MLS New England Revolution

New England Revolution Update

Published on July 20, 2009 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Back in the win column with a 2-0 victory over Chivas USA last night at Gillette Stadium, the New England Revolution will look to make it two in a row when the club travels to Texas to battle the Houston Dynamo at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 25 at Robertson Stadium. The Revs will conduct two training sessions in Foxborough this week in preparation for the match.

The Revs will train on the Lower Practice Field at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday and Thursday, with both sessions scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. A full schedule for the week is below.

Media wishing to attend any Revolution training session on the Gillette Stadium grounds must notify the Revolution Communications office (media@revolutionsoccer.net) by 5 p.m. the day before to RSVP and guarantee admittance. Media availability usually begins between 11 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. for 10 a.m. sessions, although the length of training sessions can and will vary.

SPECIAL NOTE: Because of the special events taking place at Gillette Stadium throughout the summer, Lot 6 is not currently open for media parking. All media visiting Gillette Stadium are asked to park in Lot 5C, adjacent to Lot 6.

Please note that the schedule is subject to change.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION SCHEDULE: July 20-26

Monday, July 20 - OFF

Tuesday, July 21 - OFF

Wednesday, July 22 - Training on Lower Practice Field (Gillette Stadium), 10 a.m.

Thursday, July 23 - Training on Lower Practice Field (Gillette Stadium), 10 a.m.

Friday, July 24 - Travel to Houston

Saturday, July 25 - at Houston Dynamo (Robertson Stadium, Houston, Texas), 8:30 p.m. ET ... TV: TV38 ... Radio: WEEI Radio Network

Sunday, July 26 - Return to Boston; AC Milan vs. Inter Milan (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.), 5 p.m. ET ... TV: ESPN2

NEW ENGLAND VS. HOUSTON SERIES INFORMATION

* New England and Houston have met just seven times in the overall MLS regular-season series, with the Revs holding a 3-1-3 record against the Dynamo ... the Revolution is 3-2-5 against the Dynamo in all competitions, including the MLS Cup Playoffs and SuperLiga. * The Revs have never lost in Houston, going 2-0-1 in three previous visits to Robertson Stadium ... New England has conceded just one goal to the Dynamo in those three matches. * Saturday night's meeting will conclude the 2009 regular-season series between the Revs and Dynamo ... Houston earned its first-ever regular-season victory over the Revolution in the season's first meeting on May 3 at Gillette Stadium, 2-0. * New England and Houston have met in three cup finals in the last three years (MLS Cup 2006, MLS Cup 2007, SuperLiga 2008) ... Houston won the 2006 title match in a penalty shootout after extra time finished level, 1-1, and the 2007 championship with a come-from-behind, 2-1 victory ... the Revs took the SuperLiga 2008 title in a penalty shootout after regulation and extra time finished tied at 2-2. * One team has been shut out in each of the last three regular-season meetings between the clubs ... the Revs earned 2-0 and 3-0 victories over the Dynamo in 2008, while Houston defeated New England by a 2-0 scoreline earlier this season ... prior to the string of three straight shutouts, the clubs played to a 3-3 draw on July 22, 2007. * Houston's 2-0 win over New England on May 3, 2009, was the first time that the Revs were ever shut out by the Dynamo. * Stuart Holden's 22nd-minute goal in the Dynamo's 2-0 win on May 3, 2009, is the only regular-season goal that Houston has ever scored against New England in the first half. * The Revolution has been outshot by the Dynamo, 92-61, in the regular-season series, yet has outscored Houston, 11-7.

PLAYER NOTES VS. HOUSTON

* Steve Ralston has scored three goals against the Dynamo in six regular-season appearances to lead the Revs ... he recorded both of New England's game-winners against Houston in 2008, while he also scored against the Dynamo in the SuperLiga 2008 final. * Shalrie Joseph has scored two goals against the Dynamo in six regular-season games and is the only Revolution player besides Ralston to have scored multiple goals against Houston ... additionally, he also scored the game-tying goal against Houston in extra time of the SuperLiga 2008 final, sending the match to penalty kicks. * Kheli Dube has one goal and one assist in three career appearances (two starts) against the Dynamo ... both came in the 2-0 win at Robertson Stadium on June 12, 2008, Dube's only previous appearance in Houston. * Stephane Assengue made his MLS debut in the 2-0 loss to Houston on May 3, 2009, becoming the fifth-youngest player to ever appear in a match for the Revolution (18 years, 346 days). * Matt Reis is 3-1-3 in his regular-season career against the Dynamo with a 1.00 goals against average and three shutouts ... he is the only goalkeeper to ever play for the Revolution against the Dynamo in any competition, including regular-season, MLS Cup Playoff and SuperLiga games.

LAST MEETING Houston 2, New England 0

May 3, 2009 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

Stuart Holden and Brian Ching scored goals either side of halftime and goalkeeper Pat Onstad recorded his third consecutive shutout as the Dynamo earned its first-ever regular-season victory over the Revs ... New England started the match in a 3-5-2 formation for the only time this season, but it was Houston which created more chances on the attacking end ... Holden opened the scoring in the 22nd minute through a bit of good fortune, as his low shot from 25 yards out skipped under goalkeeper Matt Reis, who was making his first start after missing four games with inflammation in his right knee ... Ching doubled the visitors' lead in the 58th minute, powering a header into the roof of the net from six yards out.

NEWS & NOTES

GILLETTE STADIUM TO HOST AC MILAN/INTER MILAN ON SUNDAY

Italian Serie A powers AC Milan and Inter Milan will meet at Gillette Stadium at 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 26, in just the teams' second-ever match outside Europe ... the game will be part of the World Football Challenge, a six-city round robin tournament that will also feature English Premier League club Chelsea and Mexican side Club America ... some of the best players in the world are expected to be on display, including Ronaldinho and Alessandro Nesta of AC Milan and Patrick Vieira and Lucio of Inter Milan ... in addition to Gillette Stadium, the tournament is being played at the Rose Bowl, the Georgia Dome, MT&T Bank Stadium, Stanford Stadium and the new Cowboys Stadium from July 19 to July 26.

REVS REACH SEASON'S HALFWAY MARK AT AN EVEN .500

With a 2-0 victory over Chivas USA last night at Gillette Stadium, the Revolution snapped a brief three-game winless streak (0-2-1) in MLS regular-season play and raised its record to 5-5-5 (20 pts.) at the midway point of the 2009 campaign ... with 15 games played in the league, the Revs now have 15 games remaining on their regular-season schedule as they fight to climb the standings in the crowded Eastern Conference ... New England is currently tied for fifth place in the East but has games in hand on every other team in the league ... last year, the Revs were 8-4-3 (27 pts.) at the season's halfway mark en route to a first-round playoff exit, while they were 5-4-6 (21 pts.) 15 games into the 32-game schedule in 2006 and advanced all the way to the MLS Cup title match.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

If the Revs are to win back-to-back games and start the second half of the season with another victory, they'll have to reverse their recent struggles on the road ... since winning their season opener in San Jose on March 21, the Revs are 0-4-3 in their last seven road games and have been outscored, 16-5, in that stretch ... New England has historically been one of the league's best teams away from home - the club went 6-6-3 on the road last season - but this year the majority of the Revolution's points have been earned at Gillette Stadium, where the team is 4-1-2 in regular-season action.

REVS THRIVE IN THE TEXAS HEAT

While many visiting teams struggle to deal with playing in the high temperatures and oppressive humidity in Texas, the Revolution has not seemed at all bothered by the weather down south ... not only are the Revs undefeated in three previous regular-season trips to Houston (2-0-1), but they are also 11-4-1 on the road against FC Dallas ... as if the club's regular-season record in Texas wasn't convincing enough, the Revolution also won the 2007 U.S. Open Cup with a victory over FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas ... the Revs have lost two MLS Cup title games at Pizza Hut Park (2005, 2006), but even still, their overall record in Texas in all competitions is 14-5-3.

ALWAYS AN EPIC MATCHUP WHEN REVS AND DYNAMO SQUARE OFF

If the atmosphere always feels like a cup final when the Revolution and Dynamo clash, it's because almost half the time, it is a cup final ... New England and Houston have only played seven regular-season games against each other since the San Jose Earthquakes relocated to Houston to become the Dynamo in 2006, yet the clubs have played in three cup finals ... Houston won the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cup title games against the Revolution, while the Revs earned a measure of revenge with a victory in the championship match of SuperLiga 2008 ... with title-game meetings in SuperLiga and the U.S. Open Cup no longer a possibility this season, this year's championship meeting will once again have to be in MLS Cup.

SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE

Conflicting statistics will come face-to-face when the Revs visit the Dynamo on Saturday night at Robertson Stadium ... the Revolution has never lost in three previous visits to Houston, going 2-0-1 and conceding just one goal to its Western Conference foe ... the Dynamo, meanwhile, is undefeated at home in 2009, going 5-0-3 and outscoring opponents, 11-3, in those eight matches ... with just three goals conceded in eight home games for a goals against average of 0.38, Houston easily boasts the best home defensive record in Major League Soccer.

JOSEPH RETURNS FROM INJURY ... IMPACT IS IMMEDIATE

Following a lackluster first-half performance against Chivas USA on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium, the Revolution was clearly in need of a spark ... the club received the necessary boost in the form of Shalrie Joseph, who returned from injury to play the final 45 minutes and helped set up both New England goals in the 2-0 win ... the appearance was Joseph's first since June 13, as the Grenadian missed seven games in all competitions (two regular-season, four SuperLiga and one U.S. Open Cup) with bone bruising in his right knee ... Joseph replaced Pat Phelan at halftime and proceeded to earn an assist on Kheli Dube's game-winning goal before helping create Steve Ralston's insurance tally ... with five assists on the season, Joseph has already matched his career-high with still a full half of the schedule to play.

HEAPS HELPS U.S. NATIONAL TEAM ADVANCE TO GOLD CUP SEMIFINALS

Just one week after making his first-ever appearance with the U.S. National Team, defender Jay Heaps started at right back in his country's 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal match against Panama last Saturday night (July 18), helping the Americans to a 2-1 extra time win at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia ... Heaps played all 120 minutes, helping limit Panama to just one goal as Kenny Cooper's 105th-minute penalty kick won the game ... the U.S. will now face Honduras in the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals on Thursday, July 23, at Soldier Field in Chicago, with an aim at reaching Sunday's title match.

SCORELESS STREAK SNAPPED AT 303 MINUTES ...

Kheli Dube's 61st-minute goal in the Revolution's 2-0 victory over Chivas USA last night at Gillette Stadium not only served as the game-winning strike, but it also snapped the second-longest scoreless streak in club history at 303 minutes ... prior to Dube's goal, the Revs hadn't scored since the 28th minute of the 3-1 loss to Kansas City on June 13 ... New England was shut out in consecutive games by LA (July 4) and Kansas City (July 11) before scoring in the second half against Chivas USA ... the Revs had a similar scoreless streak of 269 minutes earlier this season from April 17 to May 9, which is now the fifth-longest scoreless streak in club history.

... WHILE SHUTOUT STREAK EXTENDS TO 262 MINUTES

One streak ends and another begins, as the Revolution has not conceded a goal in the last 262 minutes of regular-season action entering Saturday night's match against the Houston Dynamo ... the current shutout streak is the longest active streak in the league, while it's also the fourth-longest shutout streak in club history ... the Revs haven't allowed a goal since the eighth minute of the 1-0 loss to the LA Galaxy on July 4, as goalkeeper Matt Reis and his defense have recorded back-to-back shutouts against Kansas City (July 11) and Chivas USA (July 19) ... the last time the Revolution recorded consecutive clean sheets in the regular season was on May 17 and May 24, 2008, when Reis shut out San Jose and Columbus ... the longest shutout streak in Revolution history is 384 minutes, accomplished by Reis from April 23 - May 21, 2005, while the longest shutout streak in MLS this season is 491 minutes, set by the Dynamo from April 4 - May 16.

REVS CONTINUE TO DO BULK OF DAMAGE IN THE SECOND HALF

Head coach Steve Nicol made it clear that he was unhappy with the Revolution's first-half performance on Sunday night against Chivas USA, and he let his players know at halftime ... the Revs responded with two goals in the final 45 minutes en route to a 2-0 win to replicate a story that's becoming very familiar in Foxborough ... of the Revolution's 17 regular-season goals, 13 have been scored in the second half, meaning more than 75 percent of the club's goals have been scored after the halftime break ... New England has scored the highest percentage of second-half goals in the league when compared with clubs overall goal totals.

Check out the New England Revolution Statistics

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Major League Soccer Stories from July 20, 2009


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