The Revolution return to action on Wednesday night to take on Atlante in the SuperLiga 2008 Semifinals at Gillette Stadium. Photo: Getty Images

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After finishing group play atop the SuperLiga standings with two wins and a draw, the New England Revolution will continue its pursuit of the SuperLiga title by hosting Mexican side Atlante in a semifinal at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 30, at Gillette Stadium.

The game will be televised nationally in Spanish on Telefutura, while streaming video of the match will be available in both English and Spanish on mlsnet.com and superliga2008.com. ESPN Deportes Radio will carry the game nationally in Spanish, while local listeners can tune in to WRKO 680 AM for English audio.

The Revolution (2-0-1, 7 pts.) began SuperLiga play on Sunday, July 13, at Gillette Stadium, defeating reigning Mexican champion Santos Laguna, 1-0, in the SuperLiga 2008 Group B opener. New England then defeated defending SuperLiga champion Pachuca, 1-0, on Wednesday, July 16, before earning a 1-1 draw with MLS foe Chivas USA on Sunday, July 20 at Titan Stadium in Fullerton, Calif. The Revs’ seven points was a SuperLiga-leading mark, securing the club a spot in the tournament semifinals as the Group B winner.

Knowing that a win or a draw would secure the top spot in Group B, New England earned a 1-1 draw in its final SuperLiga group match against Chivas USA on Sunday, July 20, at Titan Stadium in Fullerton, Calif. Ante Razov put the hosts on the board first, netting an unassisted tally in the 59th minute. Shalrie Joseph answered for the Revolution with his first goal of the season, finishing a feed from Steve Ralston in the 78th minute to level the score. Matt Reis recorded a six-save effort to secure the 1-1 draw for the Revs.

After facing two unfamiliar Mexican clubs in group play, the Revolution will now line up against Atlante for the second time this season, after facing off against the defending Apertura 2007 champion in preseason play. New England and Atlante last met in Playa del Carmen on Mar. 6 during the Revolution’s preseason tour of Mexico. An unassisted tally by Javier Munoz Mustafa in the 38th minute secured a 1-0 victory for Atlante in a physical game that saw Jeff Larentowicz, Chris Albright and an Atlante player ejected in the 81st minute.

There is also a possibility that New England and Atlante could meet twice more this season following Wednesday night’s SuperLiga semifinal, as the teams could both be part of Group C of the CONCACAF Champions League. If the Revs win their home-and-away, aggregate goals series with Trinidad & Tobago’s Joe Public FC, then they would join Atlante in Group C of the competition along with the top Honduran seed and the winner of the Canada-Nicaragua qualifying series. If that is the case, New England would travel to Mexico to face Atlante on Tuesday, Sept. 30, while the Revolution would host Los Potros de Hierro on Tuesday, Oct. 21.

Atlante (2-1-0, 6 pts.) enters Wednesday’s semifinal after advancing on goal difference following a three-way tie atop the Group A table. Los Potros de Hierro – which translates to the Iron Colts – first dropped a 4-0 decision to the Houston Dynamo in its SuperLiga Group A opener on Saturday, July 12, at Robertson Stadium. Atlante rebounded with a 3-2 victory over D.C. United on Tuesday, July 15, at RFK Stadium and a 2-0 victory over CD Guadalajara on Saturday, July 19, at Buck Shaw Stadium.

Los Potros de Hierro opened their 2008 Apertura season on Saturday, July 26 by hosting Toluca at Andrés Quintana Roo Stadium in Cancún, where Atlante battled back from a one-goal deficit to secure a 2-1 victory. Diego De la Torre netted the first goal of the match in the 41st minute, giving Toluca an early lead. Giancarlos Maldonado converted a penalty kick in the 71st minute to level the score before Alan Zamora capitalized on Atlante’s 17-7 advantage in shots, netting the game winner in the 77th minute.

The winner of Wednesday night’s SuperLiga 2008 semifinal will advance to the tournament’s final, to be played on Tuesday, Aug. 5. If the Revs win on Wednesday night, they will host the final at Gillette Stadium against either the Houston Dynamo or Mexican side Pachuca, which are pitted against each other in the other semifinal. New England is very familiar with fellow MLS team Houston, as the two clubs have already met twice this season, with the Revs winning both matches. The Revolution is also no stranger to fellow SuperLiga Group B team Pachuca, which the Revs defeated, 1-0, behind a Khano Smith stoppage-time penalty kick on July 16 at Gillette Stadium.

New England is making its first appearance in SuperLiga – a premier tournament that features the best club teams from the United States and Mexico – after qualifying for the second annual tournament by amassing one of the four highest point totals in the 2007 MLS regular season.

SuperLiga is the second of three in-season tournaments for the Revs this year. The club has already begun its defense of its U.S. Open Cup title in the 2008 U.S. Open Cup tournament, defeating the Richmond Kickers, 3-0, in the third round and Crystal Palace Baltimore on penalty kicks in the quarterfinal. New England is also slated to begin play in the CONCACAF Champions League in late August with a two-game play-in series against Joe Public FC of Trinidad & Tobago.

SuperLiga began with eight clubs – four each from the top-flight leagues of the United States and Mexico – all aiming to become the singular champion of North America. The club that emerges as the SuperLiga champion will take home $1 million in prize money, the largest purse in North American soccer history.

Heading into this week’s MLS action, the Revs (10-4-3, 33 pts.) are the top team in all of Major League Soccer, leading the Eastern Conference by two points.

The Revolution’s most recent MLS match was Friday, July 4, against the Los Angeles Galaxy at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The Revs battled to a 2-1 victory over the Galaxy behind a pair of first-half goals by Adam Cristman, reaffirming their place as the top team in the league.

Cristman and Ralston are currently tied for the Revolution team lead with six goals in the regular-season, while Ralston’s four assists are a club-best mark. Reis has played every minute of every MLS regular-season match so far, recording five shutouts and a 1.12 goals against average.

The Revolution will not return to MLS regular-season action until Aug. 9 when the team hosts the Chicago Fire at 7:30 p.m. at Gillette Stadium.