FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution returns to action this weekend when the LA Galaxy visits Foxborough on Saturday evening. The Revs also aim to avenge a 1-0 opening weekend loss to the Galaxy in the 2010 season opener on March 27. Kickoff for the Revolution-LA Galaxy match is set for 7:30p.m., at Gillette Stadium. Comcast SportsNet will televise the game live, while 98.5 The Sports Hub will have the call of the game on the radio.
The Revs will train three more times this week in advance of Saturday’s match – on the Lower Practice Field behind Gillette Stadium. Wednesday’s training session will begin at 8 a.m., while Thursday and Friday’s sessions are scheduled for 10 a.m. Media wishing to attend any of the team’s training sessions must email the Revolution Communications office (media@revolutionsoccer.net) by the close of business on the previous day to RSVP and guarantee admittance, as well as to learn of any schedule changes. Media availability will begin at approximately 9:15 a.m. for the 8 a.m. session and at 11:30 a.m. for 10 a.m. sessions, but does fluctuate depending on the day and weather.
Media who plan to attend Sunday's match must alert the Revolution Communications staff at media@revolutionsoccer.net no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 9. No late credential requests will be honored.
Listed below is the Revolution’s complete schedule through Sunday, July 11. Please keep in mind that this schedule is subject to change.
New England Revolution Schedule: July 7-11
Wednesday, July 7 – Training (Lower Practice Field), 8 a.m.
Thursday, July 8 – Training (Lower Practice Field), 10 a.m.
Friday, July 9 – Training (Lower Practice Field), 10 a.m.
Saturday, July 10 – vs. LA Galaxy (Gillette Stadium), 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 11 - OFF
NEW ENGLAND VS. LA GALAXY SERIES INFORMATION
Saturday night’s match will be the 33rd all-time, regular-season meeting between the Revolution and Galaxy ... the Galaxy is looking for the season sweep after beating the Revolution, 1-0 at the Home Depot Center in Week 1.
New England is winless in its last four matches with LA, and now trail 12-15-5 in the series ... prior to their loss at LA on July 4, 2009, the Revs had gone nine straight regular season meetings without losing to the Galaxy.
Saturday night’s match will conclude the 2010 regular-season series between the Revolution and Galaxy ... LA earned a 1-0 win in the season opener behind the strength of Edson Buddle’s sixth-minute tally on March 27 at The Home Depot Center.
The Revolution is in danger of losing its second consecutive season series to the LA Galaxy and for only time second time overall since 1999 ... LA won the first four season series (1996-99) between the two clubs, but nine consecutive series were either won by the Revs or finished tied until last year.
The Revs are 8-5-2 when playing the LA Galaxy at home, including 5-1-2 at Gillette Stadium since the facility opened in 2002 ... the Revolution began 4-0-1 against LA at Gillette, outscoring the Galaxy at a 12-4 clip, but has since gone 1-1-1 and been outscored by a 3-4 margin.
New England and LA have met in the MLS Cup Playoffs twice - both the 2002 and 2005 MLS Cup Final ... the Galaxy won both meetings in overtime, 1-0 ... the 2002 meeting was in Foxborough, while the 2005 match was at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.
The Revs and Galaxy have played in one U.S. Open Cup match - the 2001 championship game in Fullerton, Calif. ... LA won that game, 2-1, in overtime.
PLAYER NOTES VS. LA GALAXY
Taylor Twellman leads the Revs with eight career goals against LA, while he’s added three assists in 15 appearances ... he will be unavailable for Saturday night’s match, however, as he was placed on season-ending injured reserve on June 23 with a head injury he suffered in the teams’ meeting at Gillette Stadium on Aug. 30, 2008
Shalrie Joseph has recorded four goals and two assists in 13 career appearances against the Galaxy, marking his best offensive output against any team.
Cory Gibbs recorded his only career MLS goal against the Galaxy in 2008, a strike that won Goal of the Week while he was in Colorado.
Matt Reis - who made 39 appearances for the Galaxy from 1998-2002 - is 5-2-3 in 10 regular-season matches against his former club ... he has recorded three shutouts while maintaining a 0.89 goals against average.
NEWS & NOTES
SUPERLIGA CREDENTIAL DEADLINE: FRIDAY, JULY 9
Media planning to cover SuperLiga 2010 can apply for credentials using the online accreditation form at http://sum.iwebreg.com/apply ... the deadline for applications is Friday, July 9, 2010 … no credential applications will be accepted after the deadline … the Revolution kicks off the annual summer championship between top MLS and Mexican Primera División teams at 8 p.m., on Wednesday, July 14, at Gillette Stadium when the Revs host Pumas UNAM … New England is also scheduled to face the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park on Saturday, July 17 at 7 p.m. ET and return home to play Monarcas Morelia on Tuesday, July 20 at 8 p.m. … the Revolution is one of four MLS teams in the tournament, joining Chicago, Houston Dynamo and Chivas USA.
REVOLUTION LOOKS TO BREAK STREAK AGAINST LA
On Saturday night, the Revolution not only searches for its first win in its last three regular-season matches, but also takes aim at its first win against the LA Galaxy in more than two years … the last time New England defeated LA was on July 4, 2008 when the Revs topped the Galaxy, 2-1 at The Home Depot Center …since then, the Revolution has gone 0-3-1 in four meetings with the Galaxy, including three consecutive losses … during the span, New England has been shut out twice and been outscored 6-3.
NICOL AND ARENA SQUARE OFF IN ANOTHER HISTORIC MLS MATCH
For only the third time in Major League Soccer history on Saturday, two MLS head coaches with 100 wins will meet to continue to climb the all-time win chart … Revs head coach Steve Nicol (101 wins) and Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena (102) wins both reached the triple-digit milestone earlier this season and Arena recently surpassed Nicol when he picked up win number 102 with a win over Seattle Sounders FC and their 100-win coach, Sigi Schmid, on Sunday night in the second-ever meeting between 100-win MLS coaches … the first historic encounter of triple-digit win coaches came on June 5 when the Revolution played at Seattle … only four MLS coaches have racked up 100 career MLS wins, with current U.S. Men’s Nation Team head coach Bob Bradley (124 wins) being the fourth.
REVS FACE TOUGH TASK AGAINST LEAGUE’S BEST
When the Revs take the field on Saturday night against the LA Galaxy, they will be hosting MLS’ top team so far this season … through 15 MLS matches, the Galaxy has played to an MLS-best 11-1-3 record … the Galaxy’s only loss this year came during a visit to Rio Tinto Stadium and Real Salt Lake just before the MLS World Cup break … in that match, the Galaxy was without the services of two of its most threatening offensive weapons, Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle – both of whom had left the team for World Cup duty with the U.S. Men’s National Team, but returned for Sunday’s match against Seattle.
NEW ENGLAND YET TO TAME THE WILD WEST
The Revs are not only searching for their first win since May 29 this weekend, but also seek to break through for the first time this season against a Western Conference team … through eight games with teams from the West in 2010, the Revolution is 0-6-2, including 0-2-2 at Gillette Stadium … goal differential has been the crux in the way of New England picking up a W against the West … the Revs have been outscored 18-2 against Western Conference clubs in 2010 and face Major League Soccer’s second-most prolific scoring club this weekend in the LA Galaxy … dating back to last season, the Revs are 0-7-2 in their last nine matches against Western Conference foes.
REVS TRY TO AVOID BACK-TO-BACK BROOMS
When the LA Galaxy and Revolution play on Saturday night, the Revs will be looking to avoid being swept by LA in the regular-season series for the second straight year … the Revs lost both games against the Galaxy in 2009 and dropped their first meeting earlier this season … the LA Galaxy has not swept the Revs in regular-season series for consecutive seasons since 1998-99, when the teams were playing at Foxboro Stadium and the Rose Bowl, respectively.
ON THE BRINK OF ANOTHER BREAK IN MLS ACTION
The Revolution has just recently come off a three-week break in MLS action and are on the verge of another lengthy respite from league games … following Saturday night’s match with the LA Galaxy, the Revs do not play another MLS match until Saturday, July 31, at Philadelphia Union … the three-week break from league play is the second longest this season and will be the final break in play this year … following the upcoming break in league play, New England will go no longer than seven days between MLS games … the Revs will not be taking any significant time off however, with three SuperLiga games scheduled during the break in play.
REVS GET THE RAZOR’S EDGE WHEN LA IS IN TOWN
Home-field advantage is important to every team, but the Revolution historically has succeeded with its home edge against the Galaxy … since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, New England has gone 5-1-2 at home when facing LA … the Revs have shut out the Galaxy three times in those seven games and have outscored LA, 15-8, in those matches … the Revolution did, however, lose its first ever game to LA at Gillette Stadium in last year’s series finale, a 2-1 loss on Aug. 8, 2009.
NEW ENGLAND FACES ANOTHER TOUGH ATTACK
For the second consecutive match, the Revs defense will face one of its toughest tests of the season … last week, the Revolution squared off against Major League Soccer’s top scoring offense which, at the time, was averaging 1.69 goals per game … the Revs now face the second-best scoring attack in MLS in the LA Galaxy … the Galaxy averages 1.67 goals per contest, scoring 25 goals in 15 games this year.
REVS TRY TO STOP LA FROM HELPING THEMSELVES
The Revolution defense faces a tough task this weekend against a club that spreads the ball around more than any other team in the league … the Revs have picked up 30 helpers through 15 games on 25 goals … LA averages 2.0 assists per game and they face a New England team that allows the second-most goals per game (1.86) in MLS, second only to Philadelphia Union, who concedes an average of 1.92 goals per game.
REVS KEEPERS MAKING THE MOST OF THEIR SAVES
Though the Revolution has trotted out three different goalkeepers in 2010, the trio of Preston Burpo, Bobby Shuttleworth and Matt Reis has combined to lead all other MLS teams with 63 total saves in 14 games … Burpo chipped in with 48 saves before suffering a season-ending injury against New York on May 29, Shuttleworth stopped seven shots in his initial professional game at Seattle on June 5, and Matt Reis has made eight saves in two matches since coming back from offseason shoulder and knee surgeries.
NEW ENGLAND ATTACK MUST SHOW ITS TEETH
The Revs have had trouble finding the back of the net this year, and the task does not get any easier this weekend with the LA Galaxy in town … the Galaxy leads all Major League Soccer clubs in several defensive statistical categories this season, including 10 shutouts in its first 15 games played this year, including a 1-0 win over the Revolution at The Home Depot Center on March 27 … LA has conceded a league-low five goals and is first in MLS with a 0.33 goals against average.
SCORING DROUGHT WHETS REVOLUTION APPETITE
The Revolution last scored a goal in the 80th minute of a 3-2 win over the New York Red Bulls at Gillette Stadium May 29 … since then, the Revs have not tallied in 280 minutes of MLS play, including three straight games without a goal … the 280-minute stretch is the fourth-longest streak in Major League Soccer this season … New England also has the 10th-longest scoreless streak in the league this season, with a 238-minute scoring drought that lasted from May 8-29, spanning four games.
THIS WEEK IN REVOLUTION HISTORY: JULY 5-JULY 11
July 9, 1999: M John Harkes, F Joe-Max Moore and GK Walter Zenga named to the East squad for the 1999 MLS All-Star game in San Diego.
July 7, 2000: Acquired F Eric Wynalda and future draft considerations from the Miami Fusion in exchange for D Ivan McKinley.
July 5, 2007: M Shalrie Joseph, D Michael Parkhurst and GK Matt Reis named to the MLS All-Star “First XI”.
July 7, 2008: F Adam Cristman selected as MLS Player of the Week (Week 15) after scoring both Revolution goals in a 2-1 victory over LA Galaxy at The Home Depot Center three days earlier on Independence Day.
July 7, 2009: Investor/Operator Robert K. Kraft joins the Board of Directors for the USA Bid Committee in its efforts to bring the FIFA World Cup to the United States in 2018 or 2022.
July 10, 2009: M Shalrie Joseph voted to First XI for the 2009 MLS All-Star game vs. Everton.
YOUTH UPDATE
The New England Revolution youth teams closed out their 2010 seasons with a successful first-ever playoff run for both teams … the clubs were in Greensboro, N.C. for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s playoffs, which ran from Friday, June 25 through Tuesday, June 29 … though neither team advanced to the championship rounds, both teams can hang their hats on the fact that they became the first in Revolution Youth Academy history to qualify for the playoffs … the U16s went without losing a game and compiled five points through a 1-0-2 record … the U18s faced some tough competition in their pool and posted an 0-3-0 record in their games.
