MLS New England Revolution

News & Notes: Impact

May 28, 2014 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Following a 2-1 victory over D.C. United last Saturday, the first-place New England Revolution will take its seven-game undefeated streak (6-0-1) - which includes five straight wins - north of the border to face the Montreal Impact on Saturday, May 31.

Kickoff at Stade Saputo is set for 7 p.m. Comcast SportsNet will televise the game, while 98.5 The Sports Hub will have the call on the radio.

Last Saturday's win over D.C. helped New England (7-3-2, 23 pts.) extend its first-place lead in the Eastern Conference to five points entering Week 13.

Montreal (1-6-4, 7 pts.) enters Saturday's match in 10th place in the Eastern Conference. Before hosting the Revs on Saturday, the Impact will travel to Toronto on Wednesday for title game in the Amway Canadian Championship with a berth in the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League on the line.

Saturday's match will be the first of three meetings between the two clubs this season, and the first of two played at Stade Saputo. The teams split the 2013 regular-season series, posting 1-1-0 records with each club winning on the road.

Following this Saturday's match at Montreal, the Revs will host the New York Red Bulls at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, June 8.

TEAM NOTES

Revs preparing for Impact

The Revs travel to Canada this Saturday to take on the Montreal Impact (1-6-4, 7 pts.) at Stade Saputo in the first of three meetings between the two clubs this season ... the Revs and Impact split the 2013 regular-season series with both teams posting 1-1-0 records ... the road team won both meetings in 2013 with the Impact earning a 4-2 win at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 8, before the Revs took three points at Stade Saputo with a 1-0 victory on Oct. 12.

Success at Stade Saputo

The Revolution has played three matches at Stade Saputo since Montreal entered MLS in 2012, and the Revs have gone 2-1-0 in those matches ... after dropping its first-ever visit to the stadium, New England has posted back-to-back 1-0 wins at the Impact's home ... the Revs fell, 2-1, on July 18, 2012, but bounced back to post a season-ending 1-0 win on Oct. 27 later that season ... last year, in their lone visit to Montreal, the Revs claimed a 1-0 win on Oct. 12, 2013 ... the team's Oct. 27, 2012, win was the Revolution's first-ever win on Canadian soil, as well.

Overall unbeaten streak extended...

The Revs' 2-1 win over D.C. last Saturday extended their unbeaten streak to seven games, which includes five straight wins ... the Revs' five-game winning streak is tied for the longest streak in MLS this season as Seattle won five straight games from April 12 to May 7 ... the club's five-game winning streak is also the team's longest since 2005, when the team won six straight from April 9 to May 14 during its 11-game undefeated streak to open the season.

... And record books in sight

Saturday's win against D.C. helped the Revs match the club's second-longest undefeated streak in team history ... the Revs have had five previous seven-game unbeaten streaks: 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008 ... in 2005, the Revs opened the season with an 11-game unbeaten streak - the longest streak in team history - with the club's record six-game winning streak also coming during that stretch ... the Revs current five-game winning streak is tied for the second-longest winning streak in club history.

Year Unbeaten Streak Record Longest winning streak

2003 7 6-0-1 5

2004 7 2-0-5 1

2005 11 7-0-4 6

2006 7 5-0-2 3

2007 7 5-0-2 3

2008 7 5-0-2 3

2014* 7 6-0-1 5

*Active streak

First in the East, third overall in MLS

This is the fourth straight week in which the Revs sit atop the Eastern Conference - the Revs' 23 points are five ahead of second place Kansas City and D.C.'s 18 points ... additionally, the Revs' .667 winning percentage is third-best in MLS, behind two Western teams: Real Salt Lake (.750, 6-0-6) and Seattle (.692, 8-3-2) ... New England, Salt Lake and Seattle are the only three teams in MLS with winning percentages above .600 so far this season.

Team Winning Percentage Record

Salt Lake .750 6-0-6

Seattle .692 8-3-2

New England .667 7-3-2

Vancouver .591 4-2-5

Lucky Seven

New England has seven wins so far this season, ranking second in MLS in victories... Seattle leads the league with eight wins, but has played one more game than the Revolution ... this is the fastest a Jay Heaps-coaches Revs team has reached seven wins ... in 2013, it took the Revolution 20 matches to reach seven wins (7-7-6), while in 2012, the Revs reached seven wins on Sept. 5 - needing 28 games (7-14-7).

Balance is the name of the game

Entering Week 13 of the 2014 MLS season, the Revs are one of the most balanced teams in the league ... the Revs rank third in goals scored and are tied for fifth in goals against average ... only one other team is ranked in both the top five in scoring and defense: undefeated Real Salt Lake (6-0-6).

Team Goals Per game Goals Against Average

Seattle 1.92 1.62 (12th)

Salt Lake 1.92 1.08 (Third)

New England 1.75 1.17 (Fifth)

Chicago 1.73 1.91 (18th)

Vancouver 1.64 1.27 (10th)

Winning formula continues

It's been a pretty simple formula for the Revs this season: score first and win ... this season, the Revs are a perfect 6-0-0 when scoring the game's first goal ... Colorado (4-0-0) is the only other team in MLS with a perfect record when scoring first ... when the Revs have allowed the first goal in a game, they are a very respectable 1-3-1 - a .300 winning percentage - which is the sixth-best percentage in MLS.

Springing into May

The month of May has been kind to the Revs so far, with the club picking up wins over Seattle, Toronto, Philadelphia and D.C. this month after a solid April ... after falling on the road in D.C. to start the month of April, the Revs have surged into first place in the Eastern Conference behind their seven-game undefeated streak (6-0-1) ... last season, the Revs also enjoyed a successful month of May, going 2-1-2 in five games.

Mullins ties rookie record

With his 55th-minute goal against D.C. last Saturday at Gillette Stadium, Patrick Mullins became the second rookie in MLS history to score a goal in four consecutive games, joining Chicago's Damani Ralph (2003) ... Mullins has started the past four games as the Revs' central forward, scoring a goal in each game ... additionally, Mullins' 33.3 goal scoring percentage (goals/shots on goal) is tied for fourth in MLS.

Deja vu for Diego

Diego Fagundez must have deju vu as his recent scoring streak has mirrored a similar streak in 2013 ... Fagundez scored his first two goals in 2014 on May 11, and then scored his third goal of the season the following match ... the Homegrown talent continued his scoring streak by netting the game-winner in the 2-1 victory over D.C on May 24 ... in 2013, Fagundez scored his second goal of the season on May 11 - the same in 2014 - and that match kick-started his four-game scoring streak through June 2 ... he finished 2013 with a career-best 13 goals, the fifth-highest total in MLS last year.

Goncalves gets right back into it

Last Saturday against D.C., Jose Goncalves made his first start since April 12 after leaving that match with a quadriceps injury, which forced the 2013 MLS Defender of the Year to miss five games from April 19 to May 17 ... last Saturday, Goncalves played 90 minutes at center back alongside A.J. Soares ... with Goncalves back in the lineup, Andrew Farrell - who had been lining up next to Soares at CB in Goncalves' absence - returned to right back where he started 32 games for the Revs in 2013.

Shuttleworth also back in action

Goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth returned to the starting 11 after missing the Philadelphia match on May 17 with a concussion ... with the win, Shuttleworth improved to 6-3-2 on the season with four shutouts and a goals against average of 1.00, tied for second in MLS (and tied for the best mark among keepers with at least 10 starts).

Caldwell closing the door

Although Scott Caldwell hasn't found himself in the starting 11 this year as much as the 2013 season, his value off the bench has been huge for the Revs ... in the eight matches in which Caldwell has come on as substitute, the Revs have posted a 7-0-1 record:

Date Opponent Minute subbed on Result

March 22 Vancouver 89 T, 0-0

March 29 San Jose 70 W, 2-1

April 12 Houston 71 W, 2-0

April 26 Kansas City 71 W, 2-0

May 3 Toronto 57 W, 2-1

May 11 Seattle 63 W, 5-0

May 17 Philadelphia 60 W, 5-3

May 24 D.C. 81 W, 2-1

July 12: New England's Fitness Event of the Year

International fitness star Shaun T - the creator of best-selling fitness programs INSANITY, Focus T25 and Hip Hop Abs - will make a special appearance at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, July 12, when he leads a live workout on the field before the New England Revolution hosts the Chicago Fire later in the evening ... special ticket packages start at $85 and are on sale now through revolutionsoccer.net/shaunt ... packages include a spot in the live workout, a Q&A session with Shaun T after the workout, a meet & greet and group photo session with Shaun T, access to a reserved tailgate area between the workout and the Revs match, and a midfield seat for the Revolution match ... special package options are available for fitness fans who want to be closer to Shaun T and work out in the first 10 rows.

Check out the New England Revolution Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from May 28, 2014


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