MLS New England Revolution

News & Notes: Sporting KC

September 23, 2014 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - After seeing their five-game winning streak snapped last weekend, the New England Revolution will return to action on Friday, September 26 in an all-important matchup with Sporting Kansas City. Second place in the Eastern Conference will be on the line on Friday night and NBC Sports Network will televise the game nationally from Sporting Park starting at 8 p.m. while 98.5 The Sports Hub will carry it live on the radio locally.

The Revs enter Friday's game in third place in the Eastern Conference with a 13-13-3 record for 42 points, leaving them three points behind Sporting Kansas City (13-10-6, 45 pts.) for second. A New England win would push the two clubs into a second place tie heading into the final month of the regular season.

This will be the third and final regular season meeting of the year between the Revolution and Sporting, but the first to be played at Sporting Park. New England earned a pair of two-goal wins over their Midwest rivals earlier this season, claiming a 2-0 win at Gillette Stadium on April 26 and a 3-1 victory there on September 3. However, the Revs, who fell to SKC in their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series in the 2013 MLS Cup Playoffs, are winless in four previous regular-season visits to Sporting Park, going 0-2-2 at the venue which opened in 2011.

Since losing to the Revs at the start of this month, Sporting have gone 1-1-0 in MLS play, losing 2-1 to New York on September 6 and beating Chivas USA 4-0 at StubHub Center six days later. The club also claimed a 3-1 home win over Saprissa in the CONCACAF Champions League on September 18 and will host Real Esteli in the Champions League tonight at Sporting Park.

TEAM NOTES

STREAK SNAPPED

Saturday's 1-0 loss to Columbus snapped the Revs' five-game winning streak and six-game unbeaten streak ... prior to that game, the Revs had not lost since August 2 when they fell 2-1 to the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena ... the five-game winning streak tied for the longest winning streak in MLS this season with the LA Galaxy (August 20-September 5) and Seattle Sounders FC (April 12-May 7), who each won five consecutive regular-season games ... the Revs also won five straight from April 26-May 24 ... the Revolution is the fourth team in MLS history with multiple five-game winning streaks in a single season and the first to do so since 1999 ... each of the Revs' five-game winning streaks this season were one-game shy of equaling the club's record six-game winning streak, which was set between April 9 and May 14, 2005.

SEEKING A SWEEP OF SPORTING

Friday night's game will be the third and final regular season meeting between the Revolution and Sporting Kansas City this season ... the Revs won each of the first two matches - winning 2-0 on April 26 and 3-1 on September 3 - and are now one victory shy of just their second season sweep of Kansas City ... the only other time the Revs swept a season series from Kansas City came in 1999 when New England claimed 1-0 and 3-2 wins ... on just two previous occasions have the Revs won three straight against Kansas City, with the last time coming in the final two meetings of the 2007 season and the first of the 2008 campaign.

THIRD IN CONGESTED EAST

The Revolution will enter Friday night's game in third place in the Eastern Conference with a 13-13-3 record for 42 points ... New England is just three points behind second-place Sporting Kansas City, and a win on Friday would push the two clubs into a tie for second with 45 points each ... New York is one point behind the Revs (10-8-11, 41 pts.) while Columbus currently holds the fifth and final playoff spot with a 10-9-10 record for 40 pts. ... a total of five points separate the third through seventh place teams in the East with Philadelphia (sixth, 38 pts.) and Toronto FC (seventh, 37 pts.) all within striking distance of a playoff spot, although TFC has played one fewer game than the six teams ahead of them ... D.C. United (14-9-6, 48 pts.) are currently in first place in the East with five games remaining.

FIVE REMAIN

The Revs have five games remaining on their schedule, with just two of the six to be played at Gillatte Stadium ... all five games will see New England take on Eastern Conference foes with the club hosting Columbus (October 4) and Toronto FC (October 25), and traveling to face Sporting Kansas City (September 26), Montreal (October 11) and Houston (October 16) ... so far this season, the Revs are:

6-4-0 against the clubs remaining on their schedule (4-1-0 at home, 2-3-0 on the road) 9-4-2 at home and 4-9-1 on the road, overall 9-10-1 against fellow Eastern Conference clubs

BOUNCING BACK

The Revolution were shutout for the ninth time this season on Saturday night against the Crew ... so far this season, in the regular-season game immediately following a shutout, the Revs have gone just 2-5-1, with four of the previous eight shutouts coming during the club's eight-game losing streak this summer ... prior to Saturday, the Revs had not been shutout since July 19 against FC Dallas, a game that they lost 2-0 ... in the 10 games since that defeat, New England went 6-3-1 to climb back into the heart of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

TOUGH PLACE TO PLAY

Friday night's game will be the Revs' lone visit to Sporting Park this season ... in four regular-season games at the venue, the Revs are 0-2-2 and have been outscored 7-1 ... Rajko Lekic is the only player to score for the Revs at Sporting Park in a regular-season game and the club has gone 322 minutes since last scoring at the venue ... the Revolution did score at Sporting Park in the second leg of their 2013 Eastern Conference Semifinal Series, though they would fall 4-3 on aggregate in the series, which included a 3-1 road loss in extra time.

A SECOND SPOT KICK SAVE FOR SHUTTLEWORTH

While the Revolution saw their five-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, they did receive a sterling performance from Bobby Shuttleworth in goal ... his first half save from an Eric Gehrig header has been nominated for the MLS Save of the Week and he also stopped a second-half penalty kick from Federico Higuain ... that was Shuttleworth's second penalty save on the season, having previously stopped a Juan Luis Anangono penalty in second half stoppage time of the Revs' 1-1 draw at Chicago on April 19 ... that was New England's most recent game to be shown nationally on NBC Sports Network ... Shuttleworth is one of four goalkeepers in MLS this season to stop two or more penalties, joining Zac MacMath, Nick Rimando and Luis Robles ... he is the first Revolution goalkeeper to save more than one penalty kick in a season since Matt Reis stopped two of the three spot kicks that he faced in 2006 ... the only Revolution goalkeepers to stop more than two penalties in a single season are Ian Feuer (who allowed one goal on five penalty attempts) in 1998 and Jeff Causey (who allowed one goal on five penalty attempts) in 2000 ... for the season, Shuttleworth has saved two of the four penalties that he has faced ... for his MLS career, he has stopped two of eight penalties.

A REAL GAME-WINNER

In seven of New England's 13 victories this season, Lee Nguyen has been credited with the game-winning goal ... his seven game-winners are the most in MLS this season and are tied for the fifth best single season tally in MLS history ... prior to this season, the Revolution club record for game-winning goals in a season was six, which was set by Taylor Twellman in 2005 ... Nguyen now has nine game-winning goals as a member of the Revolution, only Twellman (28), Joe-Max Moore (13), Steve Ralston (12) and Shalrie Joseph (10) have more for the club ... San Jose's Chris Wondolowski holds the MLS record for game-winning goals in a season with 11, which he set in 2012 ... he also had nine game-winners in 2010 and eight in 2013 ... in the history of MLS, the only player other than Wondolowski to score more than seven game-winning goals in a single season is Carlos Ruiz, who had nine for the LA Galaxy in 2002.

BUNBURY STARS AGAINST HIS FORMER CLUB

After missing Saturday's 1-0 loss to Columbus while serving a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation, the Revolution will welcome Teal Bunbury back to the squad this week ... that was the first regular-season game that Bunbury had not appeared in for the club this season ... while he was away from the team this weekend, he made his time count, proposing to his long-time girlfriend, Kaity (she said yes!) ... acquired from Sporting KC in February, Bunbury has four goals and four assists in 28 games for the Revs this season ... the four assists are a career-high, while his four goals are one shy of equaling his second-best single-season mark ... after spending each of his first four seasons with Kansas City and helping the club win the Open Cup in 2012 and MLS Cup in 2013, Bunbury has scored in each of his two meetings against his former club ... he tallied the 92nd-minute game-winner for the Revs in the 2-0 win on April 26, starting a five-game winning streak for his club ... then he also scored the game-tying goal late in the first half of New England's 3-1 win over SKC on September 3 ... both games were played at Gillette Stadium ... Friday's match will be his first back at Sporting Park since the February trade.

DAVIES FINDING HIS FORM

Over the last nine games, the Revolution are 6-2-1, taking 19 of a possible 27 points to climb from seventh in the East to third ... Davies has appeared in all nine of those games, starting eight and coming off the bench to score the game-winning goal against Chicago on September 7 ... all totaled, Davies has three goals and three assists in those nine contests ... the three goals are tied with Kelyn Rowe for the second most on the club in that time while his three assists are tied with Jermaine Jones, Lee Nguyen and Rowe for the most on the team in that time ... prior to these nine games, Davies had appeared in just eight games as a member of the Revolution, starting one, and did not have a shot in his 170 minutes of action.

JONES STARTS REVS WIN

After being hampered by a left foot injury that he suffered in the first half against Montreal on September 13, Jermaine Jones came on at halftime of the Revs' 1-0 loss to Columbus, replacing Daigo Kobayashi ... that was Jones' second substitute appearance for the club and first since his debut against Toronto FC on August 30 ... in the three games that Jones has started this season, including the Revs' 3-1 win over Sporting Kansas City on September 3, the Revs are 3-0-0 and the U.S. midfielder has an assist in each contest ... in fact, Saturday's loss was the club's first since he joined the club nearly a month ago on August 24 ... in five games as a member of the Revs, Jones has five shots and has suffered eight fouls while committing four and collecting a yellow card against Chicago on September 7.

FARRELL IS EVER PRESENT

Andrew Farrell missed the Revs' season-opening loss in Houston on March 8 through injury but has been an ever-present presence in Jay Heaps' lineup ever since ... the second-year defender has played the full 90 minutes in each of the club's last 28 games, lining up at right back and in central defense ... his 2,520 minutes played this season are tied for the seventh most in MLS and are the third most for field players ... only Philadelphia's Raymon Gaddis (2,601 minutes played) and D.C. United's Bobby Boswell (2,595 minutes played) have played more minutes as a field player than Farrell has this season ... as a rookie in 2013, Farrell appeared in and started 32 of the Revs' 34 games, playing 2,813 minutes, which were good for the second-most on the club.

JOIN ALSTON. REVS AND LIGHT THE NIGHT FOR LLS

To help support research and the on-going race for a cure for blood cancers, the Revolution is joining the greater New England community at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's annual Boston Light the Night Walk at 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 9, on the historic Boston Common (Charles St., Boston, Mass.) ... the Revolution has created a corporate team to participate in the Light the Night Walk, and is seeking fans and those affected by cancers to join and help fundraise on behalf of the New England Revolution Charitable Foundation ... Revolution defender Kevin Alston will be joined by Revs staff and various players' wives and girlfriends on the Revolution's team, which will be showcased with a special banner at the walk ... every member who signs up to walk as part of the Revolution's team will receive red, white and blue glow sticks and necklaces at the walk ... the team's top fan fundraisers will be eligible to win prize packages including tickets in the Putnam Club, pregame field passes or a VIP player meet & greet ... the top fundraiser will also be honored in a pregame ceremony at the October 4 match against the Columbus Crew ... the Revolution Charitable Foundation will match the first $2,500 in donations received by the team's walkers ... the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is Alston's charity of choice as he joins millions in the fight against blood cancers. In April 2013, Alston was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), a rare but treatable form of leukemia. While CML does not yet have a cure, Alston has managed his health and has returned to the field.

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