FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The 4-2 loss to the New England Revolution was disappointing enough for FC Dallas.

How it happened was even worse.

After playing the Revolution (13-6-6) to a 1-1 standstill at halftime, FC Dallas (12-9-3) stood still as New England ripped in two goals midway through the second half.

"We made a lot of mistakes," said FC Dallas captain Carlos Ruiz, who scored both his team's goals. "In the first half, we played better. I don't know what happened in the second half."

FC Dallas coach Steve Morrow had a pretty good inkling.

"We just didn't play in the second half," he said. "We had a game plan going in, and for the most part we did exactly what we wanted to in the first half. I'm just very disappointed in what we did in the second 45."

The teams swapped first-half goals, with New England's Pat Noonan netting the first of his two in the 29th minute, when he rerouted a feed from Khano Smith past FC Dallas goalkeeper Dario Sala.

That was answered six minutes later with a goal from Ruiz, who was celebrating his 28th birthday.

That play began with a looping, 40-yard free kick from Dax McCarty.

Backpedaling near the left post, Ruiz met the ball squarely with his head and blasted it past Matt Reis, the Revolution netminder. But FC Dallas' fortunes took a downturn after halftime, when it was outshot 8-2.

Noonan put New England ahead again in the 65th minute, 2-1, when he took Steve Ralston's drop pass and blasted in a 20 yarder.

AP

FC Dallas' Pablo Ricchetti (left) keeps the ball from New England's Shalrie Joseph Saturday.

Ralston made it a two-goal margin 13 minutes later.

FC Dallas made matters interesting with six minutes to go when Ruiz headed in Dominic Oduro's cross to make it 3-2.

But that was as close at it would get.

"The second-half performance from myself and the rest of the team was not good enough," McCarty said. "If we expect to do well and go far in the playoffs, it's got to be much better for two halves."

Briefly: Rookie midfielder Anthony Wallace, FC Dallas' first choice in this year's MLS SuperDraft, made his professional debut, playing the first 68 minutes. "It was an overwhelming feeling," he said. "But once the whistle blew, all the jitters were [gone]." ... The clubs will meet again Oct. 3 at Pizza Hut Park in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final.

Dan Hickling is a freelance writer based in Kennebunk, Maine.