MLS New England Revolution

New England Revolution Update: July 2-8

Published on July 2, 2007 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The Revolution return home to host Chivas USA at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, July 7, at 7:30 p.m. ET.

In preparation for Saturday's match, the Revs will train four days this week - Tuesday through Friday - with each session scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

Members of the media who wish to attend training sessions at Gillette Stadium must inform the Revolution Communications staff by the close of business the day prior to guarantee admittance to the session. Also, media members wishing to attend Saturday's game must notify the Revs Communications office by the close of business on Thursday, July 5.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (6-3-4, 22 pts.)

vs.

CHIVAS USA (6-4-2, 20 pts. - plays on Wed. at FC Dallas)

After last weekend's game in Carson, the all-time series between New England and Chivas USA is now even, 2-2-1 ... in five meetings, each team has scored five goals. New England is perfect at home against Chivas USA with a 2-0-0 record ... the Revs are still searching for their first win against Chivas USA on the road, going 0-2-1 in the first three meetings, including a 2-0 loss last Saturday. The Revs won the two-game season series in 2006, going 1-0-1 against Chivas USA ... New England earned a 3-1 victory at home on May 13, before earning a 1-1 draw in Los Angeles on Aug. 6 The teams split their first-ever season series in 2005 as each team earned a 1-0 victory on its home field In Saturday's game at The Home Depot Center, both teams were without multiple starters ... the Revs were missing Taylor Twellman (U.S. National Team at Copa America 2007), Shalrie Joseph (injury) and Jeff Larentowicz (injury) ... Chivas USA was missing four starters: Shavar Thomas (suspension) and Brad Guzan, Jonathan Bornstein and Sasha Klejstan (U.S. National Team at Copa America 2007) Twellman could potentially be available for Saturday's game, depending on the U.S.' performance in group play at Copa America, which ends Thursday, July 5.

REVOLUTION PLAYERS vs. CHIVAS USA

Taylor Twellman leads the Revs in goals (2) and fouls suffered (10) against Chivas USA, but his status for Saturday's game in uncertain while he's with Team USA at Copa America in Venezuela Shalrie Joseph and Andy Dorman are the remaining Revs who have scored goals against the Goats Shalrie Joseph, Jay Heaps, Marshall Leonard, Pat Noonan and Steve Ralston have all recorded assists against Chivas USA Matt Reis has registered an 1.00 goals against average, and is 2-2-1 overall including one shutout

LAST MEETING

Chivas USA 2, New England 0

June 30, 2007 - The Home Depot Center (Carson, Calif.)

The Revs played their first game on the road in more than a month on Saturday, but fell to Chivas USA, 2-0, and were left searching for their first victory away from home against the third-year club ... the teams were without a combined seven starters between a combination of U.S. National Team call-ups, injuries and suspension ... after a scoreless first half, Jesse Marsch put the Goats up 1-0 in the 60th minute, first-timing a pass back from Ante Razov off the left post and in past Revs keeper Matt Reis ... Maykel Galindo added to the lead in the 89th minute, shooting from the left corner of the penalty area and beating Reis to the far post.

NEWS & NOTES

Tops in a Tight Eastern Conference

After the weekend's play, the Revs remained atop the MLS Eastern Conference standings with 22 points and a 6-3-4 record, one point ahead of two teams - New York and Kansas City - tied for second place with 21 points ... New England has the fewest losses in MLS this season (3).

Eastern Standard

The top three teams in the Eastern Conference - Revs, Red Bulls and Wizards - are all tied as the league's leading scoring squads ... each team is averaging 1.85 goals per game as each team has scored a league-best 24 goals in 13 games ... in fact, five of the top seven scoring teams are all from the Eastern Conference, while Western Conference leader FC Dallas is ranked eighth in the league in scoring with a 1.19 goals per game mark ... Chivas USA - Saturday's opponent - is the top-ranked Western team in fifth with a 1.42 GPG mark.

True Holiday on Wednesday

The Revs are the only team in MLS who are not active in a midweek game this week and will enter the weekend's play fully rested ... 10 of the 13 teams will play on Wednesday, July 4, while New York and Houston will meet on Thursday on ESPN2's MLS Primetime Thursday.

Nicol To Coach All-Stars

By virtue of the Revs owning MLS' top points per game average at the June 25 cut-off date, New England head coach Steve Nicol has earned the honor of coaching the MLS All-Stars against Scottish power Celtic FC in the annual MLS All-Star game on July 19 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. ... Nicol's selection marks the first All-Star coaching assignment in his MLS career ... he was previously chosen to lead the MLS Select Team against Real Madrid in 2005 ... the 2007 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game against Celtic will be televised live on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. ET on July 19.

"First XI" All-Stars to be Announced Thursday

As the All-Star Game approaches, Steve Nicol's MLS team will begin to take shape this week ... the "First XI" - as voted by the fans, media, players and coaches/administrators - will be released on Thursday, July 5 by MLS ... the "First XI" consists of the highest vote-getters in each position: one goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders and two forwards ... Nicol will then name five additional players to the roster by July 10, with MLS Commissioner Don Garber adding two final selections to round out the 18-player roster that will face Celtic FC on July 19 in Colorado ... the "First XI" are not necessarily the starters for the game.

Home Field Advantage

With a 3-0 victory over Toronto FC on June 23, New England moved its home record to 3-1-2 on the season with 16 goals scored (2.67 goals per game) ... the Revs have scored three or more goals in five of their six home games ... New England's 2.67 goals per home game is MLS' top home scoring average.

Reis Up for ESPY Award

On Monday, June 25, ESPN announced that Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis was among the four nominees for the ESPY Award for Best MLS Player ... Reis was also nominated with Toronto FC's Jeff Cunningham, Los Angeles' Landon Donovan and D.C. United's Christian Gomez ... voting for the 2007 ESPYs can be submitted online at http://espn.go.com/espy2007

Cristman Tops '07 Rookie Pool

With outstanding play in the first half of the season, forward Adam Cristman solidified his position as the league's top rookie so far in 2007 ... 13 games into the season, Cristman leads all MLS rookies in goals (3) and assists (4) ... he has started 10 games and has appeared in all 13 contests ... Cristman was a fourth-round draft pick - 48th overall - in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft ... he leads other rookie top rookie scorers Maurice Edu (top overall selection by Toronto FC; two goals, one assist), Michael Harrington (third overall by Kansas City; three goals, three assists) and Dane Richards (19th overall by New York; one goal, three assists).

Ralston Reaching for Assist Mark

Now back with the team after a call-up to the U.S. National Team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Steve Ralston is once again back to chasing the MLS career assist record ... with 113 career assists, Ralston is one assist shy of matching former Tampa Bay Mutiny teammate Carlos Valderrama's career record of 114, and two assists away from claiming the record as his own.

Rookies Getting Time

For the second time this season - and just the second time in Revs head coach Steve Nicol's tenure in New England - the Revolution started three rookies in a game on Saturday, June 30 at Chivas USA ... with injuries and international call-ups, Adam Cristman, Wells Thompson and Gary Flood all got the nod in the staring 11 ... the trio also started the season opener at Chicago on April 7 ... so far this season, a total of four rookies have touched the field as Bryan Byrne also made his MLS debut earlier this season.

Scorching Scoring

With 24 goals through 13 games of the season, New England has already surpassed the halfway mark of its season total of 39 from 2006 (32 games) ... the Revs are averaging 1.85 goals per game on the season in all games, after averaging 1.22 goals per game in 2006 ... New England is on pace to score 55 goals this season, which would match the club record for single-season goals (2003 and 2005).

Open Cup Opponent Known

On Tuesday, July 10, the Revolution will enter the bracket for the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in the third round ... the Revs will travel to Rochester, N.Y., and take on the Rochester Rhinos of the United Soccer League's First Division at 7:35 p.m. at the Rhino's PAETEC Park ... it marks the second season in a row that the teams have met in the Open Cup, as last year the Revs advanced to the quarterfinals behind a 4-3 victory in penalty kicks over the Rhinos in Rochester; the teams played to a 0-0 draw after extra time ... New England is 5-6-2 all-time in the Open Cup, advancing to the final of the event in 2001 where the team fell to Los Angeles, 2-1, in overtime.

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