After back-to-back defeats to kick off their 2017 Major League Soccer campaign, the New England Revolution earned their first victory on Saturday in a 5-2 win over Minnesota United.

Jay Heaps’ side used a four-goal first half to propel themselves to victory in a dominant performance at Gillette Stadium. Juan Agudelo’s fourth-minute header put the Revolution up 1-0 early before Collen Warner leveled things for Minnesota in the 15th minute from a long-range effort.

Kei Kamara finished off Lee Nguyen’s assist in the 21st minute to give the Revolution a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. Agudelo drew a penalty-kick opportunity for the Revs in the 31st minute after he was brought down by Vadim Demidov.

Nguyen’s first goal of the season made it 3-1 after he slotted home confidently from the penalty spot. Agudelo extended the Revs advantage to 4-1 four minutes from halftime as his right-footed effort found the bottom-left corner.

Brett Kallman cut the deficit to 4-2 for Minnesota in the 49th minute, scoring following a set-piece situation.

A frustrating day for the Loons however got worse two minutes later as Warner was whistled for a foul on Diego Fagundez which allowed the Revs their second penalty-kick of the match. Chris Tierney made it 5-2 after rifling home the ensuing penalty-kick to the top-right corner.

Minnesota created two more shots-on-goal for the match, but ultimately fell, 5-2, at the final whistle. Revs keeper Cody Cropper made three saves in the victory, while Minnesota lost their third match of the season. It’s also three matches out of four for Minnesota where they have allowed five goals or more.

The Revolution are now 1-0-2 on the season and face a tough test next Sunday as they travel to face the Portland Timbers. Minnesota United (0-1-3) will look for their first victory of the season as they host Real Salt Lake next Saturday.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Juan Agudelo put in a great performance for the Revolution on Saturday, scoring two goals himself while also drawing a penalty kick. He also finished the match with an 86% passing completion rate. The 24-year-old Colombian will look to hit double-digit goals this season after totaling 15 in the past two seasons in New England.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

The penalty-kick goal by Lee Nguyen added to the Revs’ lead at the time, but it also really played a factor in Minnesota’s defensive set-up going forward. After conceding the penalty which made it 3-1, Agudelo’s second before halftime put the game to bed at 4-1. Despite pulling a goal back early in the second-half, Minnesota conceded their second penalty of the match just moments later which capped the final score at 5-2.

MATCH TO FORGET

Minnesota defender Vadim Demidov will surely want to forget this match after allowing a first-half penalty and having trouble dealing with New England’s deadly trio of attackers. The 30-year-old Norweigan was called for the first-half penalty against Juan Agudelo which really broke things open for the Revs. Minnesota could not recover, while allowing five goals for the third time this season.