Shalrie Joseph and the Revs take on the Colorado Rapids this Saturday night at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Colorado Photo: Keith Nordstrom

Revs 2010/2011 Training Top Revolution 2009 Replica Home Jersey Toddler Shalrie Joseph Tee Preschool Revolution adidas Hoodie RevsTV: Colorado Preview Revolution 1, Colorado Rapids 1

The New England Revolution will make its final regular-season trip to face a Western Conference team when the club travels to Colorado to take on the Rapids on Saturday, Sept. 20, at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Last week, the Revs regained their form against Chivas USA with a 4-0 win at Gillette Stadium.

The game can be seen live on TV38 beginning at 9 p.m. ET (7 p.m. MT), while radio listeners can tune into the WEEI Radio Network for the all the action.

In its last match, the Revolution defeated Chivas USA, 4-0, for the club’s first victory since defeating D.C. United on Aug. 20. After a scoreless first half, the Revs got the game-winner courtesy of Taylor Twellman’s goal in the 53rd minute. Twellman and Steve Ralston combined on a give-and-go down the right side of the field. Ralston found Twellman cutting through the Chivas USA backline just outside the six-yard box and Twellman didn’t miss a step, as he redirected the ball past goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.

Twellman and Ralston would hook up again for the game’s final goal late in the match. In the 93rd minute, Twellman sent a long, cross-field pass to Ralston, who settled the ball on the left wing. After beating his defender by cutting towards goal, Ralston fired a right-footed shot off the far post and into the net for his team-leading seventh goal.

Jeff Larentowicz and Khano Smith scored the Revolution’s other two goals. Larentowicz increased the Revs’ lead to 2-0 when he fired a first-touch shot passed Kennedy in the 83rd minute. Ralston took a pass from Wells Thompson and dropped off a pass for Larentowicz, who finished the opportunity. Smith scored the game’s lone unassisted goal in the 91st minute when he burst past Chivas USA defender Bobby Burling and ripped a shot from the left side of the 18-yard box. Ralston finished the game with one goal and two assists, while Twellman recorded one goal and one assist in the victory.

After missing two games with back spasms, Ralston’s return to the Revs’ lineup provided an offensive spark. Having lost consecutive games by the score of 4-0, Ralston captained the Revs to a much-needed result.

“We got a couple of late goals to ice the game,” Ralston said. “But the end result – three points – is the most important thing whether it’s one nothing or four nothing, so I’ll take it either way.”

For his performance against Chivas USA, Ralston was named the MLS’ Player of the Week. It is the second time this season that Ralston has won the Player of the Week award.

“It’s nice [to be named the MLS’ Player of the Week],” Ralston said. “But the most important thing is that the team won. I’m just glad to be back, and being healthy, and being able to play.”

Ralston made his return to the Revolution lineup last week, and he hopes that others will be able to do the same.

“Hopefully, Kheli Dube is going to be ready to play, but having [Kenny] Mansally back and getting Gabriel [Badilla] back from his national team is definitely going to help our team,” Ralston said. “We have a little bit more depth and it’s nice to have everybody back at practice.”

The added depth and extra rest could be major factors in leading to the Revs taking something from Saturday night’s meeting with the Rapids. For the first time in more than two months, the Revs were able to string together a full week of training prior to this weekend’s game. Before getting eight days to prepare for Colorado, the Revs had played 11 games in 38 days. Ralston believes the time off before playing the Rapids was critical to help refocus the team.

“At this point in the season, having time off is going to help. We’ve been playing so many games that I felt like we kind of needed a little break, physically and mentally,” Ralston said. “To have a full week of training under our belts is going to be nice; it’s going to help us going into the game.”

The Rapids enter the game against the Revolution riding a two-game winning streak after defeating the Chicago Fire, 2-0, on Sunday. The victory marked the first time that the Rapids won back-to-back game this season. The Rapids benefited from an own goal against the Fire as Chicago keeper Jon Busch mishandled a Jordan Harvey cross and directed the ball into his goal in the 30th minute. Seven minutes later, Omar Cummings provided the Rapids with an insurance goal. Cummings received a pass from Terry Cooke and took two touches before firing a shot from 25 yards out past a diving Busch.

The Revs and Rapids met earlier in the season at Gillette Stadium, where Colorado earned a 1-0 victory on April 12. The Revs out-shot the Rapids, 17-4, including a 9-2 advantage in shots on goal, but the Rapids were the only team to find the back of the net. Nick LaBrocca’s 68th-minute goal provided all the scoring Colorado would need as Rapids goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul held New England scoreless. LaBrocca scored when he headed a Jose Burciaga Jr. free kick past Revolution keeper Matt Reis.

History has not been kind to the Revolution when it plays against Colorado. In the teams’ 31 meetings since 1996, the Revolution has a record of 11-16-4 against the Rapids. The home team has dominated the all-time series between the Revs and Rapids, as the Revs have an 8-5-3 home record against Colorado, but have only managed three victories in 15 trips out west.

“We’ve tried everything [to help us win in Colorado],” Ralston said. “We’ve changed our formations before. We’ve flown out two days before. I think we’ve tried everything to break our curse out in Colorado.”

The Revs last win in Colorado came on June 15, 2002, when they defeated the Rapids, 2-1, at INVESCO Field. The Revolution dropped a 3-0 decision in its only previous trip to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, the Rapids’ new home that opened last season.

“I don’t think we have gotten a [win in Colorado since my first season with the Revs]. Hopefully that will change this year. We are going to go in there with the mindset that we can go in and play and give ourselves a chance to win,” Ralston said.

Following Saturday night’s match in Colorado, the Revs will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 27, when they host the Columbus Crew at Gillette Stadium. The Revs will look to avenge a 4-0 loss suffered at the hands of the Crew in Columbus just a few weeks ago. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.