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MLS New England Revolution

Revolution Begin U.S. Open Cup Play Tuesday

June 29, 2009 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - After advancing to the semifinal round of SuperLiga 2009 with a shutout victory over Atlas yesterday afternoon, the New England Revolution will return to the field with a pair of games this week. First, the Revs will begin play in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup by hosting the Harrisburg City Islanders of USL-2 at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, June 30, at Veterans Stadium in New Britain, Conn. Then, the Revolution will travel across the country to visit the LA Galaxy at The Home Depot Center at 11 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 4, in the club's first MLS regular-season action in three weeks.

The Revs will gather at Gillette Stadium for a team regeneration session on Monday, while they'll also train in Los Angeles on Friday ahead of the Galaxy match. A training session on Wednesday is currently pending and will be announced at a later date. A full schedule for the week is below.

Media wishing to attend any 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.

Please note that the schedule is subject to change.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION SCHEDULE: June 29-July 5

Monday, June 29 - Team regeneration and treatment at Gillette Stadium, 11 a.m.

Tuesday, June 30 - U.S. Open Cup Third Round vs. Harrisburg City Islanders (Veterans Stadium, New Britain, Conn.), 7 p.m. ET ... Web Radio: www.revolutionsoccer.net

Wednesday, July 1 - TBA

Thursday, July 2 - Travel to Los Angeles

Friday, July 3 - Training at The Home Depot Center (University Field 2), 6 p.m. ET

Saturday, July 4 - at LA Galaxy (The Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.), 11 p.m. ET ... TV: Fox Soccer Channel ... Radio: WEEI Radio Network

Sunday, July 5 - Return to Boston

NEW ENGLAND VS. LOS ANGELES SERIES INFORMATION

* Saturday night's match will be the 30th all-time, regular-season meeting between the Revolution and Galaxy ... the clubs have split their previous 29 meetings, 12-12-5.

* This will be the first of two meetings between the Revs and Galaxy this season, and the only one at The Home Depot Center ... the Revolution will host the Galaxy at Gillette Stadium on Aug. 8. * Although the Revs are just 4-8-3 all-time on the road against the Galaxy, they are 3-0-1 in their last four visits to The Home Depot Center against LA dating back to 2005 ... overall, New England is 3-2-2 against LA at The Home Depot Center since the facility opened in 2003. * The Revs are 6-0-3 in their last nine regular-season meetings with the Galaxy and have outscored LA, 17-8, in those nine matches ... New England hasn't lost a regular-season match to LA since April 3, 2004, when the Galaxy earned a 3-2 win at The Home Depot Center. * This will be the sixth time that the Revs and Galaxy have met on July 4, and all six matches have been played in Los Angeles ... the clubs have previously played on Independence Day in 1996, 1997, 2003, 2005 and 2008 ... the Revolution is 2-1-2 in the five previous meetings on July 4. * New England won the 2008 season series, 1-0-1 ... the Revs earned a 2-1 win on July 4 at The Home Depot Center, while the clubs played to a 2-2 draw at Gillette Stadium on Aug. 30. * New England and LA have met in the MLS Cup Playoffs twice - both the 2002 and 2005 MLS Cup Final ... the Galaxy won both meetings in overtime, 1-0 ... the 2002 meeting was in Foxborough, while the 2005 match was at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. * The Revs and Galaxy have played one U.S. Open Cup match - the 2001 championship game in Fullerton, Calif. ... LA won that game, 2-1, in overtime.

* The Galaxy has scored 16 of its 48 goals (33 percent) against the Revolution in the final 15 minutes of the game, between minutes 76-90.

PLAYER NOTES VS. LOS ANGELES

* Taylor Twellman leads the Revs with eight career goals against LA in 15 appearances ... it was while scoring his eighth career goal against LA on Aug. 30, 2008, that he suffered the neck injury which forced him to miss the 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs and the first nine games of the 2009 regular season. * Steve Ralston has recorded six goals and eight assists in his career against the Galaxy, including two goals and four assists in 12 appearances for the Revs. * Gabriel Badilla made his MLS debut against the Galaxy on Aug. 30, 2008. * Matt Reis - who made 39 appearances for the Galaxy from 1998-2002 - is an undefeated 5-0-3 in eight regular-season matches against LA ... he has recorded three shutouts while maintaining a 0.88 goals against average.

LAST MEETING New England 2, Los Angeles 2

August 30, 2008 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

Shalrie Joseph's only goal of the 2008 regular season helped the Revs overcome a pair of goals by Landon Donovan and earn a come-from-behind, 2-2 draw against the visiting Galaxy ... Taylor Twellman gave New England the lead in the 22nd minute with a brave header, but took a knock to the head from goalkeeper Steve Cronin and suffered a neck injury and concussion in the process ... Donovan then took over for LA, tying the match in the 33rd minute and scoring the go-ahead goal in the 55th minute ... the Revs equalized in the 71st minute through Joseph to earn the home draw.

NEWS & NOTES

REVS ADVANCE TO SUPERLIGA 2009 SEMIFINALS AS GROUP B WINNERS ...

With a 1-0 victory over Atlas yesterday afternoon at Gillette Stadium, the Revolution clinched the top spot in Group B of SuperLiga 2009 - and the top overall seed - with a record of 2-0-1 (7 pts.) and advanced to the semifinal round of the competition for the second consecutive year after winning the title in 2008 ... the Revs qualified as the winners of Group B along with second-place Santos Laguna (1-1-1, 4 pts.), which clinched its semifinal spot with a victory over Kansas City on Sunday night ... in the other group, Mexican Primera División club Tigres UANL (2-1-0, 6 pts.) finished in the top spot, while Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire (2-1-0, 6 pts.) secured the other semifinal place.

... WILL HOST SEMIFINAL DOUBLEHEADER AT GILLETTE STADIUM ON JULY 15

Gillette Stadium and the New England Revolution will host both SuperLiga 2009 semifinal matches on Wednesday, July 15 ... the Revs will take on their MLS rival, the Chicago Fire, in the first semifinal match of the evening, to be followed by the second semifinal featuring Mexican clubs Tigres UANL and Santos Laguna ... kickoff times for both matches are pending ... the winner of the New England - Chicago match will host the winner of the Tigres - Santos match in the SuperLiga 2009 final on Aug. 5.

HEAPS NAMED TO U.S. NATIONAL TEAM'S GOLD CUP ROSTER

Jay Heaps is among the 23 players named by U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley to the United States' roster for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup ... Heaps has been called into U.S. National Team camps on several occasions - most recently for a FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Panama on Oct. 12, 2005 - but he is still aiming for his first appearance for his country ... the veteran defender will join the U.S. National Team in Seattle on Tuesday, June 30, and will not be available for the Revs' U.S. Open Cup match that night against the Harrisburg City Islanders or the regular-season matches against LA (July 4) and Kansas City (July 11), if not more should the U.S. advance out of the group stage ... after playing all 30 regular-season games in 2008 and the first 12 games of 2009, this will mark the first MLS games Heaps has missed since Sept. 15, 2007, when he was suspended for New England's game against FC Dallas ... the U.S. will play Grenada (July 4), Honduras (July 8) and Haiti (July 11) in Group B of the competition, with the Haiti match set to take place at Gillette Stadium as part of a special soccer tripleheader.

TWELLMAN ADDED TO DISABLED LIST

The Revolution placed forward Taylor Twellman on the team's disabled list because of concussive symptoms on Friday, June 26, meaning the 29-year-old will miss at least six league matches ... the decision to move Twellman to the disabled list was made after he had a follow-up appointment with his doctors on Thursday, June 25, following a two-week break from athletic activities ... he last participated in a Revolution training session on Tuesday, June 9 ... despite returning to the field for two appearances this season - May 30 against D.C. United and June 7 against the New York Red Bulls - Twellman suffered a relapse of his symptoms and has not seen any action since ... he scored two goals - including his 100th career MLS goal - against New York.

REVOLUTION TO BATTLE HARRISBURG IN U.S. OPEN CUP ON TUESDAY NIGHT

The Revolution will begin play in the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday, June 30, with a third-round match against the Harrisburg City Islanders of USL-2 ... kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Veterans Stadium in New Britain, Conn. ... Harrisburg advanced to the third round with a victory over the Western Mass Pioneers in penalty kicks on Tuesday, June 16, in a second-round game played in Harrisburg ... the Revs have had great success in the U.S. Open Cup the past two years, as they won their first-ever cup championship in the competition in 2007 and advanced to the semifinals in 2008.

AFTER THREE WEEKS AWAY, REVS RETURN TO REGULAR-SEASON ACTION

The Revolution will return to its MLS regular-season schedule on Saturday, July 4, when the club visits the LA Galaxy at The Home Depot Center ... the Revs last played a league match on Saturday, June 13, when they dropped a 3-1 decision to the Kansas City Wizards at CommunityAmerica Ballpark ... New England has not been taking it easy during its three-week break from the regular-season schedule, however, as the club has already played three matches in the group stage of SuperLiga 2009 and will play an additional game in the U.S. Open Cup tomorrow night (June 30).

DESPITE BREAK IN SCHEDULE, REVS REMAIN SOLID IN EASTERN CONFERENCE

Although the club hasn't played a league game since June 13, the Revolution remains in good position in the Eastern Conference and hasn't lost significant ground on any of the teams ahead of them in the standings ... the Revs (4-4-4, 16 pts.) currently occupy sixth place in the seven-team conference, but they are just seven points behind D.C. United (5-3-8, 23 pts.) for first place and have four games in hand on the conference leader ... with just 12 games played, the Revolution has multiple games in hand on every other team in Major League Soccer.

TWO YEARS LATER, HARRISBURG SEEKS REVENGE

In just their fourth year of existence, the Harrisburg City Islanders were on the verge of a remarkable feat when the club reached the quarterfinal round of the 2007 U.S. Open Cup ... with just two matches between them and a prestigious cup final, however, the City Islanders ran up against the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium on Aug. 8 ... early goals from Andy Dorman and Taylor Twellman staked the Revs to a 2-0 halftime lead, and a late goal by City Islander Matt Tanzini wasn't enough as New England held off Harrisburg en route to the semifinals ... the Revs ultimately won the 2007 U.S. Open Cup to claim their first-ever cup championship, while Harrisburg has been waiting for a shot at redemption for almost two years.

REVOLUTION'S U.S. OPEN CUP HISTORY LITTERED WITH HOME SUCCESS

The Revs have had a great deal of success in the U.S. Open Cup in recent years - following up their 2007 title run with a semifinal appearance in 2008 - and that success has been highlighted by their impressive home record in the competition ... overall, the Revolution is 10-7-3 in 20 U.S. Open Cup matches since first appearing in the tournament in 1997, while the club is 8-2-2 at home and just 2-5-1 away from home ... this year marks the 10th time that New England has participated in the tournament since the team's inception: 1997, 2000, 2001 and 2003-09 ... the Revs are 6-4-3 under Steve Nicol in the U.S. Open Cup since he took over the head coaching reigns in 2002.

REVS RETURN TO VETERANS STADIUM

The Revs have played four previous matches at Veterans Stadium - three times as hosts - including a pair of games in the 2008 U.S. Open Cup against the Richmond Kickers and Crystal Palace Baltimore, both of USL-2 ... New England first played in New Britain, Conn., as visitors of the Long Island Rough Riders (A-League) in the third round of the 1997 tournament, and fell to a 4-3 loss in double overtime ... the club then earned a 2-1 overtime victory over the Carolina RailHawks (USL-1) in the semifinals in 2007 on its way to the title, before defeating Richmond and drawing with Baltimore (before beating them in penalty kicks) last year ... overall, the Revs are 2-1-1 at Veterans Stadium, including 2-0-1 since 2007.

THOMPSON SUSPENDED FOR TUESDAY NIGHT'S OPEN CUP GAME ...

Midfielder Wells Thompson will be suspended for Tuesday night's U.S. Open Cup match against the Harrisburg City Islanders (June 30) ... Thompson received two yellow cards - and a subsequent red card - in the 2008 U.S. Open Cup semifinal against D.C. United (Aug. 12), which the Revolution lost, 3-1 ... because that was the Revs' most recent U.S. Open Cup match, the suspension carries over into the first match in the competition this year ... Thompson will be eligible to return in the quarterfinals should the Revolution advance to the next round.

... LEAVING REVS EVEN FURTHER SHORTHANDED

The suspension of midfielder Wells Thompson for Tuesday night's U.S. Open Cup match against the Harrisburg City Islanders further depletes an already slim Revolution roster ... the club is currently battling a rash of injuries and will also be without veteran defender Jay Heaps for the coming weeks because of his participation in the CONCACAF Gold Cup with the U.S. National Team ... in their SuperLiga match against Atlas yesterday afternoon, the Revs were missing seven players because of injury and an additional player because of suspension, leaving them with only 15 available players to dress ... that number could be reduced to 14 on Tuesday night if none of the Revolution's injured players are able to make a swift return.

REVS AND GALAXY RENEW INDEPENDECE DAY SHOWDOWN

The series between New England and Los Angeles has had its fair share of fireworks throughout its history, both on the field and off ... Saturday night's Independence Day contest will mark the sixth time that the Revs and Galaxy have squared off on July 4, with all six meetings taking place on the West Coast ... with a 2-1 victory in last year's meeting, the Revolution took the lead in the July 4 series, 2-1-2 ... New England won the inaugural Independence Day showdown in 1996 and LA earned a victory in the 1997 contest, while the 2003 and 2005 meetings both ended in draws.

REVS AIM TO PUSH UNBEATEN STREAK AGAINST GALAXY INTO DOUBLE DIGITS

Although the all-time series between New England and Los Angeles has been remarkably even - the clubs are 12-12-5 against each other in 29 previous regular-season meetings - the Revs have held a distinct upper hand in recent years ... in the last nine regular-season meetings since 2004, the Revolution is an undefeated 6-0-3 against the Galaxy and has outscored its Western Conference opponent, 17-8, in those nine matches ... LA hasn't beaten New England since April 3, 2004, when the Galaxy earned a 3-2 win at The Home Depot Center.

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