MLS New England Revolution

Revolution Update

Published on June 8, 2009 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Currently tied for third place in the Eastern Conference following back-to-back wins, the New England Revolution will look to make it three straight when the club visits the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday, June 13. The Revs will train in Foxborough three times this week in preparation for the Eastern Conference showdown.

The Revs will train on the Lower Practice Field at Gillette Stadium (weather permitting) on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with each session scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. 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 11:30 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 8-14

Monday, June 8 - OFF

Tuesday, June 9 - Training on Lower Practice Field (Gillette Stadium), 10 a.m.

Wednesday, June 10 - Training on Lower Practice Field (Gillette Stadium), 10 a.m.

Thursday, June 11 - Training on Lower Practice Field (Gillette Stadium), 10 a.m.

Friday, June 12 - Travel to Kansas City

Saturday, June 13 - at Kansas City Wizards (CommunityAmerica Ballpark, Kansas City, Kan.), 8:30 p.m. ET ... TV: TV38 ... Radio: WEEI Radio Network

Sunday, June 14 - Return to Boston

NEW ENGLAND VS. KANSAS CITY SERIES INFORMATION

Kansas City leads the all-time, regular-season series between the two teams, 17-11-7 ... the Revs are 6-8-3 on the road against the Wizards, while they're 5-9-4 at home. This will be just the Revolution's third-ever trip to CommunityAmerica Ballpark, which is currently serving as the Wizards' temporary home while a soccer-specific stadium is built ... New England was 1-1-0 in a pair of games at the facility in 2008. Saturday night's match will be the first of three meetings between the Revs and Wizards in the 2009 regular season - and the first of four overall - while it's the only one at CommunityAmerica Ballpark ... New England will host Kansas City at Gillette Stadium twice later in the regular season (July 11 and Sept. 5). The Revs and Wizards will meet again just 11 days after Saturday night's regular-season matchup, as the clubs are set to square off in the group stage of SuperLiga 2009 on Wednesday, June 24, at Gillette Stadium ... that match will mark the first-ever meeting between New England and Kansas City outside of MLS regular-season action. Kansas City won the 2008 season series, 2-1-0 ... the teams split a pair of meetings at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, with the Revs earning a 3-1 win on April 9 and the Wizards responding with a 1-0 victory on Oct. 11 ... Kansas City won the only meeting at Gillette Stadium, 3-1, in the regular-season finale on Oct. 25. The Revs won six of their first 11 meetings with the Wizards in the all-time series, but New England has struggled against Kansas City since ... the Revolution is 5-12-7 in its last 24 meetings with the Wizards dating back to 2000. Despite the Revolution's historical struggles with the Wizards, the series has been evenly matched in recent years ... the clubs are 3-3-3 against each other in the last nine regular-season meetings dating back to 2006. PLAYER NOTES VS. KANSAS CITY

Taylor Twellman leads the Revs with five career goals against Kansas City in 16 appearances ... Twellman has also added three assists. Steve Ralston leads New England with 11 career assists against the Wizards, including six in 16 appearances with the Revs ... the last time Ralston faced the Wizards on Oct. 11, 2008, at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, the Revs' captain suffered a broken right fibula that ended his 2008 season. Shalrie Joseph has two goals and three assists in 16 appearances against the Wizards, marking his third-best offensive output against any MLS team. Kenny Mansally has one goal and one assist against Kansas City in just two appearances (one start) ... both came in the Revolution's 3-1 win on April 9, 2008. Matt Reis is 5-6-5 in his Revolution career against Kansas City with a 1.31 goals against average and four shutouts. LAST MEETING Kansas City 3, New England 1

October 25, 2008 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

Playing most of the game two men down after a pair of first-half red cards, the Revolution dropped a 3-1 decision to the Wizards in the 2008 regular-season finale ... Gabriel Badilla was shown the first red card in the 26th minute when he was whistled for a foul on Claudio Lopez in the box, and the Wizards forward converted the resulting penalty kick to give his side a 1-0 lead ... Khano Smith joined Badilla in the 42nd minute, as he was ejected for a tackle on Herculez Gomez ... Davy Arnaud scored the Wizards' second goal in the 53rd minute, while the lead was pushed to 3-0 in the 88th minute when Michael Parkhurst scored an own goal ... Jeff Larentowicz pulled a goal back for New England in the 90th minute with a long-range shot.

NEWS & NOTES

REVS GO BACK-TO-BACK FOR FIRST TIME IN 2009

With wins over two of their biggest Eastern Conference rivals, D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls, the Revs have put together their first back-to-back wins of the season ... the Revolution entered its match against D.C. on May 30 carrying a six-game winless streak, but came from behind to earn a dramatic 2-1 victory ... the club then extended its success with a 4-0 win over the Red Bulls last night ... the two-game winning streak marks the Revolution's first back-to-back, regular-season wins in almost a full year (2-1 win vs. Toronto FC, June 28, 2008; 2-1 win at LA Galaxy, July 4, 2008).

A COMFORTABLE POSITION: REVS TIED FOR THIRD WITH GAMES IN HAND

Following two straight wins against Eastern Conference opponents, the Revolution (4-3-4, 16 pts.) is now tied for third place in the East with three other teams ... the Columbus Crew (3-2-7, 16 pts.), Kansas City Wizards (4-5-4, 16 pts.) and Toronto FC (4-5-4, 16 pts.) are all even on points with the Revs, while D.C. United (4-2-7, 19 pts.) and the Chicago Fire (5-2-6, 21 pts.) occupy the top two spots ... however, the Revolution holds an advantage as the club has games in hand on every other team in the conference, including multiple games in hand on every team except Columbus.

PUT ON YOUR SHOOTING BOOTS

After recording just one multiple-goal game in their first nine games of the season, the Revs have exploded for six goals in their last two matches, both wins ... the offensive outburst started with a dramatic 2-1 win over D.C. United on May 30 and continued with last night's 4-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls ... the Revs have now scored six goals in their last two games after scoring just eight goals in their first nine games of the season ... New England's four-goal total last night marked the club's greatest offensive output since the club earned a similar 4-0 win over Chivas USA on Sept. 11, 2008.

REVS LOOK TO ENTER SUPERLIGA ON A HIGH NOTE

The Revolution's match on Saturday night against the Kansas City Wizards (June 13) will mark the club's last MLS regular-season match for three weeks, as the club will break from the schedule to participate in SuperLiga 2009 ... the Revs will host SuperLiga group matches against Mexican clubs Santos Laguna (June 21) and Atlas (June 28), while they'll also take on Kansas City (June 24) in the competition ... the Revolution will return to MLS action on July 4, when the club visits the LA Galaxy at The Home Depot Center.

RECENT HISTORY SHOWS REVS AND WIZARDS ARE HARD TO SEPARATE

Although Kansas City has held a distinct upper hand over the Revolution in the all-time series history - the Wizards lead the series, 17-11-7 - the matchup has been much more competitive in recent years ... in the last nine meetings between the clubs dating back to 2006, the Revs and Wizards have gone 3-3-3 against each other ... the results during that span have come in spurts, as the clubs played to three straight draws before Kansas City earned a win ... the Revs then won three straight in the series before the Wizards won the two most recent meetings.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

Saturday night's meeting between the Revs and Wizards will be the first of at least four meetings between the two clubs in 2009 ... New England and Kansas City will play three MLS regular-season matches, including a pair of visits from the Wizards to Gillette Stadium on July 11 and Sept. 5 ... the teams will also square off in the group stage of SuperLiga 2009, as the Revs and Wizards join Mexican clubs Santos Laguna and Atlas in Group B of the competition ... the SuperLiga match between New England and Kansas City is set for June 24 at Gillette Stadium, just 11 days after Saturday night's meeting at CommunityAmerica Ballpark ... between June 13 and July 11, the Revs and Wizards will play three times in 29 days.

TWELLMAN BECOMES YOUNGEST-EVER TO 100 GOALS

Taylor Twellman led the way on an historic evening at Gillette Stadium last night, as the Revolution's all-time leading scorer became the youngest player in MLS history to reach 100 goals with his 57th-minute strike ... Twellman reached the century mark at 29 years, 100 days, besting Jeff Cunningham's previous mark (31 years, 360 days) ... Twellman, who also added his 101st goal later in the game, achieved the milestone in just 174 games, fewer than any of the previous four players to score 100 goals ... the forward has been limited to just two substitute appearances this season while battling on-going medical issues, including severe whiplash stemming from the blow to the head he received while scoring a goal against the LA Galaxy on Aug. 30, 2008.

HEAPS MAKES 300th GAME A MEMORABLE OCCASION

Defender Jay Heaps marked his 300th career appearance in style last night, scoring the game-winning goal in first-half stoppage time and later adding an assist in the Revolution's 4-0 win ... Heaps was honored in a brief pregame ceremony as he was presented with a commemorative ball by investor/operator Robert K. Kraft and head coach Steve Nicol, while the Massachusetts native also served as the club's captain in honor of his achievement ... Heaps became just the ninth player in MLS history to make 300 appearances, 229 of which have come with the Revolution.

REIS KEEPS 50th CLEAN SHEET

With three saves in the Revolution's 4-0 win over the New York Red Bulls last night, Matt Reis became the seventh goalkeeper in MLS history to record 50 career shutouts ... Reis earned his 49th career shutout in the season opener on March 21 but waited almost three months before reaching the half-century mark, as he his quest was briefly put on hold because of a pair of injuries ... after earning nine shutouts with the LA Galaxy (1998-2002), Reis has now kept 41 clean sheets during his stint with the Revolution.

RALSTON RETURNS TO COMMUNITYAMERICA BALLPARK FULLY FIT

When the Revolution visits the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, captain Steve Ralston could make his return to the stadium where his 2008 season ended ... Ralston suffered a broken right fibula early in the Revolution's 1-0 loss to the Wizards on Oct. 11, 2008, forcing the veteran midfielder to miss the last two games of the regular season and both MLS Cup Playoff matches ... with four goals and three assists in just seven appearances (five starts) this season, Ralston has enjoyed his return to the field in 2009.

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