FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Part of an incredible four-way tie for the eighth and final spot in the 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs entering the last weekend of the regular season, the New England Revolution (10-10-9, 39 pts.) concludes its 2009 regular-season schedule against the league-leading Columbus Crew at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25, at Crew Stadium.NEW ENGLAND VS. COLUMBUS SERIES INFORMATION
Sunday afternoon's match will be the 50th regular-season meeting between the Revolution and Crew.
Columbus leads the regular-season series between the two teams, 25-15-9 ... the Revs are 3-0-3 against the Crew in outside competitions, however, including the MLS Cup Playoffs (2-0-3) and the U.S. Open Cup (1-0-0).
The Revolution is just 5-13-6 in Columbus in the regular season, including 4-8-6 at Crew Stadium since the facility opened in 1999 ... after dropping their first five games at Crew Stadium - including the stadium's inaugural match on May 15, 1999 - the Revs are 4-3-6 at the facility since 2002.
Sunday afternoon's match will conclude the regular-season series between the Revs and Crew, while it will be the only meeting at Crew Stadium ... Columbus earned a 1-0 win over the Revolution just two weeks ago on Oct. 10 at Gillette Stadium.
The Revs and Crew went 379 days between their last meeting of 2008 (Sept. 27) and their first meeting of 2009 (Oct. 10) ... the clubs will meet again on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 25), just 15 days after their previous meeting.
New England has won just once in its last seven meetings with Columbus dating back to the start of the 2007 season ... the Revs are 1-4-2 in that stretch, and have lost each of the last three meetings.
The Revs have been shut out in each of their last three meetings with Columbus, a stretch spanning 271 minutes of scoreless action entering this weekend's match.
PLAYER NOTES VS. COLUMBUS
Taylor Twellman is the Revolution's all-time leading scorer against Columbus, registering nine goals and three assists in 21 career appearances ... Twellman is currently on the disabled list (concussion) and will be unavailable on Sunday afternoon.
Steve Ralston is New England's second-leading scorer against the Crew with six goals and seven assists in 23 career appearances as a member of the Revolution ... Ralston will also be unavailable on Sunday afternoon because of a torn right ACL, which ended his season on Sept. 26.
Kheli Dube scored the Revolution's only goal against Columbus in the last four meetings, registering an 89th-minute game-winner in a 1-0 victory on May 24, 2008, at Crew Stadium.
Matt Reis is 6-7-7 with a 1.39 goals against average and four shutouts in his Revolution career against the Crew.
LAST MEETING
Columbus 1, New England 0
October 10, 2009 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
A moment of miscommunication between New England goalkeeper Matt Reis and defender Emmanuel Osei resulted in a bizarre goal by Columbus defender Gino Padula, which stood up as the only goal in the Crew's 1-0 win ... the game's lone goal was scored in the 36th minute, when Padula's in-swinging free kick from the right channel went untouched as it bounced six yards from goal, past Reis' legs and into the net ... despite playing the final 25 minutes a man up following the ejection of Crew midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo, the Revs could not find an equalizing goal.
NEWS & NOTES
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS
The tightest playoff race in MLS history has come down to the final weekend of the regular season, with seven teams vying for three remaining spots in the postseason ... the Revolution (10-10-9, 39 pts.) enters this week's action in a remarkable four-way tie for the eighth and final playoff spot, level with Toronto FC (10-10-9, 39 pts.), D.C. United (9-9-12, 39 pts.) and FC Dallas (11-12-6, 39 pts.) ... meanwhile, the Chicago Fire (10-7-12, 42 pts.) and Colorado Rapids (10-9-10, 40 pts.) have not yet clinched postseason berths, while Real Salt Lake (10-12-7, 37 pts.) is still mathematically alive.
HERE'S THE DEAL: REVOLUTION'S TIEBREAKING SCENARIOS
With five teams separated by a single point entering the final weekend of the regular season, the MLS Cup Playoff picture is muddled, to say the least ... there are no fewer than TWENTY (20) possible tiebreaking scenarios which could involve the Revolution - including two-way, three-way, four-way, five-way and six-way ties - but the Revs would only win two of those tiebreakers ... the only tiebreaking scenarios in which the Revolution would advance are a two-way tie with D.C. United, or a three-way tie with D.C. United and FC Dallas.
For a complete rundown of Major League Soccer's tie-breaking rules and procedures, please visit http://web.mlsnet.com/standings/index.jsp?standings=playoff
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
Because the Revolution would only win two of the club's 20 possible tiebreakers, the simplest solution is for the Revs to finish with more points than the other teams they're battling for a playoff spot ... that would happen in the following scenarios:
A Revolution win against Columbus PLUS THREE of the following:
- Colorado Rapids loss or draw at Real Salt Lake (Oct. 24)
- Toronto FC loss or draw at New York Red Bulls (Oct. 24)
- D.C. United loss or draw at Kansas City Wizards (Oct. 24)
- FC Dallas loss or draw at Seattle Sounders FC (Oct. 24)
OR
A Revolution draw against Columbus PLUS ALL of the following:
- Toronto FC loss at New York Red Bulls (Oct. 24)
- FC Dallas loss at Seattle Sounders FC (Oct. 24)
- D.C. United loss or draw at Kansas City Wizards (Oct. 24)
- Real Salt Lake loss or draw vs. Colorado Rapids (Oct. 24)
BOSTON'S LONGEST CURRENT STREAK OF PLAYOFF APPEARANCES ON THE LINE
With the Revolution's playoff fate to be decided this weekend, it remains to be seen whether the club can qualify for the postseason for an eighth straight year ... if the Revs don't reach the playoffs, it would put an end to Boston's longest current streak of playoff appearances among the city's five major professional sports teams: Revolution, Patriots, Bruins, Celtics and Red Sox ... the Revolution has been in the postseason every year since 2002, while the Sox have reached the playoffs each of the last three seasons ... both the Bruins and Celtics have qualified for the postseason for two straight years, while the Patriots had a string of five consecutive playoff appearances snapped last year ... the Revolution's current string of seven consecutive postseason appearances is the longest active playoff appearance streak in MLS.
REVS AND CREW MEET IN REGULAR SEASON'S FINAL ACT
Not only is Sunday afternoon's match the regular-season finale for both the Revs and Crew, but it's also the final match of the entire 2009 MLS regular-season schedule ... by the time the Revolution and Crew kick off at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, every other team in the league will have finished its 30-game, regular-season schedule ... the regular season began on March 19 at Qwest Field when the expansion Seattle Sounders FC hosted the New York Red Bulls, and will finish on Oct. 25 at Crew Stadium, 221 days later ... Sunday afternoon's match is the 225th and final game of the 2009 MLS regular season.
A HISTORY OF SUCCESS IN REGULAR-SEASON FINALES
The Revs have historically risen to the occasion in the last game of the regular season, going 8-4-1 in their previous 13 regular-season finales ... the Revolution has only closed the season on the road four previous times, maintaining a respectable 2-1-1 mark in those matches ... this will be just the second time since 2001 that the Revs have finished their regular-season schedule on the road, as they closed the season at home from 2002-06 and in 2008 ... it will be the third time that the Revolution has closed the season against the Crew, with the teams splitting the previous two meetings in regular-season finales.
DON'T I KNOW YOU?
Sunday afternoon's showdown between the Revs and Crew will be the second meeting between the clubs in a span of 15 days, as the teams played on Oct. 10 at Gillette Stadium ... it's an ironic scheduling quirk after New England and Columbus went 379 days between the Oct. 10 meeting and their previous showdown on Sept. 27, 2008 ... this is the second year in a row in which the Revs and Crew play twice in quick succession toward the end of the season, as Columbus earned 4-0 (Sept. 6) and 1-0 (Sept. 27) wins in a pair of games three weeks apart in 2008.
A HALF CENTURY OF MEETINGS
Sunday afternoon's regular-season finale between the Revs and Crew carries massive playoff implications, but it's also a milestone meeting in the all-time series between the clubs ... this will be the 50th regular-season meeting between New England and Columbus, with the Crew owning the edge (25-15-9) in the all-time series ... the Revolution has only faced two other teams (D.C., New York) as many as 50 times in the regular season.
REVENGE A SECONDARY STORY ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON
While the Revolution's quest for a berth in the MLS Cup Playoffs is clearly the top story on Sunday afternoon, New England might also have revenge on its mind for multiple reasons ... not only were the Revs defeated by the Crew just two weeks ago at Gillette Stadium, but they were handed a crushing 4-0 loss in their last visit to Crew Stadium on Sept. 6, 2008 ... at the time, New England and Columbus were the top two teams in MLS and were in a battle for the Supporters' Shield, but the match somewhat signified a turning point, as the Crew went on to win both the Shield and MLS Cup, while the Revs were eliminated in the first round of the postseason.
IMPENETRABLE FORCE
If the Revs have any hope of defeating league-leading Columbus on Sunday afternoon, they'll have to do something they haven't done in their last three meetings with the Crew: score a goal ... New England has been shut out in each of its last three meetings with Columbus, a scoreless streak spanning 271 minutes entering this weekend's showdown ... the Revolution hasn't scored a goal against the Crew since the 89th minute of a 1-0 win at Crew Stadium on May 24, 2008, when Kheli Dube finished off a rebound after Shalrie Joseph's penalty kick was saved.
CURRENT SCORELESS STREAK PUTS PLAYOFF HOPES IN JEOPARDY
The Revs will almost certainly need to score at least one goal on Sunday afternoon if they have any hope of making the MLS Cup Playoffs, but they've had difficulty finding the back of the net in recent weeks ... entering this weekend's match against the Crew, the Revolution hasn't scored in 241 minutes of action, marking the ninth-longest scoreless streak in club history ... New England last scored in the 29th minute of the 1-1 draw with Colorado on Oct. 3, and has been shut out by Columbus (Oct. 10) and Chicago (Oct. 17) the last two weekends.
JOSEPH, HEAPS HONORED WITH 2009 TEAM AWARDS
Shalrie Joseph was named 2009 New England Revolution Team MVP and Jay Heaps was honored as the club's Best Defender, as announced in a pregame ceremony last Saturday night prior to the 0-0 draw with the Chicago Fire ... Joseph - who was also presented with the Revere Cup, signifying him as the Midnight Riders' Man of the Year - has registered team-high marks in goals (8) and assists (8), both of which are career highs ... a contender for the league's MVP award, this is Joseph's second team MVP award, and his first Midnight Riders' Man of the Year honor ... Heaps has been the foundation on which this year's new defense has been formed - with two rookies and one newcomer - while he also earned his first-ever call-up to the U.S. National Team for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup ... this is Heaps' first Best Defender award.
ASSISTANT COACH PAUL MARINER RESIGNS
Revolution assistant coach Paul Mariner has resigned his position, having accepted the head coach position at Plymouth Argyle of the English Coca-Cola Championship ... Mariner spent six seasons with the Revolution - joining head coach Steve Nicol's staff in the spring of 2004 - and helped guide the club to three MLS Cup Championship matches, four Eastern Conference Championship games, and titles in the 2007 U.S. Open Cup and SuperLiga 2008 ... a former England international, Mariner made 35 appearances for his country and led the England attack at the 1982 FIFA World Cup ... he had been in the U.S. since 1988, when he took his first coaching position with the Albany Capitals of the APSL.
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