NEW ENGLAND VS. D.C. UNITED SERIES INFORMATION

• Saturday night’s match will be the first of two meetings between New England and D.C. in the 2010 regular season ... the series will conclude on Aug. 7, when the Revs host United at Gillette Stadium … New England and D.C. will meet twice in the 2010 regular season, as the teams did in 2009 ... the clubs met three times in the regular seasons of 2007 and 2008 ... and, from 1996-2006 the rivals used to square off four times per season
• D.C. leads the all-time, regular season series between the two clubs, 25-19-8 ... the Revs own a 13-9-4 advantage in Foxborough, but are just 6-16-4 when playing United on the road
• Saturday’s match will be the 53rd regular season meeting between the Revolution and United, which represents the greatest total of matches against any opponent ... it will also be the 57th overall meeting between the two clubs, which have played four MLS Cup matches and two U.S. Open Cup contests.
• The Revs won the season series against United last year, going 1-0-1 in their two meetings, their first series win since 2005 ... in their first meeting on April 17, 2009, D.C. scored a stoppage time goal at RFK Stadium to earn a draw ... the Revolution avenged that early season tie with a second-half stoppage time goal of its own to pull out a 2-1 victory at Gillette Stadium on May 30.
• The Revs are 6-16-4 all-time when playing D.C. United on the road … the Revolution last won in D.C. on October 7, 2006 by a 2-1 margin … since then, the club has gone 0-2-2 in D.C. in the regular season … one month after their last regular season with in D.C., the Revs beat United, 1-0 on November 5, 2006 in the Eastern Conference Championship game to earn a berth to the 2006 MLS Cup.
• The regular-season series has been remarkably even in the last five years, as the Revs hold a slight 6-5-5 advantage in 16 meetings since the start of the 2005 regular season.
• The teams have met in three postseason series, with D.C. holding a 2-1-1 edge in those matches ... however, the Revs defeated United, 1-0 in the most recent playoff meeting on Nov. 5, 2006 to win the Eastern Conference Championship at RFK Stadium and earn a berth in the MLS Cup 2006.

PLAYER NOTES VS. D.C. UNITED

• Taylor Twellman leads the Revs with 15 career goals against D.C., his highest total against any MLS team ... he’s also added two assists in 23 appearances … one of his two appearances in 2009 came against United, where he made a 65-minute substitute appearance and drew the game-winning penalty kick late in the game.
• Shalrie Joseph scored a goal in both of the 2009 games against United ... the first goal came last April at RFK Stadium in a 1-1 tie on April 17, 2009 and the second came in a 2-1 victory last May 30, 2009 at Gillette Stadium.
• Kheli Dube is the only other active Revs player to have scored against D.C., registering one goal and two assists.
• Mauricio Castro, Cory Gibbs and Kenny Mansally have also recorded single assists in matches against United.
• Matt Reis is the Revs all-time leader in games played in goal against United with 19 ... Reis also leads the Revolution with 1,710 minutes spent between the pipes against D.C.
• Preston Burpo has faced United twice before in his career, once in 2006 while with Chivas USA and once in 2008 while on the Colorado Rapids ... Burpo is 0-2-0 against D.C. with a 2.50 GAA and five saves.

LAST MEETING
New England 2, D.C. United 1
May 30, 2009 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Taylor Twellman made his 2009 season debut and an instant impact, drawing a penalty kick in second-half stoppage time, which Steve Ralston converted to earn a 2-1 victory for the Revs ... the win ended a six-game winless streak for the Revolution, who hadn’t won outright since opening night almost two months before ... after D.C.’s Fred gave United a first-half lead, Shalrie Joseph tied the score in the 55th minute to help give the Revs a chance for the win.

NEWS & NOTES

REVS LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK AGAINST UNITED
The New England Revolution take to the road again this weekend to face D.C. United and look for their first win of 2010 … D.C. United also looks for its first win of the season after dropping a 4-0 decision to the Kansas City Wizards last weekend … Saturday will mark the first meeting of 2010 between the clubs, the second coming August 7 at Gillette Stadium … the Revs hope to earn their first win in D.C. since 2006, going 0-2-2 in the regular-season since their last win, a 2-1 victory on October 7, 2006.

ROOKIES GET THEIR FEET WET
Of the five new players who started for the Revs on Saturday, two were rookies … Zack Schilawski started at forward and Seth Sinovic started at left defense … fellow rookie Zak Boggs came on as a substitute in the 58th minute … though none showed up on the score sheet, the first-year players gained some valuable experience in their first professional action – on the road, on the West Coast, in front of more than 20,000 fans and against the defending Western Conference champion LA Galaxy.

ROOKIE WONDERS
For the second year in a row, the Revolution started two rookies on the season’s opening night … Zack Schilawski (first round, ninth overall) and Seth Sinovic (second round, 25th overall) were both on Steve Nicol’s lineup card against LA at forward and left back, respectively … in 2009, the Revs also started a pair of rookies with Kevin Alston at right back and Darrius Barnes at central defense … three rookies also started on opening day in 2007, with Wells Thompson, Gary Flood and Adam Cristman getting the nod … no rookies made the day 1 lineup in 2008.

SHORT IN THE TOOTH
Of the 11 players who started for the Revolution Saturday at LA Galaxy, only four were over the age of 25 and two were 30 or older … Cory Gibbs, 30, and Preston Burpo, 37, were the only Revs on the field in LA on the other side of 20 … the average age of the Revolution starting lineup against LA is 25.4 and included Kevin Alston (21), Sainey Nyassi (21), Zack Schilawski (22), Joseph Niouky (23) and Seth Sinovic (23) – all of whom are between the ages of 21 and 23.

OH CORY, MY CAPTAIN
Revolution defender Cory Gibbs served as captain for his first game in a Revs uniform Gibbs has worn the arm band at several other stops in his professional career … while a player in MLS, he was captain in Colorado numerous times in 2008 and 2009, and in a handful of starts in 2004 while with the Dallas Burn … in 2005-06, Gibbs served as captain twice during his stint with Feyenoord in Holland.

BARNES TAKES A NEEDED BREAK
Saturday night’s match in LA marked the first time in his career that Darrius Barnes did not step on the field for the Revs … after starting all 30 matches in 2009 – and playing every minute of the season – Barnes was not fully recovered from a right hip flexor strain and was unable to take his place in the lineup … in 2009, Barnes became just the second player in MLS history to play every minute of every game and was the only field player in MLS to do so.

TIME TO LEARN THAT IT’S SIN-OH-VICK
With MLS veteran Jay Heaps retiring in the offseason after 11 years in the league, the last eight-and-a-half with the Revolution, New England fans saw a new left back on the field on Saturday … rookie Seth Sinovic earned the starting nod and played a game worthy of the former Revs’ left back … pronounced sin-OH-vick (not SIN-o-vitch), the defender from Creighton University came on and played a physical, smart game that limited LA’s attack through the right side, including reigning MLS most valuable player Landon Donovan.

REVS FILL OUT ROSTER
The Revolution made other news late last week when the organization announced the signings of midfielders Khano Smith and Marko Perovi? to fill its 20-man senior roster … Smith had been training with the team all preseason and will occupy a domestic roster spot … Perovi? joined the Revs as a guest player while the club was in North Carolina and impressed the brass with his skills the week he trained and played with the club in two matches … he will join the team pending receipt of his U.S. P-1 Visa … to make room for Smith and Perovi?, New England waived Costa Rican defender Gabriel Badilla.

KHANO RETURNS
The signing of Khano Smith late last week marks the midfielder’s second stint with the Revolution … Smith, 29, returns to the Revs after playing with Lincoln City of England’s League Two in the fall of 2009 … Smith originally signed with the Revolution in 2005 and made 85 appearances with the club over four seasons, scoring eight goals and adding 11 assists … he was selected by Seattle Sounders FC in the 2008 MLS Expansion Draft, and was later traded to the New York Red Bulls before the start of the 2009 season … he made eight appearances in New York before moving to Lincoln City last fall.

REVS GET THEIR SERB
Marko Perovi?, 26, is set to join the Revolution in the coming weeks as soon as he wraps up the U.S. immigration process … the versatile midfielder can play left or centrally, or can also play as withdrawn forward … Perovi? began his playing career with Serbian Superliga club Red Star Belgrade in 2000 after playing in FK Pristina’s youth system … he made 90 appearances with Red Star Belgrade, scoring 10 goals … after a brief loan to Jedinstvo Ub in 2003, Perovi? returned to Red Star Belgrade and was eventually loaned out to FC Basel in the Swiss first division in 2008 … in June 2008, Perovi? signed with FC Basel where he made 28 appearances, scored eight goals and performed for the club during its run in the 2008-09 UEFA Champions League … he is also a former member of Serbia’s Under-21 national team.

NICOL’S TWO WINS AWAY FROM A CENTURY MARK
With two more victories, head coach Steve Nicol will reach the 100-win plateau as he enters Saturday’s match sitting on 98 career MLS victories ... he would become just the third coach in league history to reach the 100-win plateau, joining Seattle’s Sigi Schmidt (125) and current U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley (124 wins) ... Nicol is the league’s longest active coach.

NEW KEEPER COACH REMI ROY
Revolution Head Coach Steve Nicol announced that the club has hired Remi Roy as the team’s goalkeeper’s coach … Roy replaces Gwynne Williams, who spent three seasons with the Revolution … this means that the Revs not only have a new goalkeeper on the field in Preston Burpo until Matt Reis returns from offseason surgery, but they also have a new goalkeeper coach on the sidelines in Roy ... Roy will also oversee the development of developmental keeper Bobby Shuttleworth and practice GK Tim Murray.

YOUTH UPDATE
The Revs Under-16 squad, on the strength of two second-half goals, came back to tie Baltimore Bays Chelsea Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Fields in Lancaster, Mass. … Forest Sisk (Sudbury, Mass.) put one through to Diego Fagundez (Leominster, Mass.) who cut the lead to one in the 47th minute … Felix DeBona (Everett, Mass.) then tied the game in the 60th minute on an assist from Fagundez … the draw brought the U16 Revs record to 5-3-1 … The U18s dropped a 3-1 decision to the Baltimore Bays Chelsea, also on Sunday in Lancaster … the lone Revs goal came when Homero Morais (Somerville, Mass.) converted a penalty kick in the 90th minute … the loss dropped the U18 Revs record to 6-3-0 … the youth teams are next in action on April 10-11, when they travel to Pennsylvania for matches against PA Classics and FC Delco.

“98.5 THE SPORTS HUB” NEW RADIO HOME OF THE REVOLUTION
The New England Revolution and CBS Radio announced last week that “98.5 The Sports Hub” is the new radio home for the Revs … Investor/Operator Jonathan Kraft made the announcement live on air on The Sports Hub on Wednesday, March 24 … “98.5 The Sports Hub” will broadcast all 30 regular-season Revs matches … the Revs join the New England Patriots and Boston Bruins that claim The Sports Hub as its flagship station … Brad Feldman handles play-by-play duties alongside Revolution legend Jay Heaps on color analysis.

REVOLUTION TO UNVEIL NEW WEBSITE
The New England Revolution will launch a brand new website in the near future … the website will feature more media content including more stories, videos, blog posts, audio podcasts and behind-the-scenes features … the website changeover is part of a league wide initiative for a more interactive fan experience with new websites for every MLS team … the address for the new site will remain the same: www.revolutionsoccer.net.

REVS TO FACE NEW YORK/PHILLY WINNER IN OPEN CUP

As the top seed in the MLS play-in bracket for the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the Revolution will travel to play winner of the New York Red Bulls-Philadelphia Union play-in game … home venues for the first round of the play-in bracket were determined by coin flip on Tuesday, March 2 … the No. 1 seeded Revs lost a coin toss and will therefore play the winner of the NYRB-PHI game on the road … the date, time and location of the game will be announced at a later time.

INDIVIDUAL GAME TICKETS ON SALE
Individual game tickets are now on sale for all 15 regular season home games in the 2010 season including the Revolution home-opener, slated for Saturday April 10 at 7:30 p.m. against Toronto FC ... individual tickets start at $20 and can be purchased by calling 1-877-GET-REVS or through all Ticketmaster outlets, including ticketmaster.com and 1-800-745-3000 … visit revolutionsoccer.net for more information about premium seating options, season tickets or multi-game packages.