The Revolution jumped out to a 1-0 lead just before halftime against the Columbus Crew on Saturday, but was unable secure the win down the stretch, falling 3-1.
After taking a lead in the 45th minute on a goal by Benny Feilhaber, the Revolution looked poised to give the Eastern Conference's top team a run for its money. But an own goal from Revs defender Kevin Alston evened the match in the 54th minute and gave the Crew all of the momentum.
Defender Julius James netted the go-ahead goal in the 75th minute off a corner kick by Josh Gardner.
"I hit it down because I was so close to the goal," James said. "I didn't hit it cleanly enough as a laser. I tried to focus on getting it over. Josh put it in an excellent spot for me. All I have to do in that situation is put the ball on target."
Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis did what he could to keep the Crew off the board, including making a fantastic diving save to maintain the one-goal advantage. But the own goal opened the floodgates and the Revs were unable to fully recover, although the team came close in the 62nd minute.
Emilio Renteria scored the Crew's third goal in the 81st minute, which put the match out of reach.
A.J. Soares returned from suspension to replace Ryan Cochrane in central defense on Saturday, while central midfielder Pat Phelan took the spot of the injured Sainey Nyassi.
Columbus extended its Eastern Conference lead to three points with the win.
