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MLS New England Revolution

Revolution Update: September 8th

September 8, 2009 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Revolution (9-7-6, 33 pts.) will hit the road for the first time since mid-August when the club visits Chivas USA at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 13, at The Home Depot Center.

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: Sept. 8-13

Tuesday, Sept. 8 - Training on Upper Practice Field (Gillette Stadium), 10 a.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 9 - Training on Upper Practice Field (Gillette Stadium), 10 a.m.

Thursday, Sept. 10 - Training on Upper Practice Field (Gillette Stadium), 10 a.m.

Friday, Sept. 11 - Travel to Los Angeles

Saturday, Sept. 12 - Training at The Home Depot Center (Field 6), 2 p.m. PT

Sunday, Sept. 13 - at Chivas USA (The Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.), 3 p.m. ET ... TV: TV38 (English), Telefutura (National, Spanish) ... Radio: WEEI Radio Network

NEW ENGLAND VS. CHIVAS USA SERIES INFORMATION

* New England leads the all-time, regular-season series between the two teams, 5-2-2 ... the clubs have met just once outside of MLS regular-season action, playing to a 1-1 draw in the SuperLiga 2008 group stage. * The Revolution's 2-1 win over Chivas USA in their most recent meeting at The Home Depot Center on May 11, 2008, is the only game in the all-time series in which the visiting team has won ... overall, the Revs are 1-2-1 in four road games against Chivas USA. * Sunday afternoon's match will conclude the regular-season series between the Revolution and Chivas USA ... New England earned a 2-0 win in the previous meeting on July 19 at Gillette Stadium, and will be aiming to earn its second consecutive series sweep after winning both meetings in 2008. * The Revs have won three straight regular-season games against Chivas USA after going 2-2-2 in the first six meetings in the all-time series ... the Revolution has outscored the Goats, 8-1, in the last three matches. * Eleven of the Revolution's 14 total goals against Chivas USA have been scored in the second half, including the last seven overall. * The Revolution has shut out Chivas USA in the last two meetings: 4-0 on Sept. 11, 2008, and 2-0 on July 19, 2009 ... the Revs haven't conceded a goal to the Goats since Justin Braun scored in stoppage time of New England's 2-1 win at The Home Depot Center on May 11, 2008. * New England has allowed more than one goal against Chivas USA just once in nine regular-season meetings, in a 2-0 loss on June 30, 2007 ... the Revs, meanwhile, have scored multiple goals against Chivas USA four times, including in each of the last three meetings. * The Revs have conceded just seven total goals to Chivas USA in nine regular-season meetings for a goals against average of 0.78.

PLAYER NOTES VS. CHIVAS USA

* Taylor Twellman leads the Revolution with four goals in seven career appearances (five starts) against Chivas USA ... Twellman scored the game-winning goal in both of New England's wins over Chivas USA in 2008, but he will be unavailable for Sunday's match as he is currently on the disabled list. * Steve Ralston leads the Revs with five assists in eight career appearances against Chivas USA ... Ralston also has two goals against the Goats, including the second tally in the Revs' 2-0 win earlier this season on July 19. * Kheli Dube scored the game-winning goal in the Revolution's 2-0 win over Chivas USA on July 19, marking his first league goal since the season opener on March 21. * Wells Thompson recorded his first career assist on Jeff Larentowicz's goal against Chivas USA in the 4-0 win on Sept. 11, 2008. * Matt Reis is the only member of the Revolution to have played every minute of every game against Chivas USA in the nine-game, regular-season series ... he is 5-2-2 with three shutouts against the Goats, while his 0.78 goals against average is his lowest GAA against any MLS team.

LAST MEETING New England 2, Chivas USA 0 July 19, 2009 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.) Kheli Dube and Steve Ralston scored second-half goals and Matt Reis made three saves to earn his second consecutive shutout, as the Revs won their third straight meeting with Chivas USA ... Shalrie Joseph returned from a right knee injury to appear as a halftime substitute and set up the game-winning goal in the 61st minute, slotting a through ball for Dube to finish on a breakaway ... Ralston scored the insurance goal in the 77th minute, pouncing on a loose ball at the top of the box after Chivas USA midfielder Sasha Victorine failed to control Dube's initial pass.

NEWS & NOTES

MLS CUP PLAYOFFS WATCH: REVS LOCKED IN FOUR-WAY TIE FOR SEVENTH

With eight games remaining in the regular season and each point becoming increasingly critical in the push for the postseason, the Revs are currently part of a four-way tie for the final two playoff spots ... New England (9-7-6, 33 pts.), D.C. United (7-5-12, 33 pts.), Real Salt Lake (9-9-6, 33 pts.) and Chivas USA (10-9-3, 33 pts.) all enter the week tied for the seventh-best point total in the league ... the good news for the Revs is that they have two games in hand on both D.C. and Real Salt Lake, while they square off with Chivas USA on Sunday afternoon at The Home Depot Center ... all four teams enter this week's action just one point behind sixth-place Seattle Sounders FC (8-6-10, 34 pts.) and two points ahead of 11th-place Toronto FC (8-9-7, 31 pts.).

REVOLUTION KEEPS CONFERENCE LEADERS IN SIGHT

Despite having their three-game winning streak snapped with a 4-2 loss to the Kansas City Wizards last weekend, the Revs remain just six points out of first place in the Eastern Conference because both the Columbus Crew (10-4-9, 39 pts.) and Chicago Fire (10-6-8, 38 pts.) were idle ... the Revolution will be hoping for help from a pair of Western Conference teams this weekend, as Columbus hosts the league-leading Houston Dynamo and Chicago pays a visit to Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium, where RSL has lost just once this season ... if New England can stay within striking distance, the club will have the chance to help itself in October as the Revolution's last three games of the season are against Columbus (twice) and Chicago.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON'S SHOWDOWN IS A CLASSIC SIX-POINTER

Major League Soccer's new playoff format - which awards automatic postseason berths to the top two teams in each conference and reserves the next four spots for the teams with the best records, regardless of conference - has created playoff implications for many inter-conference matchups ... that will be the case once again when the Revs (9-7-6, 33 pts.) and Chivas USA (10-9-3, 33 pts.) meet at The Home Depot Center on Sunday afternoon ... not only are the clubs tied on points, but they've played the same amount of games (a league-low 22) and will be desperate to gain an edge on the other in the quest for a playoff spot ... because the first tie-breaker for the postseason is head-to-head record, the Revs can earn an additional advantage over Chivas USA by sweeping the season series with a win on Sunday.

VISITORS NOT WELCOME

Home-field advantage has been critical in the regular-season series between the Revolution and Chivas USA, with the road team earning a win just once in nine all-time meetings ... luckily for the Revs, that lone victory by the visitors occurred in their most recent trip to face the Goats at The Home Depot Center, where they'll square off against Chivas USA on Sunday afternoon ... behind the strength of goals by Kenny Mansally and Taylor Twellman, New England held on for a 2-1 win over the Goats on May 11, 2008 ... that victory improved the Revolution's regular-season road record against Chivas USA to 1-2-1, to go along with a 4-0-1 mark at home ... the Revs did play one additional road match against Chivas USA in the SuperLiga 2008 group stage, playing to a 1-1 draw at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Stadium on July 20, 2008.

SECOND-HALF FIREWORKS

Late goal-scoring has been a common theme for the Revolution this season, as the club has scored 21 of its 28 goals (75 percent) in the second half entering this week's action ... remarkably, New England's propensity for second-half scoring is even more prominent against Chivas USA, as the Revs have scored 11 of their 14 total goals (79 percent) against the Goats in the final 45 minutes ... entering Sunday's contest, the Revolution has scored seven consecutive goals against Chivas USA in the second half and hasn't scored a first-half goal in the series since Kenny Mansally's 18th-minute strike in a 2-1 win on May 11, 2008 ... Taylor Twellman scored in the 59th minute of that match before the Revs scored four second-half goals in a 4-0 win on Sept. 11, 2008, and two second-half goals in a 2-0 win on July 19, 2009.

SWEEPING UP

After earning a 2-0 win in the season's first meeting on July 19 at Gillette Stadium, the Revolution will be looking for its second consecutive series sweep over Chivas USA on Sunday afternoon at The Home Depot Center ... the Revs won both meetings with the Goats in 2008: 2-1 on May 11 at The Home Depot Center, and 4-0 on Sept. 11 at Gillette Stadium ... if New England completes another sweep over Chivas USA, it would mark just the third time in club history that the Revolution swept any team in consecutive seasons ... the Revs went 4-0-0 against the LA Galaxy in 2006-07, while they won all four meetings with FC Dallas from 2007-08 ... the Revolution has never swept an opponent for three straight years, though they will have that opportunity when they visit FC Dallas on Sept. 30.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

After finishing their season-long three-game home stand with a record of 2-1-0, the Revs will hit the road for five of their remaining eight games, beginning with Sunday afternoon's visit to Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center ... despite winning its season opener in San Jose, the Revolution struggled away from home for the first half of 2009, going 0-4-3 in seven road games from March 28 - July 4 ... the Revs have turned it around recently, however, winning their last two games away from home in two of the most difficult road environments in the league: 1-0 in Houston on July 25, and 1-0 in Seattle on Aug. 20 ... overall, New England is 3-4-3 on the road and will be looking to raise that record to .500 against Chivas USA.

GO WEST: REVS HAVE SUCCESS ON THE LEFT COAST

While the Revolution's overall road record (3-4-3) hasn't been sparkling this season, the club has had a surprising amount of success on the west coast ... the cross-country travel and three-hour time difference often makes it difficult for teams to win on the opposite coast, but the Revs have gone 2-1-0 in three games in the Pacific Time Zone in 2009 ... they began the season with a 1-0 win in San Jose (March 21), while they earned a 1-0 win over Seattle (Aug. 20) in their most recent road trip ... New England's only loss on the west coast this season was to the LA Galaxy, 1-0, on July 4 ... the Revs also went 2-1-0 in the Pacific Time Zone in 2008.

JOSEPH SUSPENDED FOR SUNDAY'S GAME

All-Star midfielder and MVP candidate Shalrie Joseph will be suspended for the Revolution's match against Chivas USA on Sunday afternoon after he was red-carded in New England's last game against the Kansas City Wizards ... Joseph was shown a straight red card by referee Jasen Anno in the 23rd minute of the 4-2 loss following a challenge on Wizards midfielder Jack Jewsbury ... it was Joseph's first red card since Aug. 9, 2008, when he received two cautions in a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Fire ... one of New England's top scorers with six goals and eight assists, Joseph has missed two regular-season games this year because of a knee injury, and the Revs went 0-1-1 and failed to score a goal in his absence ... not coincidentally, Joseph's return from injury against Chivas USA on July 19 sparked the Revolution's recent 5-1-1 run, which ended with last weekend's loss to the Wizards.

JANKAUSKAS SCORES STUNNER UPON RETURN FROM INJURY

With Shalrie Joseph set to miss Sunday's game against Chivas USA because of suspension, the Revs could rely even more heavily on target man Edgaras Jankauskas, who returned from injury and scored a remarkable goal against the Kansas City Wizards last weekend ... Jankauskas missed the wins over Real Salt Lake (Aug. 23) and the San Jose Earthquakes (Aug. 29) with a left adductor strain, but recovered to make his first start since Aug. 20 last Saturday night ... his stunning 64th-minute volley from 25 yards out gave the Revolution hope against the Wizards, but the 10-man Revs ultimately couldn't muster enough for a result ... Jankauskas' production has been undeniable since joining the Revs on July 1, recording two goals and one assist in six league appearances (four starts) and an additional goal in his only appearance in SuperLiga 2009.

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