MLS New England Revolution

Revolution update

Published on September 15, 2008 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


NEW ENGLAND VS. COLORADO SERIES INFORMATION

Saturday night's match is the second and final meeting of the 2008 regular season between the Revs and Rapids, and the only one at Dick's Sporting Goods Park ... Colorado won the first meeting, 1-0, on April 12 at Gillette Stadium, despite being out-shot by New England, 17-4.

Colorado leads the all-time, regular-season series between the two teams, 16-11-4.

New England is just 3-11-1 in Colorado, including a 3-0 loss in the only previous meeting between the two teams at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Aug. 16 of last season.

The Revs are 8-5-3 against the Rapids in Foxborough, including a 5-2-2 mark at Gillette Stadium.

The Revolution hasn't won in Colorado since June 15, 2002, when the club earned a 2-1 victory at INVESCO Field ... New England hasn't earned a road-point against the Rapids since May 7, 2004, when the teams played to a 0-0 draw ... the Revs have lost on their last four trips to Colorado and have been outscored, 9-2, in those four matches.

Colorado's 1-0 victory in the season's first meeting on April 12 was just the club's second win at Gillette Stadium ... prior to that victory, the Rapids were 1-5-2 at Gillette Stadium and hadn't won in Foxborough since July 24, 2002.

The Revs have not won the season series against Colorado since 2001, which was the first time since New England won the first two season series in 1996 and 1997 ... the teams have drawn the season series in five of the last six years, with the Rapids winning the series in 2005 ... New England needs a win in Saturday night's match to draw the season series once again - a loss or tie will give the Rapids the series victory.

Colorado won seven straight matches between the teams from August 1997 through May 2000.

New England scored six goals against Colorado on Sept. 18, 2004 - the most the team has ever scored in a single-game ... the Revs won, 6-1, which also equals their largest margin of victory.

The Revs and Rapids have never met outside of MLS regular-season action.

PLAYER NOTES VS. COLORADO

Taylor Twellman leads the Revs with nine career goals against the Rapids, while he's also added three assists in 12 appearances.

Steve Ralston has six assists against Colorado in 13 games as a member of the Revolution, and seven in his 13-year career ... he has also added three goals against the Rapids during his time in New England.

Jay Heaps has played more games (18) against Colorado than any other player in Revs history ... he has recorded four assists against the Rapids.

Matt Reis is 3-5-1 with a 1.23 goals against average and two shutouts in his Revolution career against the Rapids.

LAST MEETING

Colorado 1, New England 0

April 12, 2008 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

Although the Revs out-shot the Rapids, 17-4, Colorado midfielder Nick LaBrocca was the only player to find the back of the net as the visitors earned their first victory at Gillette Stadium since 2002 and snapped a seven-game winless streak in Foxborough ... LaBrocca scored the game's only goal in the 68th minute, directing in a header from eight yards out after Jose Burciaga Jr.'s outswinging free kick found him free in the box ... the Revolution managed a 9-2 advantage in shots on goal, but Rapids goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul stopped all nine shots to preserve the shutout.

NEWS & NOTES

REVS CLOSE THE GAP, INCH CLOSER TO FIRST PLACE

The Revolution's 4-0 victory over Chivas USA last Thursday night - coupled with Columbus' 1-1 draw with Toronto FC on Saturday - has pulled the club within three points of the first-place Crew in the Eastern Conference standings ... New England (12-7-5, 41 pts.) had trailed Columbus (13-6-5, 44 pts.) by five points entering the weekend, but the gap has closed to three with just six games remaining in the regular season - one of which is against the Crew on Sept. 27 at Gillette Stadium ... additionally, Chicago's 2-0 loss to Colorado leaves the Revs alone in second place in the Eastern Conference, while Houston's 1-1 draw with San Jose keeps the Revolution in second place in the overall MLS standings.

EIGHT IS ENOUGH

After finishing a stretch of 11 games in 38 days with last Thursday night's 4-0 victory over Chivas USA (Sept. 11), the Revolution is now in the midst of an eight-day stretch without a match before returning to action on Saturday night (Sept. 20) at Colorado ... after taking four days (Friday through Monday) to rest and recover, the Revs will finally have the opportunity this week to string three training sessions together for the first time in more than two months ... additionally, the eight days will be crucial for those players still recovering from injuries, as the Revs aim to be as healthy as possible heading into the playoff push.

COLORADO HISTORICALLY UNKIND TO THE REVS

Of all the road trips in Major League Soccer, the visits to Colorado have historically been the worst for the Revs in terms of results ... New England is 3-11-1 all-time in Colorado for a winning percentage of .233 - the club's worst road winning percentage against any team currently in the league ... the only place the Revs had a tougher time winning was in Miami, as they went 0-6-2 against the now-defunct Fusion ... the Revolution is hoping that a change of scenery will alter its fortunes, as the Rapids moved into Dick's Sporting Goods Park last season - however, the Revs' first trip to DSG Park was no different, as Colorado earned a 3-0 victory on Aug. 16 of last season.

REVS AIM TO REPEAT COLORADO'S FEAT

With a win in the season's first meeting on April 12 at Gillette Stadium, the Rapids snapped a seven-match winless streak in Foxborough and earned their first victory at the facility since 2002 ... New England will hope to do the same on Saturday night in Colorado, as the Revs are 0-5-1 in their last six road games against the Rapids and have never won at Dick's Sporting Goods Park - though they've only played there once.

THE COUNTDOWN CONTINUES: TWELLMAN THREE GOALS SHY OF 100

After scoring his 97th career goal on Sept. 11 against Chivas USA, Taylor Twellman is now just three goals shy of becoming the fifth player in Major League Soccer history to score 100 regular-season goals ... Twellman is currently ranked fifth in MLS career goals, four behind fourth-place Jeff Cunningham (101), currently of FC Dallas, and 25 shy of D.C.'s Jaime Moreno (122), the league's all-time leading goal scorer ... the U.S. National Team member has scored his 97 goals in just 166 games, while all four players ahead of him on the charts have made at least 250 career appearances ... Twellman is on pace to become the league's youngest 100-goal scorer.

STRIKE THAT ... REVERSE IT

After losing back-to-back games by 4-0 score-lines, the Revs reversed the trend and earned a 4-0 victory over Chivas USA last Thursday night at Gillette Stadium ... New England had dropped consecutive 4-0 decisions to Joe Public FC (on Sept. 2 in a CONCACAF Champions League match) and the Columbus Crew (on Sept. 6 in Columbus) before returning the favor to Chivas USA ... the string of 4-0 results prompted head coach Steve Nicol to say that "four-nil seems to be the flavor of the month."

RALSTON RETURNS IN A BIG WAY

After missing two MLS matches with back spasms, Steve Ralston returned the Revolution's starting lineup last Thursday night against Chivas USA and made an immediate impact in the club's 4-0 win ... the New England captain recorded one goal and two assists, including his league-leading fifth game-winning assist on Taylor Twellman's 53rd-minute winner ... the veteran midfielder leads the Revs in both goals (7) and assists (7), while he's one of just three players - along with LA's Landon Donovan and D.C.'s Jaime Moreno - to break into the league's top 10 in both goals and assists.

MANSALLY'S BACK, TOO

Forward Kenny Mansally entered as a 70th-minute substitute in the Revolution's 4-0 win over Chivas USA last Thursday night, marking his first league appearance since June 28 against Toronto and his first appearance in all competitions since the SuperLiga 2008 Final on Aug. 5 ... Mansally - who missed five MLS matches with a sprained right ankle - gave the Revs a boost at the forward position, as fellow strikers Kheli Dube (R adductor strain) and Adam Cristman (season-ending R toe surgery) have also been unavailable, leaving Taylor Twellman as the only healthy striker prior to Mansally's return.

FOUR SCORE

Taylor Twellman, Jeff Larentowicz, Khano Smith and Steve Ralston each scored in the Revolution's 4-0 victory over Chivas USA last Thursday night at Gillette Stadium, marking just the fifth time in club history that the Revolution had four different goal scorers in the same game ... the last time the club had four different goal scorers in one game was on June 25, 2005, when four Revs scored in a 4-2 victory over the MetroStars ... additionally, all four goals were scored in the second half, tying the Revolution's club record for goals scored in a half.

BADILLA RETURNS FROM NATIONAL TEAM DUTY

Defender Gabriel Badilla is back in New England after missing the Revolution's last two matches while with the Costa Rica National Team for a pair of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers ... Badilla was on the bench for both qualifiers but did not appear in either, as Costa Rica defeated Suriname, 7-0, on Sept. 6, and Haiti, 3-1, on Sept. 10 ... the 24-year-old missed the Revolution's 4-0 loss at Columbus on Sept. 6 and the club's 4-0 win over Chivas USA on Sept. 11.

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Major League Soccer Stories from September 15, 2008


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