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New England Revolution vs. Santos Laguna (MEX)
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
6:30 p.m. ET
TV: Telefutura (Spanish), superliga2009.com (English)
Radio: ESPN Deportes Radio (Spanish), WEEI Radio Network (English)

OVERVIEW

With the MLS regular-season schedule on hold, the New England Revolution is set to defend its SuperLiga title beginning this Sunday, June 21, when the club takes on Santos Laguna of the Mexican Primera División in its first game of group play for the 2009 competition. Sunday’s match will mark the first of three games for the Revs in a single week, all of which will be played in front of their home crowd at Gillette Stadium. Coming off a tough road loss in Kansas City last weekend, the Revs enter SuperLiga 2009 in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 4-4-4, while the “Guerreros” (Warriors) finished their most recent Mexican season with a record of 5-5-7.

Santos Laguna and New England have met once before, in the opening game of the SuperLiga competition in 2008. In that game, Revolution forward Kheli Dube scored the game’s only goal, while Matt Reis made two saves to record a shutout and guide New England to a 1-0 win.

Last year, the Revs gained momentum from their opening victory over Santos and went on to beat Pachuca, 1-0, and tie Chivas USA, 1-1, placing them atop their group with a record of 2-0-1 (7 pts.) and earning them a spot in the semifinals. Battling Mexican power Atlante in a fiery matchup, the Revolution pulled out a 1-0 victory to propel the club to the SuperLiga 2008 final. There, New England played MLS rival Houston to a 2-2 draw through regulation and two extra time periods before eventually winning, 6-5 on penalty kicks, to secure the club’s second-ever cup championship.

Not only will the Revolution be defending its team title in SuperLiga, but two individual Revs players will also be attempting to match their standout efforts of one year ago. Shalrie Joseph was the leading goal scorer in SuperLiga 2008 with three goals, while Matt Reis was named the State Farm Portero Supremo (Supreme Goalkeeper) after finishing first in the competition in every goalkeeping category.

• New England and Santos have met only once before ... in their previous meeting in July of last year, the Revs earned a 1-0 victory during the group stage of SuperLiga 2008 … that game marked New England’s first-ever competitive match against a Mexican club team.
• In SuperLiga 2008, Santos Laguna finished last in Group B, going 0-2-1 (1 pt.), while New England finished first in that group with a record of 2-0-1 (7 pts.).
• Santos Laguna, which played its first match in 1983, is the third-youngest team in the Mexican Primera División … the Guerreros were promoted to Primera División for the first time in 1988 and have not been relegated out of the top flight since.
• Italian National Team midfielder Mauro Camoranesi began his professional career with Santos during the 1995-96 season.
• Striker Jared Borgetti, the all-time leading goal scorer for the Mexico National Team, called Santos home for seven seasons (1996-2004).
• Santos Laguna has won three Primera División titles; Invierno 1996, Verano 2001 and Clausura 2008.
• With their 3-1 loss to the Kansas City Wizards last weekend, the Revs dropped back to .500 (4-4-4, 16 pts.) after briefly jumping above the mark with back-to-back wins.
• After playing last weekend against Kansas City (June 13), the Revs won’t return to MLS regular-season action until July 4, when they’ll take on the LA Galaxy at The Home Depot Center … the break from the MLS schedule is the longest for the Revs since their participation in SuperLiga 2008 last July/August
• Beginning with Sunday night’s SuperLiga match against Santos Laguna (June 21) and ending with a regular-season contest against the LA Galaxy (July 4), the Revs will play five games in a 14-day span … that stretch will include three SuperLiga group stage matches, one U.S. Open Cup game and an MLS regular-season match.
• With five goals on the season, Shalrie Joseph is just one shy of his career-high mark (6) that he set in 2006, and the Revs haven’t yet reached the midway point of the 2009 campaign.

INJURY REPORT (As of Tuesday, June 16)

New England Revolution
DOUBTFUL: Chris Albright (L lateral meniscus surgery)
OUT: Gabriel Badilla (bulging disk), Mauricio Castro (L hamstring strain), Taylor Twellman (neck/concussive symptoms)

PLAYERS TO WATCH

New England Revolution

Shalrie Joseph – Not historically recognized as a goal scorer, Joseph helped lead the Revs’ to the SuperLiga 2008 title with three goals, which led the competition … with the powerful Grenadian in fine goal-scoring form this season, the Revolution will rely on his offensive contributions once again.

Matt Reis – Reis’ defensive performance in the net played a big part in the Revs’ SuperLiga title run last year, as he allowed just three goals in five matches and recorded three shutouts … overall, Reis finished SuperLiga 2008 as the leader in every goalkeeping category en route to being honored as the State Farm Portero Supremo (Supreme Goalkeeper).

Santos Laguna

Oswaldo Sánchez – Santos Laguna’s goalkeeper and captain has been with the club since 2007, helping the Guerreros reach the Primera División quarterfinals in his first year with the team and guiding them to a league title in 2008 … an experienced veteran, Sánchez has been part of three FIFA World Cups as the netminder for the Mexico National Team.

Daniel Ludueña – The 26-year-old indigenous Argentinian enters SuperLiga 2009 as Santos’ leader in both goals (5) and assists (5) in the most recent Primera División season.

PREGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH STEVE NICOL

On what he is anticipating for SuperLiga 2009 …
“Well, hopefully things will turn out the same as last year. Obviously, losing this weekend wasn’t ideal, but ten men, playing in a tough place; we’ll get over that and move on. But, it would be nice to win. It is always good to win whatever it is. So the plan is to win on Sunday.”

On how he feels the team can build on the SuperLiga experience …
“We want to play well, pass the ball well, and do all the stuff we try to do anyway. In some ways this is a break from MLS play, but on the other hand we want to win, so we need to concentrate and do all the good things.”

On approaching a Mexican team differently than an MLS team …
“I do somewhat, yes. It’s a different style of play. They are certainly not as much up and at ’em as much as MLS is. It is important to keep the ball in front of us and not dive in. They do a lot of one-twos and sharp stuff for the final stuff so it is slightly different.”

GOALKEEPER MATT REIS

On how being the defending SuperLiga champions affects how the team approaches the competition …
“It’s always nice to be able to defend your title. It’s an important tournament, especially being the first MLS team to win it. Also, it’s always a good chance to get to play against foreign competition. You want to prove yourself and show that you’re the best.”

On the difference between playing an MLS opponent and a Mexican opponent …
“The difference is the style of play. Usually, when you face Mexican teams they like to do shorter passing. They are very good at possessing the ball, so you don’t want to get yourself stretched in terms of leaving open spaces. Against MLS opponents, it’s usually a little bit faster and more physical. Mexican teams are a little bit more technical and cheeky.”

On what the Revs need to do going forward in the season …
“We have to be mentally stronger and right now we’re not doing that. A lot of the games we’ve lost have been our mistakes and we have to stop doing that. We have to realize coming into every game that from minute one to minute 90-plus we have to be ready to give everything for the team.”