MLS New England Revolution

MLS' top two clubs meet for the final time on Saturday night

Published on September 22, 2008 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Revolution will train in Foxborough four times this week before hosting the first-place Columbus Crew in a battle of Major League Soccer's top two teams at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27 at Gillette Stadium.

NEW ENGLAND VS. COLUMBUS SERIES INFORMATION

Saturday night's match is the third and final meeting between the Revs and Crew this season, and the only one at Gillette Stadium ... the teams have already split a pair of matches at Crew Stadium, with New England earning a 1-0 win on May 24 and Columbus grabbing a 4-0 victory less than three weeks ago on Sept. 6.

Columbus leads the all-time, regular-season series between the two teams, 23-15-9 ... the Crew also holds a 23-18-12 edge in all competitions, including MLS Cup Playoffs and U.S. Open Cup matches.

The clubs have split 23 meetings in New England, 10-10-3, but the Revs are 4-1-2 in their last seven home games against the Crew ... New England is 5-13-6 in 24 regular-season games played in Columbus.

The Crew won the 2007 regular-season series, 1-0-2, marking the club's first season-series win over the Revs since 2004 ... the two teams battled to draws (2-2 on April 14; 3-3 on June 16) in the first two meetings of the season, before Columbus earned a come-from-behind, 3-2 win over New England at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 13.

Saturday night's match will be the 48th regular-season meeting between the Revs and Crew, matching New York for the second-most matches the Revolution has played against any club ... New England and D.C. have squared off 49 times in the regular season.

Nine of the 47 regular-season meetings between the Revs and Crew have ended in draws ... New England has also tied New York nine times, equaling the club's most draws with any team in club history.

New England is undefeated in MLS Cup Playoff games against Columbus, going 2-0-3, and is 2-0 in playoff series against the Crew ... the teams met in both the 2002 (three-game Eastern Conference Final) and 2004 (Eastern Conference Semifinal Series) postseasons.

PLAYER NOTES VS. COLUMBUS

Taylor Twellman leads all current Revs in goals against Columbus with nine, while he's also added three assists in 20 appearances ... he tallied one of his three career hat tricks on Sept. 10, 2005 against the Crew at Gillette Stadium in the Revs' 3-1 victory.

Steve Ralston has added six goals and seven assists against the Crew in 22 appearances as a member of the Revolution ... in his 13-year career, Ralston has scored 12 goals and added 15 assists in 43 games played against Columbus, including his time with the Tampa Bay Mutiny (1996-2001) ... Ralston's 12 goals are by far the most he's scored against any MLS team, as his next highest total is eight against Colorado ... meanwhile, his 15 assists represent his second-highest total against any MLS team (20 against New York).

Kheli Dube scored the only goal of the game in the Revolution's 1-0 win on May 24 at Crew Stadium.

Matt Reis has a 6-5-7 record with four shutouts in his Revolution career against Columbus, while he's maintained a 1.44 goals against average ... Reis made two saves in a shutout effort on May 24 at Crew Stadium.

LAST MEETING

Columbus 4, New England 0

September 6, 2008 - Columbus Crew Stadium (Columbus, Ohio)

Guillermo Barros Schelotto recorded one goal and two assists to pace the Crew to a 4-0 win in a battle of the top two teams in the league ... Schelotto opened the scoring in the 40th minute, finishing a loose ball in the box, before assisting on Andy Iro's first career goal in first-half stoppage time ... second-half substitute Jason Garey made it 3-0 in the 67th minute - just one minute after entering - before adding his second in the 90th minute, finishing a one-on-one chance after former Rev Pat Noonan played him through ... New England goalkeeper Matt Reis made nine saves - one off his career-high - as the Revs were out-shot, 24-7.

NEWS & NOTES

MLS' BEST TO MEET ON SATURDAY NIGHT AT GILLETTE STADIUM

The Revolution and Crew will meet in one of the season's marquee match-ups at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night, as New England and Columbus are the top two teams in MLS and are locked in a heated battle for the league's best regular-season record ... the Revs and Crew have been the league's two best teams throughout 2008, as one of the two clubs has been on top of the MLS standings every week since Week 4 (April 17) ... with just five games remaining on the regular-season slate, Saturday night will be the Revolution's last chance to cut directly into the Crew's five-point lead as the teams battle for the coveted Supporter's Shield.

SUPPORTER'S SHIELD WATCH: FIVE BACK WITH FIVE TO GO

New England's 1-1 draw in Colorado on Saturday night - coupled with Columbus' 3-1 victory over New York two days earlier - leaves the Revs just five points behind the league-leading Crew with five games remaining in the regular season ... meanwhile, third-place Chicago dropped a 4-1 decision to FC Dallas on Sunday afternoon, stretching the Revolution's lead over the Fire to four points and solidifying the Revs' second-place position in both the Eastern Conference and the overall MLS standings ... the top two teams in each conference will earn home-field advantage for the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs, meaning that the clubs will have the benefit of hosting the second leg of the two-game, aggregate-goals series.

REVS HAVE IMMEDIATE CHANCE FOR REDEMPTION

With Saturday night's match against the Crew meaning so much in the quest for the Supporter's Shield and playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference, the Revolution needs no extra motivation, but the club may have it after being beaten handily less than three weeks ago at Crew Stadium ... Guillermo Barros Schelotto scored the game-winning goal and added two assists as Columbus shut out New England, 4-0, to prevent the Revs from jumping back into first place ... the Revolution will be eager to prove that the result was out of the ordinary, and the club has gone 1-0-1 since that match to round back into form entering this weekend's showdown.

SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE

The Revolution and Crew have historically been hard to separate, and this season has been no exception ... the 2008 series is currently tied, 1-1-0, with the teams splitting a pair of meetings at Crew Stadium on May 24 (NE, 1-0) and Sept. 6 (CLB, 4-0) ... the clubs are also level in the all-time, regular-season series in Foxborough - the location of Saturday night's match - with each side earning 10 victories and an additional three matches ending in draws ... in fact, the Revs and Crew have drawn nine times in 31 meetings since the end of the shootout era in 2000, matching the most times New England has drawn with any team.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Three of the Revolution's last five regular-season matches will be played at Gillette Stadium, where the club is 6-3-3 entering Saturday night's meeting with the Crew ... the Revs will host Columbus (Sept. 27) and Real Salt Lake (Oct. 4) in back-to-back home games before hitting the road for consecutive road matches at Kansas City (Oct. 11) and D.C. (Oct. 16) ... New England will then host Kansas City (Oct. 25) in the final match of the regular season ... the upcoming back-to-back home matches will be just the second time this season that the Revs play consecutive regular-season games at home.

MANSALLY MAKES IMMMEDIATE IMPACT

In just his second appearance since returning from injury, Kenny Mansally scored the game-tying goal in Saturday night's 1-1 draw at Colorado, less than five minutes after entering the match as a halftime substitute ... Michael Parkhurst's lofted free kick was re-directed by a Rapids defender right into the path of Mansally, who calmly chipped a shot over charging Colorado goalkeeper Preston Burpo ... the goal was the third of the season for Mansally and his first since May 11 at Chivas USA, as the 19-year-old Gambian missed six matches from Aug. 9 to Sept. 6 with a right ankle sprain.

A HEALTHY TEAM IS A HAPPY TEAM

In addition to the recent return of goal-scorer Kenny Mansally from injury, the Revolution has also received a timely boost by the newfound health of Steve Ralston and Kheli Dube ... Ralston missed three matches in late August and early September with back spasms, but returned to the Revolution's lineup in spectacular fashion on Sept. 11, earning MLS Player of the Week honors by notching one goal and two assists in a 4-0 victory over Chivas USA ... Dube - although he has yet to see game action - was available off the substitute's bench for Saturday night's draw in Colorado, marking his first availability since Aug. 5 after suffering a severe right groin strain.

TWELLMAN'S QUEST FOR 100: THREE TO GO

With 97 career regular-season goals to his name, Taylor Twellman is just three goals shy of becoming the fifth player in Major League Soccer history - and the first in Revs' history - to score 100 goals ... although he is yet to score more than once in a game this season, Twellman has 15 career multi-goal games, including three hat tricks ... Twellman tallied one of those hat tricks on Sept. 10, 2005, in a 3-1 victory over the Crew at Gillette Stadium.

REVS RESERVES RETURN TO ACTION

The Revolution's reserve team will take to the field for the first time since Aug. 10 on Sunday, Sept. 28, when the club hosts the Columbus Crew reserves at 10 a.m. on the Upper Practice Field at Gillette Stadium ... the Revs reserves are 1-5-2 (5 pts.) on the season and dropped a 1-0 decision to the Crew reserves on May 25 at Crew Stadium.

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Major League Soccer Stories from September 22, 2008


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