D.C. United 3, New England 2

WASHINGTON, June 8 (UPI) -- D.C. United got a spark of offense from an unlikely source Saturday night and defeated the New England Revolution. 3-2.

Ryan Nelsen contributed to all three United goals, scoring twice and recording an assist.

United controlled the flow of play early on, keeping possession of the ball with tight give-and-go plays. Marco Etcheverry marshaled the midfield, holding the ball well and pulling the strings on most of the United plays.

The Revs relied primarily on the counter and the wing play of Steve Ralston and Brian Kamler. Early on, Twellman and Wolde Harris were unable to get onto the end of the crosses sent in from the flanks, but that difficulty ended in spectacular fashion in the 35th minute of play.

Taking a long ball upfield from Jay Heaps, Ralston outran United defender Ivan McKinley before sending in a well-weighted cross into the box. Twellman ran onto the ball as it fell, popping it into the net from within the six-yard box.

Twellman struck again just one minute later, cutting through the United defense. Sending the ball between the legs of United's Brandon Prideaux, Twellman raced back onto the ball and sent it past goalkeeper Nick Rimando and into the upper right corner from close range.

United rallied to even the game before the halftime whistle. In the 40th minute, Etcheverry sent a corner to Santino Quaranta, who headed the ball in on `keeper Juergen Sommer from 10 yards away. Sommer could not hold onto the quick header, leaving a rebound for Nelsen to slot home.

Just before the end of the half, Quaranta stunned the Revolution with the equalizer. Taking the ball with his back to goal and two Revolution defenders marking him tightly, Quaranta managed to put his goal away. Turning on the tandem of Daniel Hernandez and Nick Downing, Quaranta beat Sommer to the left post with a hard, low shot from inside the penalty area.

Nelsen pushed United ahead in the 64th minute, finishing a Petter Villegas pass from the corner. Nelsen got on the end of the ball, nodding it past Sommer to put the home side up 3-2.