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New England Revolution

Revs to kick off 2009 preseason training with entrance physicals on Saturday

January 29, 2009 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Revolution will begin preseason preparations for the upcoming 2009 Major League Soccer season this Saturday, Jan. 31, when all players will report to Gillette Stadium for entrance physicals. The club will begin daily training on Monday, Feb. 2, with a 10 a.m. session at ForeKicks in Norfolk, Mass.

NEWS & NOTES

REVOLUTION ANNOUNCES 2009 SCHEDULE

The Revolution's 2009 regular-season schedule - a 30-game slate that begins March 21 and ends on Oct. 25 - was announced on Wednesday, Jan. 28 ... the schedule features 15 home matches at Gillette Stadium and includes a three-week break from MLS action so that the Revs can defend their SuperLiga title beginning in mid-June ... following road trips to San Jose and MLS Cup runner-up New York to open the season, the Revolution kicks off the 2009 home schedule against FC Dallas on Saturday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m. ... ESPN2 will televise New England's road match at rival D.C. United on Friday, April 17, at 7 p.m., before the club returns home on Sunday, May 3, to host the Houston Dynamo at 3 p.m. ... the LA Galaxy will come to Gillette Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 8, in a nationally televised match on Fox Soccer Channel, while the Revs will close their 2009 regular-season home schedule against bitter rival, the Chicago Fire, on Saturday, Oct. 17 ... eight of New England's matches will be nationally televised on one of MLS' three broadcast partners - ESPN2/ABC, Fox Soccer Channel/Fox Soccer en Español and Telefutura - while TV38 (WSBK-TV) will carry 24 matches.

REVS AND TV38 TOGETHER THROUGH 2011

TV38 (WSBK-TV) has renewed its exclusive television rights agreement with the New England Revolution and Kraft Sports Productions, it was announced on Tuesday, Jan. 27 ... under this three-year agreement, TV38 will continue to be the team's only television broadcaster in the Boston market, airing all non-nationally televised games ... all Revs games on TV38 will be produced by Kraft Sports Productions and will continue to feature Brad Feldman (play-by-play), Greg Lalas (analyst) and Kristina Akra (sideline) ... additionally, Major League Soccer's national broadcast partners ESPN2 and Fox Soccer Channel will showcase select Revolution matches nationally, while the league's Spanish language partner, Univision (which includes the Galavision and Telefutura networks), will carry a selection of Revs matches to compliment the full slate of games shown in English.

PRESEASON TRAINING TO TAKE REVS TO AUSTIN, TEXAS, AND NORTH CAROLINA

The Revolution will travel to Austin, Texas, and North Carolina for outdoor training trips in late February and early March as the team prepares for the opening of the 2009 Major League Soccer season on March 21. The full schedule is as follows:

Revolution Preseason Schedule* (as of Jan. 29, 2009)

Saturday, Jan. 31: Report date/entrance physicals

Monday, Feb. 2 - Sunday, Feb. 22: Local indoor conditioning and training

Monday, Feb. 23 - Sunday, March 1: Austin, Texas

Saturday, Feb. 28: at Austin Aztex FC (Nelson Field, Austin, Texas, 7:30 p.m.)

Wednesday, March 4 - Sunday, March 8: Greensboro, N.C.

Saturday, March 7: vs. Wake Forest University (Macpherson Stadium, Greensboro, N.C., 7 p.m.)

Sunday, March 8 - Sunday, March 15: Cary, N.C.

Saturday, March 14: at Carolina RailHawks (WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, N.C., 7 p.m.)

*subject to change; visit revolutionsoccer.net for the latest preseason information

REVOLUTION IN UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY

For the first time in four years, the New England Revolution enters preseason training following an extended offseason, as last year marked the first time since 2004 that the Revs weren't playing on the last day of the season in the MLS Cup Final ... New England's record streak of six consecutive appearances in the Eastern Conference Final was also snapped last season, as the club fell to the rival Chicago Fire in a hotly-contested Eastern Conference Semifinal Series ... although the Revolution extended the league's longest current active streak of playoff appearances to seven, the loss to Chicago in the first round marked the earliest that the club's season ended since 2001 ... for that reason, preseason preparations could become increasingly important as the Revs aim to regain their spot atop the Eastern Conference and finally claim an elusive MLS Cup title.

FOR EIGHTH STRAIGHT YEAR, NICOL IS BACK FOR MORE

Head coach Steve Nicol returns to New England in 2009 for his eighth straight season in charge of the Revolution, making the Scot the longest tenured head coach in Major League Soccer ... a Liverpool legend from his playing days, Nicol has been remarkably successful during his stint at the Revolution's helm, winning four Eastern Conference championships and appearing in six Eastern Conference Finals in his first seven years of service ... Nicol has led the Revolution to the postseason in each of his seven seasons as head coach, and he is currently third all-time on MLS' career wins list (87) ... returning to the sidelines along with Nicol are assistant coach Paul Mariner (sixth season) and goalkeepers coach Gwynne Williams (third season).

WHO'S BACK?

The 2009 New England Revolution returns 19 players from the 2008 roster, including last season's club MVP and MLS original Steve Ralston, who will be playing in his 14th season in the league ... joining Ralston on the list of returnees is the Revolution's all-time leading goal scorer, Taylor Twellman, who will be aiming for a healthier 2009 after tying for the team lead in goals last year despite missing half the season because of various injuries ... other starters who will be back in New England this season include Shalrie Joseph, Matt Reis, Jay Heaps, Chris Albright, Jeff Larentowicz, Mauricio Castro, Sainey Nyassi and Kheli Dube ... goalkeeper Brad Knighton, defenders Gabriel Badilla, Amaechi Igwe, Chris Tierney and Rob Valentino, midfielders Wells Thompson and Pat Phelan, and forwards Kenny Mansally and Argenis Fernandez will also return to provide the Revolution with a solid batch of experienced players.

WHO'S NOT?

Defender Michael Parkhurst, midfielder Khano Smith and forward Adam Cristman have all left the Revolution this offseason, although all three departed via different routes ... Parkhurst made a free transfer to Danish club FC Nordsjælland after his contract with the Revolution expired at the end of 2008 ... Smith was selected by Seattle Sounders FC with one of its 10 selections in the 2008 MLS Expansion Draft on Nov. 26 ... Cristman was traded to the Kansas City Wizards in exchange for allocation money and the Wizards' natural third-round selection in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft ... additionally, New England waived goalkeeper Doug Warren and forward Jose Angulo, while letting the developmental contracts of Joe Germanese, Gary Flood, Brandon Tyler, Brandon Manzonelli and Sam Brill expire.

REVS ADD SEVEN AT 2009 MLS SUPERDRAFT

The Revolution selected seven players at the 2009 Major League Soccer SuperDraft, which was conducted at the St. Louis Convention Center: America's Center on Thursday, Jan. 15 ... a pair of first-round selections - Indiana defender Kevin Alston and Tampa outside midfielder Ryan Maxwell - highlighted the class that included a league-high seven selections ... also chosen were Creighton midfielder Andrei Gotsmanov, St. Louis midfielder Dado Hamzagic, UNC-Charlotte forward Chris Salvaggione, Duke defender Darrius Barnes and Tulsa goalkeeper Tyrel Lacey.

KEVIN ALSTON BECOMES REVOLUTION'S THIRD MEMBER OF GENERATION ADIDAS

With the selection of Indiana defender Kevin Alston as the 10th overall pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, the Revolution added a third member of Generation adidas to its 2009 roster ... Alston joins 2008 draft pick Rob Valentino and 2007 selection Amaechi Igwe as New England's Generation adidas representatives ... Alston, 20, was a two-time All-Big Ten selection during his three-year career at Indiana after spending more than two years in the U.S. Under-17 residential program in Bradenton, Fla. ... an outside defender, he signed a Generation adidas contract with MLS after leaving the Hoosiers following his junior season.

ON THE LOOKOUT: NEW FACES IN NEW ENGLAND

The Revolution will have several new faces when preseason training commences on Monday, Feb. 2 ... 2009 SuperDraft selections Kevin Alston, Ryan Maxwell, Dado Hamzagic, Chris Salvaggione and Darrius Barnes are all expected to join the team for training, while 2008 SuperDraft selection Michael Videira - who was signed by the Revolution on Dec. 29, 2008, after a brief stint in Scotland - will also join the team for the first time ... a pair of new goalkeepers - Zack Simmons (UMass) and Brian Visser (DePaul) - will also be in camp.

REVS DRAFT PICKS GOTSMANOV AND LACEY TO REMAIN IN SCHOOL

2009 Revolution draft selections Andrei Gotsmanov and Tyrel Lacey will remain in school to earn their degrees before joining the team to begin training in May ... Gotsmanov, a 22-year-old midfielder from Creighton, was selected in the second round (24th overall) of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, while Lacey, a 22-year-old goalkeeper from Tulsa, was drafted in the fourth round (55th overall) ... both players are set to graduate in early May and will have their chance to earn a roster spot when they join the team for training shortly following graduation.

TWELLMAN ENTERS 2009 ON BRINK OF HISTORY

After scoring eight goals in an injury-plagued 2008 season, Taylor Twellman enters 2009 just one goal shy of becoming the fifth player in Major League Soccer history - and the first player in Revolution history - to score 100 regular-season goals ... Twellman is currently ranked fifth in career MLS goals (99), five behind fourth-place Jeff Cunningham (104), currently of FC Dallas, and 23 shy of D.C.'s Jaime Moreno (122), the league's all-time leading goal scorer ... separating Twellman from the rest of the pack is the fact that the 28-year-old has scored his 99 goals in just 172 games, while all four players ahead of him on the charts have made at least 260 career appearances ... Twellman is on pace to become the league's youngest 100-goal scorer.

REVS A HEALTHY BUNCH

After losing 94 man-games because of injuries in the 2008 regular season alone, the Revs will be aiming for a healthier 2009 ... the year is off to a positive start, as Taylor Twellman, Steve Ralston, Jeff Larentowicz, Shalrie Joseph and Chris Tierney are all close to full fitness after ending last season on the injury report ... Twellman missed a total of 14 regular-season games in 2008 plus both playoff matches after suffering a variety of injuries - most recently concussion-related symptoms - but is set to return for the start of preseason ... Ralston broke his right fibula in a match at Kansas City on Oct. 11 and missed the remainder of the season, but has since returned to running and ball-work ... Larentowicz suffered a severely sprained right ankle in the Revolution's final playoff match against Chicago on Nov. 6, but the midfielder is well on his way to a full recovery and should be fit for the start of training ... Joseph (R knee sprain) and Tierney (L knee sprain) both suffered knee injuries during the Revolution's playoff series against Chicago, but both are fully recovered entering the 2009 preseason.

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