Kenny Mansally looks to continue his hot play against the Rapids on Saturday night. Photo: Getty Images/MLS

Revolution Checkers Scarf Revolution 2010 Ladies Home Replica Jersey Revolution Full Armored Tee-Navy Girls Revs Wordmark Tee RevsWrap - 4/12/2008 Rapids 1, Revolution 0 Postgame Quotes: Colorado 1, Revolution 0

Currently sitting in a tie for first place in the Eastern Conference standings, the New England Revolution will be looking to remain perfect at home when the club hosts the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium.

The game will be televised lived on TV38 and will be available to radio listeners on the WEEI Radio Network on a taped delay at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET.

The Revolution (2-1-0, 6 pts.) returns to Foxborough after closing its brief two-game road trip with an impressive 3-1 win over previously undefeated Kansas City on Wednesday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Colorado’s (1-1-0, 3 pts.) most recent match was also at Kansas City, as the Rapids fell to the Wizards, 3-2, last Saturday afternoon.

New England entered Wednesday night’s match severely shorthanded – regular starters Taylor Twellman, Steve Ralston, Chris Albright and Wells Thompson all didn’t make the trip due to injuries, while Jeff Larentowicz was unavailable for selection while serving a mandatory one-game red-card suspension. As a result, 19-year-old Amaechi Igwe was handed his MLS debut with a start at left back, while second-year defensive midfielder Gary Flood made just his third career start.

An own goal from Wizards midfielder Jack Jewsbury put the Revs up, 1-0, in the 12th minute, but Jewsbury redeemed himself by converting a penalty kick in the 28th minute to even the score at 1-1. New England responded within five minutes through Sainey Nyassi, as the teenage Gambian turned home a great Khano Smith cross to record his second goal of the season. Nyassi’s fellow Gambian import, Kenny Mansally, gave the Revs some insurance with his first career MLS goal in the 40th minute to round out the scoring.

Colorado saw a two-goal comeback spoiled on its trip to Kansas City, as Wizards substitute Scott Sealy’s 87th-minute goal proved to be the game-winner. After a scoreless first half, the two teams exploded for five goals in the final 45 minutes. Kansas City defender Jimmy Conrad headed the Wizards into a 2-0 lead with goals in the 52nd and 54th minutes, but the Rapids fought back to tie the game with goals from Jose Burciaga Jr. (57th minute) and John DiRaimondo (68th minute). However, Sealy struck the late game-winner to hand Colorado its first loss of the season.

Saturday night’s showdown is the first of two meetings between the Revs and Rapids this season, and the only time that Colorado will visit Gillette Stadium in the 2008 regular season. The Revolution will travel to Commerce City, Colo., on Sept. 20 to battle the Rapids at their year-old home, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

The last meeting between the two sides took place on Sept. 29, 2007, when Smith’s 88th-minute goal and Matt Reis’ seven saves helped the Revs post a 1-0 victory over Colorado at Gillette Stadium. Smith latched on to Shalrie Joseph’s weighted pass and pushed past two defenders before poking a six-yard shot through Rapids goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul’s legs for the game-winner late in the match. The victory was extra meaningful for the Revolution, as it clinched at least second place in the Eastern Conference and home-field advantage in the conference semifinal series.

With the win in that match, New England earned a split of the regular-season series with Colorado, as the Rapids had previously defeated the Revs, 3-0, at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Aug. 16. It marked the second consecutive year that the two sides split the season series, with each team winning its matches at home.

Overall, Colorado has had the better of the Revolution in the all-time, regular-season series, holding a 15-11-4 advantage. However, the Revs are 8-4-3 against the Rapids in Foxborough, including a 5-0-2 mark in the past seven games played at Gillette Stadium. The last time a visiting team won a game in the series was on July 24, 2002, when the Rapids defeated the Revolution, 3-2, in their first-ever visit to Gillette Stadium.

The two teams have only drawn four times in the history of the series, but three of those four matches ended 0-0. New England and Colorado also played to a scoreless tie after regulation on Aug. 6, 1999, but the Rapids won via a shootout.

The Revolution will be without its top-two all-time scorers against the Rapids, Taylor Twellman (nine goals, three assists) and Steve Ralston (eight goals, seven assists), as both will once again be unavailable with injuries. Twellman underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on April 2 to repair a tear in his medial meniscus and is expected to miss approximately 6-8 weeks total, while Ralston dislocated his left shoulder in the season opener on March 29 and is expected to miss a total of 4-6 weeks while recovering.

Defensive midfielder Jeff Larentowicz returns from his one-game red-card suspension, but is listed as probable with a right ankle sprain. Also probable are Joe Franchino (right hamstring strain), Wells Thompson (left heel bone spur) and Spencer Wadsworth (left ankle sprain), while Chris Albright is still questionable with a left ankle bone bruise.

Colorado will be without the services of two of its usual starting defenders, as both Ugo Ihemelu (right hip) and Mike Petke (right foot) are currently out with injuries. Also missing for the Rapids will be forward Conor Casey (left knee) and backup goalkeeper Justin Hughes (left goin).

Reis has made 13 career starts against the Rapids, going 7-5-1 with a 1.15 goals against average and five shutouts.

The Revs will return to the road for their next match on Saturday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET, when they will face the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium. The game will be televised live nationally on HDNet and regionally on TV38, while the WEEI Radio Network will carry the game for radio listeners.

For more information, visit www.revolutionsoccer.net or call 1-877-GET REVS.