Revolution back on top

They return to first by holding off D.C.

FOXBOROUGH - The Revolution didn't let their stay in second place last long, leaping idle Columbus to regain first place in the Eastern Conference with a 2-1 victory over D.C. United in front of 14,962 at Gillette Stadium last night.

The Revolution improved to 11-6-3 for 36 points, 2 ahead of Columbus.

New England also snapped a three-game losing streak that included a 3-1 loss to United last week in the US Open Cup semifinals, although the Revolution played mostly with reserves. Goalkeeper Doug Warren was one of those reserves, and last night he was back in goal for injured Matt Reis (adductor strain) and performed well in his first Major League Soccer start since 2005.

"I thought he looked confident," Revolution coach Steve Nicol said. "He had a couple of things he had to make decisions about and when he had to make decisions, he made the right one, which is half the battle for goalkeepers. It's great if they can make fantastic saves, but if they make good decisions on a regular basis, then it makes it look a lot easier than it actually is."

Warren had two saves in his first MLS win since defeating United, his former team, 2-1, in 2005. Warren credited the defense of Jay Heaps, Michael Parkhurst, and Chris Albright with making his job a little easier last night.

"The guys in front of me played unbelievable," he said.

Nicol notched his 86th career MLS win, tying former Kansas City Wizards coach Bob Gansler for third all time. Current US national team coach Bob Bradley leads with 124 wins, followed by Crew coach Sigi Schmid with 106. Schmid and Nicol are the only active coaches among the top 10.

The Revolution took a 2-0 lead in the 49th minute, courtesy of midfielder Jeff Larentowicz. He took advantage of a wide-open view of the goal from about 25 yards and fired a shot that knuckled and duped goalkeeper Louis Crayton.

But victory appeared to be in jeopardy late in the second half when United made a push.

Midfielder Fred took a shot that Heaps blocked, but Jaime Moreno lofted the rebound over Warren from about 18 yards in the 69th minute.

The Revolution regrouped, though, to come away with the win. United dropped to 9-10-1, fourth in the Eastern Conference.

For a team looking to rebound from back-to-back MLS losses, the Revolution showed they were poised for a more balanced match.

As the game progressed, the Revolution looked settled and created several scoring opportunities that kept Crayton alert.

In the 24th minute, Khano Smith sprinted along the left side and beat Fred to send a cross in front of the goal. Adam Cristman got a touch on the ball that bounced off a United player to Taylor Twellman, who found the net to give the Revolution a 1-0 lead. The goal was the third of the season for Twellman, who has battled injuries. It was the 94th of his career.

For Twellman, it was part of his continued success against D.C. He has 14 goals in 21 games against United in his career.

Twellman and Cristman found themselves in front of the goal on more than one occasion, just missing chances that left them throwing up their hands in frustration.

The night was busy for Crayton, who was in the United goal for the second time this season. He was acquired last week from Swiss club FC Basel and started against the Chicago Fire Aug. 16, picking up a 1-0 win.

The Liberian goalkeeper has replaced Zach Wells, who is injured. Wells has started 17 games this season, allowing 28 goals.

The Revolution bounced back from a 4-0 loss to San Jose Saturday, their worst loss of the season.

Monique Walker can be reached at mwalker@globe.com.