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MLS New England Revolution

Revs head north of the border looking to end their winless skid against Toronto FC on Saturday after

May 18, 2009 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Winless since April 4 following a second consecutive draw this past weekend, the New England Revolution will train in Foxborough three times this week before visiting Eastern Conference rival Toronto FC at BMO Field on Saturday, May 23.

The Revs will train on the Lower Practice Field at Gillette Stadium 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: May 18-May 24

Monday, May 18 - OFF

Tuesday, May 19 - Training on Lower Practice Field (Gillette Stadium), 10 a.m.

Wednesday, May 20 - Training on Lower Practice Field (Gillette Stadium), 10 a.m.

Thursday, May 21 - Training on Lower Practice Field (Gillette Stadium), 10 a.m.

Friday, May 22 - Travel to Toronto

Saturday, May 23 - at Toronto FC (BMO Field, Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 4 p.m. ET ... TV: TV38 ... Radio: WEEI Radio Network

Sunday, May 24 - Return to Boston

NEW ENGLAND VS. TORONTO SERIES INFORMATION

The Revolution has never lost to Toronto FC in the brief five-game series, going 3-0-2.

New England and Toronto have played to draws in both previous meetings at BMO Field (2-2 on Oct. 20, 2007; 1-1 on Aug. 23, 2008) ... the Revs are 3-0-0 against TFC at Gillette Stadium and have outscored the Reds, 9-1, in those three matches.

Saturday afternoon's match will be the first of two regular-season meetings between New England and Toronto this season, and the only one at BMO Field ... the season series will conclude on Aug. 1, when the Revs will host TFC at Gillette Stadium.

The Revolution won the 2008 season series, 1-0-1 ... New England earned a 2-1 victory at Gillette Stadium on June 28 and a 1-1 draw at BMO Field on Aug. 23.

The Revs have outscored Toronto, 12-4, in the five-game series ... New England has balanced its attack, scoring seven goals in the first half and five in the second half, while all four of Toronto's goals have been scored following the halftime break.

In both previous visits to BMO Field, the Revs have taken leads into the halftime break only to concede second-half goals and finish with draws ... the Revs led by two goals on Oct. 20, 2007, but allowed a pair of second-half goals to finish level at 2-2, while they also led at halftime on Aug. 23, 2008, only to concede another second-half goal for a 1-1 draw.

Only one TFC player (Carl Robinson) has played in all five games against New England ... by comparison, four Revs have appeared in all five games against Toronto ... those players are Jay Heaps, Shalrie Joseph, Jeff Larentowicz and Wells Thompson (NOTE: Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston were unavailable to play against Toronto on June 23, 2007, as they were with the U.S. National Team as it played in the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in Chicago).

PLAYER NOTES VS. TORONTO

Taylor Twellman is New England's leading scorer against Toronto, having notched four goals in just four appearances (three starts). Steve Ralston has struck for two goals and a team-leading three assists in just four appearances against TFC ... both of Ralston's goals came in the Revs' 2-1 win on June 28, 2008, earning him Player of the Week honors for Week 14 last season.

Pat Phelan was originally drafted by Toronto in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft (10th overall), but was traded to New England on June 4, 2008, before making a first-team appearance for the Reds. Chris Tierney's only career assist came at BMO Field last season, as the Wellesley, Mass., native assisted on Taylor Twellman's goal in the 1-1 draw on Aug. 23.

Matt Reis is 3-0-1 with a 0.75 goals against average and two shutouts in four career appearances against Toronto ... he missed the most recent meeting on Aug. 23, 2008, while suffering from a right adductor strain.

LAST MEETING New England 1, Toronto 1

August 23, 2008 - BMO Field (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

Taylor Twellman gave the Revolution the lead with his 95th career goal late in the first half, but Chad Barrett evened the score in the 66th minute as the teams each earned one point ... then-rookie Chris Tierney earned his first career assist on Twellman's 35th-minute goal, sending a curling cross to the back post where Twellman finished a close-range header ... Barrett equalized midway through the second half, settling Rohan Ricketts' left-wing cross with one touch and firing a shot into the back of the net ... former Rev Doug Warren filled in at goalkeeper for New England, making three saves in place of the injured Matt Reis (R adductor strain).

NEWS & NOTES

REVOLUTION TO HOST AWAY GAME VIEWING PARTY ON SATURDAY

Revolution fans who can't make the trip north of the border for Saturday afternoon's match against Toronto FC can join fellow supporters for a team-sponsored away game viewing party at The Banshee in Dorchester (934 Dorchester Ave.) ... kickoff for the match is set for 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 23 ... representatives from the Revolution will be on hand, while the Rev Girls will also be there with prizes and giveaways for all those in attendance.

REVS REACH SEASON'S QUARTER MARK IN SOLID POSITION

Now eight games into the 2009 season following this past weekend's 1-1 draw with Colorado (May 16), the New England Revolution is just past the quarter mark of its 30-game, regular-season schedule ... the Revolution currently occupies fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 2-2-4 (10 pts.), but with games in hand, the Revs would be in the thick of the race for the conference's top spot should they win those games ... New England is just five points out of first place in the East and has one game in hand on first-place Chicago (3-0-6, 15 pts.) and two games in hand on the other three teams ahead of them in the standings: D.C. United (3-1-6, 15 pts.), Kansas City (4-4-2, 14 pts.) and Toronto (3-3-4, 13 pts.).

ON THE ROAD AGAIN, REVS SEE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

Before the Revolution finally gets to play its first back-to-back home games of the season against D.C. United (May 30) and the New York Red Bulls (June 7), the club will have to hit the road one more time to visit Toronto FC on Saturday afternoon (May 23) at BMO Field ... the Revs have played a league-low three home games this season, but their respectable record of 1-1-3 on the road has kept the them in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference ... the Revolution will have to continue its impressive road form against Toronto, a club that will be hosting its seventh game of the season at BMO Field, where TFC is currently 2-2-2.

REVS LOOKING TO SNAP FIVE-GAME WINLESS RUN ...

Despite a pair of hard-fought draws in their last two matches, the Revs enter Saturday afternoon's match against Toronto FC (May 23) carrying a five-game winless run, marking the second-longest active streak in the league (San Jose, six games) ... New England began the season with two wins in its first three games, but hasn't earned a victory since a 2-1 win over FC Dallas in the home opener on April 4, going 0-2-3 since that time.

... AGAINST A TEAM THEY'VE NEVER LOST TO ...

New England has dominated the very brief all-time series with Toronto FC, going 3-0-2 in five meetings since TFC entered the league as an expansion club in 2007 ... the Revs have outscored Toronto, 12-4, in those five matches, using a balanced attack with seven goals in the first half and five goals in the second half ... meanwhile, Toronto FC has scored all four of its goals against New England after the halftime break.

... BUT IN A PLACE THEY'VE NEVER WON

Although the Revolution has never lost to Toronto FC, the club has also never won at BMO Field, TFC's home stadium and the site of Saturday afternoon's meeting (May 23) ... all three of New England's victories against Toronto have been at Gillette Stadium, where the Revs have outscored TFC, 9-1 ... meanwhile, the clubs two meetings at BMO Field have both ended in draws (2-2 on Oct. 20, 2007; 1-1 on Aug. 23, 2008).

LATE LEADS NO ASSURANCE AT BMO FIELD

In both of the club's previous visits to BMO Field in Toronto, the Revolution has taken a lead into the halftime break only to see TFC erase the deficit in the second half and earn a draw ... in the first meeting between the teams at BMO Field on Oct. 20, 2007, former Rev Michael Parkhurst's 60-yard wonder goal gave New England a 1-0 halftime lead, while Taylor Twellman's 47th-minute strike pushed the visitors' lead to 2-0 ... however, Collin Samuel made the score 2-1 before Danny Dichio netted the equalizer deep into second-half stoppage time to earn Toronto a 2-2 draw ... in the most recent meeting on Aug. 23, 2008, Twellman's 35th-minute goal once again provided a 1-0 halftime lead, but Chad Barrett scored in the 66th minute to provide the final 1-1 scoreline.

A RIVALRY IS BORN

New England and Toronto have met just five times since the Canadian side joined Major League Soccer as an expansion team in 2007, marking the fewest number of games the Revs have played against any MLS team besides current expansion club Seattle Sounders FC, which New England has yet to play ... however, a rivalry has quickly developed, as Toronto is the third-closest team to the Revs in terms of geographical distance (behind traditional rivals New York and D.C.) ... also stoking the heightened competition are the teams' current positions in the Eastern Conference standings, where Toronto (3-3-4, 13 pts.) sits one spot ahead of New England (2-2-4, 10 pts.) in fourth place.

DEFENDING THE FORT

Despite fielding five different combinations along the backline in the first eight games of the season and playing without first-choice goalkeeper Matt Reis for five games because of injury, the Revolution's young defense has held up admirably ... at first glance, the numbers don't look stellar, as New England has conceded 13 goals in eight games for a goals against average of 1.63, 12th-best in the league of 15 teams ... however, without the club-record 6-0 loss to Real Salt Lake (April 25), the Revs have allowed just seven goals in their other seven games for a goals against average of 1.00, which would be fourth-best in the league.

REVOLUTION'S SUPERLIGA DEFENSE BEGINS IN JUNE

The Revolution will begin defense of its SuperLiga crown on Sunday, June 21, when the team commences play in the group stage of SuperLiga 2009 at Gillette Stadium ... New England, seeded second among the four MLS teams in the tournament, joins the top-seeded Chicago Fire, third-seeded Chivas USA and fourth-seeded Kansas City Wizards as the MLS representatives ... the four teams from the Mexican Primera División are No. 1 San Luis, No. 2 Santos Laguna, No. 3 Tigres UANL and No. 4 Atlas ... the Revs will host all three of their group-play matches at Gillette Stadium, including games against Santos Laguna (Sunday, June 21 at 6:30 p.m.), the Kansas City Wizards (Wednesday, June 24 at 7 p.m.) and Atlas (Sunday, June 28 at 4:30 p.m.) ... the SuperLiga 2009 semifinals will take place on July 15, and the final will be played on Aug. 5.

MLS FUTBOLITO COMING TO GILLETTE STADIUM ON JUNE 21

Futbolito, the official 4-v-4 tournament of Major League Soccer, returns to the New England area on Sunday, June 21 ... presented locally by MetroPCS, Futbolito will be hosted by the Revolution at Gillette Stadium, marking the first time in the event's 13-year history that Futbolito will be played on an actual MLS stadium field ... the tournament is being run in conjunction with the Revs' opening match in SuperLiga 2009 against Mexican club Santos Laguna ... MLS Futbolito is the largest touring multicultural event hosted by a U.S. professional sports league, and is a series of all-day events targeting the League's growing fan base ... registration is currently open at MLSfutbolito.com, while fans can also visit the web site or call 1-888-MLS-FUTBOLITO for tournament rules and information.

Check out the New England Revolution Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from May 18, 2009


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