defender Adolfo Machado returned to the defense after spending the international break competing with Panama in Europe where the team is preparing for the World Cup.

In the 71st minute, Penilla, just feet from the goal line, danced past Machado, creating enough space to launch a shot from his right foot to the top right corner of the net, beating an outstretched Chris Seitz for the gamesealing score.

After shooting four of eight shots on target in the first half, just two of the Dynamo’s seven secondhalf shots were on goal.

Still, the Dynamo, who had 15 shots to New England’s 12, continued to have their chances late. Just a minute after Penilla’s goal, Elis exploded past a pair of Revolution defenders, stretching out for a header that went wide. In the 80th minute, midfielder Memo Rodriguez found himself in a similar situation but his shot elevated well above the crossbar.

“We couldn’t score two possibilities in front of the goal right there,” Cabrera said. “It’s been difficult for us. Mentally, we are not sharp”