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MLS New England Revolution

New England Revolution Update: July 30 - August 5

July 30, 2007 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The Eastern Conference-leading New England Revolution will host two games this week at Gillette Stadium, welcoming the East's second-place team - the Kansas City Wizards - on Thursday evening, before playing rival D.C. United on Sunday. Thursday's game will kickoff at 7 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN2. Sunday's game will start at 4 p.m., and will be televised on TV38.

The Revs will conduct four training sessions this week at Payson Park Field in Foxborough: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. All training sessions are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Any member of the media who wishes to attend a training session must RSVP to the Revs' Communications office by the close of business the day prior.

Media members who are planning to cover games this week must RSVP to the Revs' Communications office by the close of business on Tuesday, July 31 for the Kansas City game, and Thursday, Aug. 2, for Sunday's D.C. game.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION SCHEDULE: JULY 30 - AUGUST 5

Monday, July 30 - OFF

Tuesday, July 31 - Training at Payson Park Field (Foxborough, Mass.), 10 a.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 1 - Training at Payson Park Field (Foxborough, Mass.), 10 a.m.

Thursday, Aug. 2 - vs. Kansas City Wizards (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.), 7 p.m. (TV: ESPN2, Radio: WEEI Radio Network)

Friday, Aug. 3 - Training at Payson Park Field (Foxborough, Mass.), 10 a.m. - Thursday's starters TBA

Saturday, Aug. 4 - Training at Payson Park Field (Foxborough, Mass.), 10 a.m.

Sunday, Aug. 5 - vs. D.C. United (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.), 4 p.m. (TV: TV38, Radio: WEEI Radio Network)

*subject to change

DIRECTIONS TO PAYSON PARK FIELD

From the North: Route 1 South to North St. (intersection before Gillette Stadium) ... take a left on North St. ... follow North Street for 1.4 miles until fork in the road ... go left at the fork ... the entrance to the field is 0.2 miles down on the left, after the football field.

From the South: Route 1 North to North St. (intersection after Gillette Stadium) ... take a right on North St. ... follow North Street for 1.4 miles until fork in the road ... go left at the fork ... the entrance to the field is 0.2 miles down on the left, after the football field.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (8-3-6, 30 pts.) vs. KANSAS CITY (8-5-5, 29 pts.)

SERIES NOTES

Kansas City leads overall series with New England, 15-8-7

New England is 4-8-4 against the Wizards at home, including an 0-5-4 mark at Gillette Stadium ... the Revs are 4-7-3 in games played in Kansas City

Kansas City posted four goals in the teams' last meeting to earn a 4- 3 come-from-behind victory at Gillette Stadium on May 26

The Wizards won the four-game, regular-season series in 2006, 1-0-3, but the teams drew in each of the final three meetings of the year

Five of the teams' last nine meetings have ended in draws

The teams were even in the first 12 meetings, going 6-6-0 against each other, but New England has won just twice against Kansas City in the teams' last 19 meetings (dating back to 2000)

Revs have not won a game at home against Wizards since 1999 (3-2, Sept. 7, 1999, Foxboro Stadium)

REVS PLAYER NOTES VS. KANSAS CITY

Pat Noonan and Taylor Twellman are tied for the Revs career lead in career goals against Kansas City with four apiece

Steve Ralston leads New England in career assists (10), including five while playing for the Revs

Pat Noonan scored a hat trick on June 2, 2004 at Arrowhead Stadium in a 3-2 New England victory

Matt Reis has registered a 1.26 goals against average in his career against the Wizards (1.45 GAA while with the Revs), and has recorded a 7-5-0 record with three shutouts in his career.

LAST MEETING

May 26, 2007: Kansas City 4, New England 3

The Revs pulled out to a 2-0 lead by the 23rd minute behind unassisted goals from Steve Ralston and Taylor Twellman, but K.C.'s Davy Arnaud and Eddie Johnson struck one minute apart in the 25th and 26th minutes to tie the game ... Johnson then went on to complete his first of back-to-back hat tricks and give the visitors the win at Gillette Stadium, snapping the Revs' 10-game home unbeaten streak ... after Johnson put the Wizards ahead 3-2 in the 38th minute, Shalrie Joseph knotted the score in the 69th with a successful penalty kick attempt ... however, Johnson scored again in the 82nd minute on a breakaway for the game-winner for Kansas City.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION vs. D.C. UNITED (7-6-3, 24 pts.)

SERIES INFORMATION

United leads the overall series against New England, 22-17-6, in MLS regular-season games the Revs own an 11-8-3 record at home against D.C., including a 5-2-3 mark at Gillette Stadium ... New England is 6-14-3 in regular-season games played in Washington

The teams played to a 1-1 draw on Thursday, May 3, in the only meeting so far this season ... the teams will close the three-game season series on Sunday, Sept. 9, at RFK Stadium

Last season, the two teams split the four-game season series, 1-1-2, and the teams were knotted in total goals scored, 4-4

The Revolution is 9-7-6 against United under head coach Steve Nicol, including a shootout victory in 1999 when he was interim head coach

The teams have met in three postseason series with D.C. owning a 2-1-1 edge in those matches ... the Revs defeated D.C., 1-0, on Nov. 5, 2006 to win the Eastern Conference Championship for the second consecutive season

REVS PLAYER NOTES VS. DC

Taylor Twellman leads New England with career goals (12) against United, one of three team against which he's scored 10 or more goals ... four of his goals have been game-winning strikes ... Twellman has also recorded three multiple-goal games against D.C.

Taylor Twellman recorded his first career hat trick on Sept. 7, 2002 at Gillette Stadium in a 3-0 victory for New England against D.C.

Andy Dorman has scored three goals - including the Revs' goal in the teams' earlier meeting this season, a 1-1 draw on May 3 - and Steve Ralston has scored two goals against D.C., the Revs' next-highest goal scorers against their Eastern Conference rivals

Steve Ralston leads the Revs in career assists (11), against D.C, including five while with the Revolution

Andy Dorman and Jay Heaps have each recorded four assists against United in their New England careers

Matt Reis has posted a 1.25 goals against average against United with a 5-6-5 record including three shutouts with both Los Angeles and New England

Matt Reis has played more games in goal (14) against United than any other Revolution keeper

Back-up keeper Doug Warren, a former D.C. player, made his only New England start against his former team in 2005

LAST MEETING

May 3, 2007: New England 1, D.C. 1

The Revs extended their unbeaten streak to four games after earning a 1-1 draw at rival D.C. United at RFK Stadium. Andy Dorman put the Revs ahead just after halftime with his third goal of the season, but Jaime Moreno scored the equalizer minutes later on a penalty kick to level the score ... New England was forced to play with 10 men for the final 31 minutes after Shalrie Joseph was shown a straight red card in the 59th minute ... with the man advantage, D.C. picked up its attack and out-shot the Revs, 7-0, the rest of the way ... New England goalkeeper Matt Reis preserved the draw with a pair of spectacular saves in stoppage time, and United hit the post in the added minutes, as well.

NEWS & NOTES

BUNKERING IN AT THE TOP OF THE TABLE

With another road victory on Saturday at Real Salt Lake, the Revolution maintained their top spot in the Eastern Conference ... the Revs sit alone in first place with 30 points, one point clear of second-place Kansas City (29 pts.) and three points clear of third-place New York (27 pts.).

LOGJAM IN THE EAST

Among the top five teams in the east, a total of two wins separates the top fives teams ... the Revs - in first place - are just six points ahead of fifth-place D.C., which has 24 points ... the Revs have played 17 games, and have a game in hand on New York, Kansas City and Columbus, all of whom have played 18 games ... D.C. has only 16 games behind them as they take a two-week break in MLS action to participate in the inaugural SuperLiga tournament.

MLS' TOP TEAM STATISTICALLY

After this weekend's results, the Revolution is MLS' top team based on winning percentage ... with a 8-3-6 overall record and 30 points, the Revs have a .647 winning percentage, 15 points higher than Western Conference leading Houston Dynamo (10-5-4, 34 pts., .632 winning percentage) ... the Revs have the fewest losses in the league this season - two fewer than any team - and have taken points in 14 of 17 games.

BUSY STRETCH

The Revolution has now entered into its toughest and busiest stretch of the season, as the team plays eight games in four weeks ... this stretch of the Revs' schedule sees them play seven MLS games and a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match before enjoying a bye week in their schedule during Labor Day weekend ... the upcoming schedule is as follows: Aug. 2 vs. Kansas City, Aug. 5 vs. D.C., Aug. 8 vs. Harrisburg City Islanders, Aug. 12 vs. Los Angeles, Aug. 16 at Colorado, Aug. 19 at Kansas City and Aug. 25 vs. New York ... on Saturday of last week, the Revs earned a 2-1 victory at Real Salt Lake to kick off the busy run of games.

BIRTHDAY BOYS

Five members of the Revolution are celebrating birthdays in the month of August ... both Jay Heaps (31) and Pat Noonan (27) will celebrate their birthdays on Aug. 2 when they face Kansas City on ESPN2 in front of a national television audience ... Jeff Larentowicz turns 24 on Sunday, Aug. 5, when the Revs host D.C. United ... veteran Joe Franchino - who is out for the rest of the season after ankle surgery - turns 31 on Thursday, Aug. 9 ... finally, rookie Bryan Byrne turns 25 on Sunday, Aug. 26.

"BECKHAM GAME" PLAYER ESCORTS UP FOR AUCTION

Bidding closes on THURSDAY, AUG. 2 for the first 11 player escorts for the Revs' game against the Los Angeles Galaxy - featuring international icon David Beckham - on Sunday, Aug. 12 ... on Monday, July 23, the New England Revolution Charitable Foundation launched 11 online charitable auctions at eBay (www.ebay.com) where fans can place bids for the opportunity to walk onto field hand-in-hand with New England and Los Angeles' starting lineups as player escorts prior to the national anthem and team introductions on Sunday, Aug. 12, at Gillette Stadium ... auctions can be accessed by typing in keywords "Revolution Player Escorts" at the eBay homepage ... player escorts must be ages 5-14 ... 100 percent of proceeds from the auctions will go to the New England Revolution Charitable Foundation, the not-for-profit charitable arm of the Revolution.

TORRID SCORING

The Revs sit atop MLS' leaders in team scoring average, netting 1.82 goals per game this season ... the team has scored 31 goals in 17 games ... last season, the Revs scored 39 goals in 32 games, for a 1.22 goals per game mark ... New England leads MLS in three-goal games this season with seven, one more than Kansas City (6) and two more than Houston and New York, which are all tied for third with five three-goal games ... in total, the Revs have posted nine multiple-goal games - just more than half of their games this season.

NOONAN!

Pat Noonan has seemed to round back into the playing form that earned him MLS All-Star status and a place on the U.S. National Team ... in the month of July, he helped lead the Revs to an undefeated mark - 2-0-2 - with a pair of road victories as he scored two goals and added one assist ... Noonan now has four goals and four assists, his best totals since 2005 ... Noonan missed time this season recovering from preseason sports hernia surgery, after missing all but 14 games in 2006 with various injuries ... Noonan now has 34 career goals with the Revs, and 29 assists.

TERRIBLE TWOSOME

Dating back to their days as childhood friends who would play in each other's backyards, Taylor Twellman and Pat Noonan have always had a great relationship on the field ... after finally being reunited in a full-time capacity this season after Noonan struggled to regain his form from various injuries in 2006 and early 2007, the twosome has once again emerged as MLS' most lethal scoring duo ... in the last two games, the pair has combined for three goals and three assists - all on each other's goals ... three of Noonan's four assists have come on Twellman goals this year, and both of Twellman's assists have come on Noonan's last two goals ... in their four years together in New England, they have produced the following:

- 91 goals (57 by Twellman, 34 by Noonan)

- 48 assists (19 by Twellman, 29 by Noonan)

- 13 of Noonan's 29 assists have come on Twellman goals

- four of Twellman's 25 career assists have come on Noonan strikes

LARENTOW-ROCKET

Jeff Larentowicz's third career goal is going to be a memorable one for the third-year defensive midfielder ... after the Revs earned a free kick 24 yards out against Real Salt Lake on July 28, Larentowicz surprisingly called off Revs regular free-kick specialist Steve Ralston and stepped up for the long-range shot ... his rocket of a free kick found a sliver of space between the RSL wall and Shalrie Joseph, and Larentowicz scored the eventual game-winning goal ... his goal was nominated for Sierra Mist Goal of the Week at MLSnet.com.

Check out the New England Revolution Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from July 30, 2007


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