NEWS & NOTES
REVOLUTION PUNCHES ITS TICKET TO SUPERLIGA SEMIS
The Revs used a 77th minute tally from Marko Perovi? and stingy defense to defeat the Chicago Fire, 1-0, on Saturday night and clinch a berth into the SuperLiga 2010 semifinals … New England has now qualified for the elimination stage all three years the club has played in SuperLiga, winning the tournament in 2008 making it the only MLS club to do so … Tuesday and Wednesday’s final group matches will determine who earns the right to host the semifinal matches, which will be played the first week of August … two teams have already advanced to the semis – New England (Group B) and Puebla FC (Group A) … Houston and Chivas USA (Group A) and Monaras Morelia and Pumas UNAM (Group B) can also still qualify for the semifinals.
ALSTON AND JOSEPH ADDED TO MLS ALL-STAR ROSTER
Major League Soccer announced on Monday that MLS Commissioner Don Garber and MLS All-Star Team head coach Bruce Arena of the LA Galaxy have made their selections to complete the 23-man 2010 AT&T MLS All-Star roster … the list included defender Kevin Alston and midfielder Shalrie Joseph … Joseph was selected to his seventh all-star team in his eighth MLS season, while Alston was selected for the first time … the MLS All-Stars will take on Manchester United in the 2010 AT&T MLS All-Star Game on July 28, 2010 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2, TeleFutura).
REVS TO FACE MONARCAS MORELIA FOR THE FIRST TIME
The Revolution will play its 14th all-time game against a club from Mexico on Tuesday night, but its first ever match against Monarcas Morelia … Morelia participated in SuperLiga once before - in 2007, the only year New England did not play in the tournament… the Revs carry a 10-2-1 all-time record against Mexican clubs into Tuesday’s match with Morelia, and have outscored teams from south of the border by a combined 31-9 in those 14 matches … in SuperLiga matches only, the Revs are undefeated – 6-0-0 – against Mexican teams, the best overall mark (and only undefeated mark) and most wins among all MLS teams that have played in SuperLiga.
SUPERLIGA TIE-BREAKERS
SuperLiga tournament organizers changed the tie-breaker policies for the 2010 edition of the tournament to fall in line with FIFA’s tie-breaker procedure … in past years, head-to-head result has been the first tie-breaker, but that no longer applies … in 2010, the first tie-breaker is goal differential, followed by goals scored … should two or more teams be tied on points after three group games, the tie-breakers will be used to determine semifinal qualification.
SEMIFINAL SCENARIOS
With the team’s win at Chicago on Saturday, New England has advanced to the SuperLiga semifinals for the third time in three tournament appearances … should the Revs earn at least one point (a win or a draw) against Monarcas Morelia, the Revs will claim the top seed in Group B and will host at least one match – against the second seed in Group B – in the semifinals … should the Revs lose to Monarcas Morelia, the Revs will earn the second seed in Group B and will face the top seed in Group A – either Puebla or the Houston Dynamo … if three Mexican teams advance to the semifinals, the Revs will host a semifinal doubleheader the first week of August … should the Revs and Houston meet, the higher seeded team will host the match … Chivas USA and Pumas UNAM can also still qualify for the semifinals, but they must win and also need Houston and Monarcas Morelia, respectively, to lose AND beat the Dynamo and Monarcas Morelia on goal differential to advance to the semifinals.
MISCONDUCT MANDATES
Four Revs players are sitting on one caution after the first two games of SuperLiga group play … Kheli Dube, Shalrie Joseph, Kenny Mansally and Sainey Nyassi all picked up cautions in game one against Pumas UNAM … no players were cautioned on Saturday … should all four players go un-disciplined on Tuesday, their records will be expunged and they will go into the semifinals with a clean disciplinary record … if one of those players receives a second yellow card on Tuesday, he will be forced to miss the semifinal match while serving a one-game suspension … should one of those players receive a yellow card and red card, he would miss both the semifinal and the Revs’ next SuperLiga match … if any additional Revs pick up yellow cards on Tuesday, their records will also be expunged before the semifinals, unless they get a second yellow or red in the same match, forcing them to miss the semifinal.
EXPERIENCE TO BOOT
Three Revs players – Kheli Dube, Kenny Mansally and Sainey Nyassi – are among the all-time leaders in SuperLiga games played with 11 … the Revs’ trio joins Houston’s Bobby Boswell, Pachuca’s Miguel Calero and Monarcas Morelia’s Luis Gabriel Rey at the top of the tournament’s appearance chart … additionally, Matt Reis has played 10 SuperLiga matches – tied for seventh all-time – missing only one tournament match earlier this year, the Revs’ opening contest on July 14 against Pumas UNAM.
ANOTHER 1-0 WIN IN THE SUMMER CLASSIC
The Revs have made quite an impact in SuperLiga play since first participating in the international tournament in 2008 … New England has compiled a 7-1-3 record in the tournament in three years of play, and winning the 2008 championship … even with the success that the Revolution has earned in the tournament, its calling card has become winning 1-0 games … with its second straight 1-0 win in this year’s tournament - over the Chicago Fire on Saturday night - the Revs have now posted six 1-0 victories in their eight wins in tournament history … the other victories were a 4-2 win over Santos Laguna in last year’s group stage and a 2-2 draw against the Houston Dynamo in the SuperLiga 2008 championship match, after which the Revolution claimed the tournament title in penalty kicks.
PEROVIC PROVIDES AGAIN
Midfielder Marko Perovi? extended his points streak to three consecutive games in all competitions with his 77th-minute tally on Saturday night in Chicago … Perovi? has scored two goals and picked up one assist during his run and now has four goals and an assist in a Revolution uniform in all matches … his assist in last Wednesday in a 1-0 win over Pumas was his first for New England when his corner kick found Zack Schilawski in the 18th minute, which proved to be the game-winner.
WIN EARLY, WIN LATE
The Revolution has been creative during its three consecutive victories on the last couple weeks … the club scored two second-half goals to beat Major League Soccer’s top team, the LA Galaxy, 2-0 on July 10 … the Revs followed that with an 18th-minute tally and held on for the W in last week’s 1-0 win over Pumas in the SuperLiga 2010 opener … the capper came this past weekend, when Marko Perovi? scored a dramatic 77th-minute goal coming off a Chicago turnover in its own end.
RALLYING THE ATTACK
New England has now scored goals in three consecutive games overall, a season-high for 2010 … the Revs have scored four times in their last three matches – twice against LA on July 10 and once each on July 14 against Pumas and at Chicago on Saturday … the Revolution’s previous high was two consecutive games with at least one goal twice – coming in a 2-0 win at D.C. United on April 3 and a 4-1 win over Toronto FC at Gillette Stadium on April 10 … the club also scored in two straight matches: a 2-1 loss to Colorado at home on April 24, and a 1-1 draw with FC Dallas at home on May 1.
REVS GOALKEEPERS PACE TOURNAMENT
New England goalkeepers Matt Reis and Bobby Shuttleworth have posted a combined 8-1-2 all-time mark and a .773 winning percentage in SuperLiga, the best among all teams that have competed in the event … Reis has a 7-1-2 mark with five shutouts and an 0.77 goals against average … Shuttleworth, who started the July 14 match against Pumas UNAM, is 1-0-0 with a 0.00 goals against average and one shutout … Reis’ seven wins lead all goalkeepers, with Pachuca’s Miguel Castro and Houston’s Pat Onstad tied for second with four wins each … additionally, Reis leads all players in shutouts (5) and saves (48) … Reis’ .842 save percentage is best among all goalkeepers who have played more than four games, while it’s fourth overall among all goalkeepers as Shuttleworth’s 1.000 save percentage tops the list.
KEEPERS CLEANING SHEETS
Matt Reis’ shutout against the Fire on Saturday night at Toyota Park gave the Revolution a shutout for its third straight game overall – a 2010 season high streak … the Revs had not previously recorded back-to-back shutouts this season and now have not allowed a goal in 275 minutes of play … Reis has bookended the scoreless efforts, while Bobby Shuttleworth shut out Pumas, 1-0, on July 14 at Gillette Stadium in the first match of SuperLiga 2010.
WIN COMES AGAINST COLLEAGUES, FINALLY
The Revs’ win at Chicago on Saturday was the team’s first victory against a fellow MLS team in SuperLiga in three tournaments … in 2008, the Revs traveled to Chivas USA for a group match, earning a 1-1 road draw, then drew with Houston in the final before taking the title on penalty kicks … in 2009, the Revs played to a 1-1 draw at home against Kansas City in the group stage, then lost to Chicago – 2-1- in the semifinals at home.
HOME SWEET SUPERLIGA HOME
The Revs return to Gillette Stadium to host Monarcas Morelia on Tuesday night where they boast a 6-1-2 all-time record at the Razor in SuperLiga play … the club’s only loss came to Chicago in the 2009 semifinals, a 2-1 defeat … including last Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Pumas UNAM, New England has outscored opponents by a 13-8 margin in those nine matches … the Revs have shut out a SuperLiga opponent at home five times and have conceded more than one goal only three times … of the 11 total SuperLiga matches that the Revolution has played, nine have been at Gillette Stadium.
KHANO REAPPEARS FOR REVOLUTION
Midfielder Khano Smith made his first appearance in more than one month on Saturday night, since he sprained his right ankle against the Brazilian club Cruzeiro on June 13 during an international friendly … Smith came on for Kenny Mansally in the 62nd minute of New England’s 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire this past weekend … he had missed four straight matches prior to coming on as a sub on Saturday evening.
NEW ENGLAND SNAPS SKID AT TOYOTA PARK
With its 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park on Saturday evening, New England snapped an eight-game winless streak at Toyota Park that spanned more than four years … the Revs were 0-7-1 in their last eight matches at Chicago and were on the wrong side of a 16-3 goal differential in all competitions at Toyota Park heading into last weekend … the Revolution’s last win – and its only other win at Toyota Park came on July 8, 2006 in a 2-1 victory in Bridgeview, Ill. in its second ever trip there … the Revs improved to 2-7-2 all-time at Toyota Park and goal differential moved to 20-8 overall, in favor of Chicago.
THIS WEEK IN REVOLUTION HISTORY: JULY 19-JULY 25
- July 24, 1996: MLS allocated F Joe-Max Moore (Nuremberg, Germany) to the Revolution.
- July 24, 2000: M John Harkes and M Ted Chronopoulos named to the East squad for the 2000 MLS All-Star game in Columbus.
- July 24, 2001: Cate named to MLS Eastern Division All-Star team.
- July 23, 2003: Signed Uruguay M José Carlos Cancela Duran as a senior roster Discovery player.
- July 24, 2008: MLS announces plan to expand league to 18 clubs by 2011.
- REVOLUTION YOUTH ACADEMY RECEIVES HIGH MARKS
The New England Revolution’s Under-16 squad had an extremely successful weekend, even though the teams did not take the field … Diego Fagundez was named to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s Starting XI, acknowledging him as one of the top 11 players nationwide this past season … Fagundez and Felix Debonna (Everett, Mass.) were also named to the Eastern Conference Starting XI, recognizing them among the top 11 players in the conference … additionally, Revolution U16 head coach Bryan Scales was named East Conference Coach of the Year.
YOUTH CLUBS ANNOUNCE 2010-11 ROSTERS
The New England Revolution Youth Development Academy announced its rosters for the upcoming 2010-11 season on Friday … Revolution Director of Youth Development Karl Edmonds and his staff added 22 new players, including 15 to the Under-16 age group and seven at the Under-18 level … over 300 young players tried out for the teams in June before the Academy had to be whittled down to 45 players (22 for the U18 team and 23 for the U16 team) … coming off a season in which both of the Revolution youth squads qualified for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs for the first time, the academy turns to its third season as the only fully-funded youth program in New England – meaning that all players’ needs and expenses related to soccer activities are provided by the Revolution at no cost to the players or their families … U16 rosters can be found here, while U18 rosters can be found here.
YOUNG REVS HEADED TO MLS U17 CUP NEXT WEEK
A combined U16/U18 squad will represent the Revolution next week at the MLS Under-17 Cup in Houston … all 16 MLS teams are sending a U17 club to the tournament, marking the first time MLS will be able to declare a true youth team champion … the following members of the Revs’ youth squads will don the red, white and blue in Houston: Kelvin Castillo (Providence, R.I.), Dan Chmura (Wilbraham, Mass.), Felix DeBona (Everett, Mass.), Cole Denormandie (Lincoln, Mass.), Freddy Ferre (Waltham, Mass.), Diego Fagundez (Leominster, Mass.), Jack Hilger (Hopkinton, Mass.), Yannick Kabala (Manchester, N.H.), Peter Lee-Kramer (Andover, Mass.), Sean MacDonald (Candia, N.H.), Domanik Machado (Attleboro, Mass.), Derik Medeiros (Fall River, Mass.), Peguy Ngatcha (Manchester, N.H.), Adrian Reifsynder (Newton, Mass.), Christian Sady (North Andover, Mass.), Ryan Simpson (North Andover, Mass.), Forrest Sisk (Sudbury, Mass.), Mitchell Taintor (Storrs, Conn.), Dan Tchen (Concord, Mass.) and Tyler Zon (Wellesley, Mass.)
