MLS New England Revolution

Revs open play in CONCACAF Champions League

Published on August 24, 2008 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - After returning from Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday, the New England Revolution will train in Foxborough twice late this week in preparation for Saturday's home match against David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy. On Tuesday, Aug. 26, the Revs will begin play in the CONCACAF Champions League with the first leg of a home-and-away, aggregate goals series with Joe Public FC (Trinidad and Tobago) at 8 p.m. ET at Marvin Lee Stadium. New England will then return to Massachusetts for an MLS regular-season meeting with the Galaxy at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30, at Gillette Stadium.

NEW ENGLAND VS. LOS ANGELES SERIES INFORMATION

Saturday night's match is the second and final meeting of the regular season between New England and Los Angeles ... the clubs met on July 4 at The Home Depot Center, with the Revs earning a 2-1 victory.

With a win in the season's first meeting on July 4, the Revs evened the all-time, regular-season series between the two clubs at 12-12-4.

The Revs are 8-3-1 all-time against the Galaxy at home, including an undefeated 5-0-1 mark in six meetings at Gillette Stadium ... the Revolution is 4-9-3 in away games against Los Angeles, though the club is 3-0-1 in its last four trips to The Home Depot Center.

New England is 6-0-2 in the last eight regular-season meetings between the two teams ... the Revs have out-scored the Galaxy, 15-6, in those eight matches.

The Revolution swept the two-game, regular-season series for the second straight season in 2007 ... the Revs earned a come-from-behind, 3-2 victory at The Home Depot Center on May 12, before defeating LA, 1-0, on Aug. 12 at Gillette Stadium.

The Revs have won the last five regular-season meetings dating back to 2006, out-scoring the Galaxy, 11-3, in those five matches

Los Angeles hasn't earned a point against New England since July 27, 2005, when the clubs drew, 1-1, at Gillette Stadium ... LA hasn't defeated the Revolution since April 3, 2004, when the Galaxy won, 3-2, at The Home Depot Center.

The Galaxy hasn't won in New England since July 11, 1999, when the club earned a 5-2 victory at the old Foxboro Stadium.

New England and Los Angeles have met in the MLS Cup Playoffs twice - both the 2002 and 2005 MLS Cup Final ... the Galaxy won both meetings in overtime, 1-0 ... the 2002 meeting was in Foxborough, while the 2005 match was in Frisco, Texas.

The Revs and Galaxy have played one U.S. Open Cup match - the 2001 championship game in Fullerton, Calif., on Oct. 27, 2001 ... LA won that match, 2-1, in overtime.

PLAYER NOTES VS. LOS ANGELES

Taylor Twellman leads the Revs with seven career goals against Los Angeles, while he's also added three assists.

Steve Ralston has recorded six goals and eight assists in his career against the Galaxy, including two goals and four assists as a member of the Revs.

Shalrie Joseph has three career goals against Los Angeles, which is his highest total against any team ... he has also added two assists.

Adam Cristman has three career goals against Los Angeles, which is his highest total against any team ... two of those goals were scored in the Revs' 2-1 win on July 4 at The Home Depot Center, as Cristman recorded his second career multi-goal game and earned MLS Player of the Week honors.

Matt Reis - who made 39 appearances for the Galaxy from 1998-2002 - is an undefeated 5-0-2 in seven regular-season matches against LA ... he has recorded three shutouts while maintaining a 0.71 goals against average.

LAST MEETING

New England 2, Los Angeles 1

July 4, 2008 - The Home Depot Center (Carson, Calif.)

Adam Cristman scored a pair of goals four minutes apart in the first half to help New England extend its regular-season unbeaten run against the Galaxy to eight games with a 2-1 win at The Home Depot Center ... Cristman's first came in the 33rd minute, when he finished a rebound from close range after Shalrie Joseph's header had been saved ... four minutes later, Cristman struck for his second, heading home Steve Ralston's corner kick ... the Galaxy pulled within a goal in the 66th minute, as David Beckham's deflected volley found the back of the net, but the Revs held on for the victory.

NEWS & NOTES

REVS TIED FOR FIRST WITH NINE TO GO

With nine games remaining in the regular season, the Revs are tied with the Columbus Crew for the best record in Major League Soccer ... the sides are tied atop the Eastern Conference and overall MLS standings with identical 11-6-4 records for 37 points ... New England had a two-point edge entering Saturday night's MLS action, but the Revs drew, 1-1, at Toronto FC, and Columbus defeated Real Salt Lake, 3-0, to bring the teams level on points ... the Revolution and Crew have met once already this season, with New England earning a 1-0 win at Crew Stadium on May 24, while they'll have a chance to separate themselves with two more matches before the season is done ... the clubs will play on Sept. 6 in Columbus and Sept. 27 at Gillette Stadium ... both teams will be keeping their eyes on fellow Eastern Conference side Chicago, which is just two points off the pace (10-6-5, 35 pts.).

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GETS UNDERWAY TUESDAY NIGHT

Almost three months after the preliminary round match-ups for the 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League were announced, the competition is finally set to get underway on Tuesday, Aug. 26, as the Revs will play the first leg of their series with Joe Public FC of Trinidad at 8 p.m. at Marvin Lee Stadium ... the clubs will play a home-and-away, aggregate goals series, with the return leg set for Sept. 2 at Gillette Stadium ... Joe Public FC currently plays in the Trinidad & Tobago Professional Football League and finished as the league's runner-up in 2007 ... the club, which is one of three Caribbean qualifiers, earned its spot in the tournament by finishing as the runner-up in the 2007 Caribbean Football Union Club Championship.

WINNER OF PLAY-IN SERIES WILL JOIN GROUP C

The winner of the Revolution-Joe Public FC series in the 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League will join Group C in the next stage of the competition ... the group also includes Mexico's Atlante, Honduran side Olimpia and the winner of the qualifying series between Montreal Impact (Canada) and Real Esteli (Nicaragua) ... the 16 teams that reach the group stage will vie for the title of best club in CONCACAF and a spot in the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup.

REVS SET TO BEGIN THIRD IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT

When the Revolution begins play in the 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday (Aug. 26) at Joe Public FC, it will mark the clubs third in-season tournament in 2008 ... the Revs have already competed in - and won - SuperLiga 2008, while they also reached the semifinal round of the 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup ... New England will play at least 10 games in outside competitions this season, with the possibility of that total jumping to 16 if the club advances to the group stage of the Champions League.

THREE GAMES, SEVEN DAYS ... THREE COUNTRIES

Tuesday night's CONCACAF Champions League match against Joe Public FC in Trinidad will conclude a seven-day stretch that sees the Revolution play three games in three countries ... the Revs began in Foxborough, Mass., with a match against Eastern Conference rival D.C. (Aug. 20), before traveling north of the border to Toronto, Canada, for a Saturday night (Aug. 23) meeting with Toronto FC ... from Toronto, the club will fly through Newark, N.J., to Port of Spain, Trinidad, for the CONCACAF Champions League opener against Joe Public FC on Tuesday (Aug. 26) ... the trip will be completed on Wednesday (Aug. 27), when the Revs will make the journey back to Boston, Mass. ... in total, the club will travel 6,070 air miles in six days.

BECKHAM SET TO MAKE NEW ENGLAND DEBUT

International icon David Beckham is expected to be available for selection when the Los Angeles Galaxy visit Gillette Stadium on Saturday night (Aug. 30) ... if he plays, it would mark Beckham's first appearance in Foxborough against the Revs, as the England international was injured during LA's visit to New England last season ... Beckham made his first MLS appearance against the Revolution on July 4 of this season, scoring the Galaxy's only goal as the Revolution earned a 2-1 victory.

CHANGING OF THE GUARDS

From 1996-2000, the regular-season series between New England and Los Angeles was dominated by the Galaxy, as the Revs went 3-8-1 against their Western Conference opponents ... however, since the start of the 2001 season, the Revolution has turned the tables in a big way, as the club is 9-4-3 in the last 16 regular-season meetings ... the series has been especially one-sided in recent years, with the Revs going 6-0-2 in the last eight regular-season meetings, including wins in each of the last five.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE

There has been a distinct home field advantage in the all-time series between New England and Los Angeles, as each team has struggled to deal with the rigors of a cross-country flight ... the Revs are 8-3-1 in regular-season home matches against the Galaxy - including 5-0-1 at Gillette Stadium - and haven't lost to LA in Foxborough since July 11, 1999 ... meanwhile, New England is 4-9-3 all-time at Los Angeles, although the club is 3-0-1 in its last four trips to The Home Depot Center.

TWELLMAN NOTCHES 95TH CAREER GOAL

New England's all-time leading goal scorer, Taylor Twellman, scored the 95th goal of his career on Saturday night at Toronto FC (Aug. 23) to help the Revs earn a 1-1 draw ... Twellman - who has scored in three of the Revolution's last four games - is just five goals shy of becoming the fifth player in MLS history to score 100 regular-season goals ... the United States National Team member has scored four goals in limited action this season, as he's made just seven appearances (three starts) because of various injuries (knee, ankle, hip).

TIERNEY EARNS FIRST MLS ASSIST

Wellesley, Mass., native Chris Tierney earned his first MLS assist on Saturday night (Aug. 23), as he provided the cross for Taylor Twellman's headed goal in the 1-1 draw with Toronto ... Tierney - a 2004 graduate of the Noble and Greenough School - has made five appearances (three starts) for the Revolution in MLS action this season after being drafted in the first round (13th overall) of the 2008 MLS Supplemental Draft.

RALSTON MAKES HISTORY ... AGAIN

Steve Ralston, who has reached his fair share of milestones during his 13-year career, reached yet another on Saturday night at Toronto (Aug. 23), as the veteran midfielder became the first player in MLS history to make 350 starts ... the retired Chris Henderson is second on the all-time list with 304 starts, while Kevin Hartman is the closest active player to Ralston with 289 starts ... the 34-year-old Revs' captain recently became the first player in league history to make 350 appearances (Aug. 9 against Chicago).

REVS ADD GABRIEL BADILLA OF COSTA RICA

New England announced on Aug. 18 that the club signed Costa Rican defender Gabriel Badilla (bah-DEE-uh) to a Major League Soccer contract to play for the Revs pending U.S. P-1 Visa approval ... he will occupy one of the team's seven international roster spots ... Badilla, 24, comes to the Revolution from Saprissa of Costa Rica's Primera División, where he has spent his entire professional career ... he made more than 130 appearances for the "Monstruo Morado" and helped the club win five national championships, including each of the last four ... Badilla is also a member of the Costa Rica National Team, with which he has earned 12 caps and competed in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

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