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Revolution’s Conservative Play Down Stretch, Ryan Cochrane’s Injury Lead to 1-1 Draw With Houston Dynamo

With his team up 1-0, Revolution coach Steve Nicol decided to play the game conservatively and, instead of going for the second goal, he wanted his team to simply prevent the Houston Dynamo from scoring.

Now, you can't blame Nicol for the decision. With a young team, it's clearly easier to ask your players to defend the goal and clear the ball, as opposed to asking them to add an insurance score — which could result in a costly mistake.

Regardless, that mistake came in the 90th minute when Dynamo defenseman Bobby Boswell recovered a corner kick off New England goalie Matt Reis and tapped it into the open net.

Minutes earlier, veteran defenseman Ryan Cochrane – who scored the Revs' lone goal — had to exit the game with an apparent injury. That veteran presence — and Cochrane's size against a tall team — was suddenly gone as New England looked to close out the game.

"He's a leader off the field," fellow defender A.J. Soares said after the game. "It's a bummer [he had to exit]."

Yet, Nicol was quick to dismiss the fact that the teams' size differential or Cochrane's absence played a role in the final score.

"With a team that big, throwing the ball in, it's not only about headers," Nicol explained after the game. "It's about putting bodies in the right place, and we didn't do that.

"To lose, it sticks in your throat."

The coach did acknowledge that Cochrane was suffering from some dizziness from a banged head, and Cochrane also confirmed the injury.

"I had blurry vision," he said. "I couldn't shake it."

The symptoms that the defender mentioned suggest a mild concussion. The Revs were close to pulling off the win until Cochrane exited, and it's clear they'll need the 28-year-old if they hope to pull off a win Saturday against the Red Bulls.