NEW ENGLAND VS. HOUSTON SERIES INFORMATION

• New England and Houston have met just nine times in the overall MLS regular-season series, with the Revs holding a 5-1-3 record against the Dynamo … the Revolution is 5-2-5 against the Dynamo in all competitions, including the MLS Cup playoffs and SuperLiga.
• New England is undefeated against the Dynamo in matches played in Houston, boasting a 3-0-1 record at Robertson Stadium since Houston entered the league in 2006.
• The Revs are 2-1-2 against the Dynamo in regular-season action at Gillette Stadium … New England’s first - and only - loss to Houston came in Foxborough on May 3, 2009, a 2-0 defeat at Gillette Stadium.
• Sunday night's meeting will be the second of two matches in the teams' 2010 regular-season series … earlier this year, the Revs earned a 1-0 win at Gillette Stadium on Aug. 14.
• New England and Houston have met in three tournament finals in the last five years (MLS Cup 2006, MLS Cup 2007, SuperLiga 2008) … Houston won the 2006 MLS title match in penalty kicks after extra time finished 1-1 in Frisco, Texas, and then one year later took the 2007 championship with a come-from-behind, 2-1 victory in Washington, D.C. … the Revs won SuperLiga 2008 in penalty kicks after the teams were knotted at 2-2 after extra time at Gillette Stadium.
• Each of the last five meetings have resulted in a shutout one way or the other … the Revs earned 2-0 and 3-0 victories over the Dynamo in 2008 … Houston won the initial 2009 meeting, 2-0, and the Revs posted a 1-0 victory in the second meeting, and New England posted a 1-0 win earlier this season in August … prior to the string of five straight shutouts, the clubs played to a 3-3 draw on July 22, 2007.
• Houston’s 2-0 win over New England on May 3, 2009, was the first time the Revs were ever shut out by the Dynamo, and it was also the Revs' only loss to Houston.
• The Revolution has been outshot by the Dynamo, 121-83, in the regular-season series, yet has outscored Houston, 12-7.

PLAYER NOTES VS. HOUSTON

•  Kheli Dube has scored two goals and added one assist to lead all active Revs against Houston … all his points have come on the road … he recorded the lone goal in the Revs’ 1-0 win in Houston last year, and had one goal and one assist in New England’s 2-0 victory in Houston on June 12, 2008.
• Shalrie Joseph has scored two goals in seven regular-season contests and is the only Revolution player besides Kheli Dube to have scored multiple goals against Houston … he also scored the game-tying goal against Houston in extra time of the SuperLiga 2008 final, sending the match to penalty kicks.
•  Ilija Stolica recorded the first goal of his MLS career against Houston in the teams' meeting earlier this season in August at Gillette Stadium ... his strike was also the game-winning goal in the 1-0 win on Aug. 14.
• Kevin Alston recorded the first assist of his young career in 2009 at Houston, picking up the second assist on Kheli Dube’s game-winning goal.
• Matt Reis is 5-1-3 in his regular-season career against the Dynamo with a 0.78 goals against average and five shutouts … he is the only goalkeeper to ever play against the Dynamo in any competition, including regular season, MLS Cup Playoff and SuperLiga games.
• Former Rev - and current Houston assistant coach - Steve Ralston is New England's career scoring leader against the Dynamo with three goals and one assist in seven regular-season appearances.

NEWS AND NOTES

AUCTION BEGINS WEDNESDAY TO BENEFIT KOMEN MA
On Wednesday, Oct. 6, the New England Revolution Charitable Foundation will launch an online auction at biddingforgood.com with pink and pink-accented game-used and game-worn items from Saturday’s match against Real Salt Lake … all proceeds from the online auction will be donated to Komen MA – the Massachusetts Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure – who partnered with the Revs for its Breast Cancer Awareness match last Saturday … the auction will run online at biddingforgood.com through Sunday, Oct. 17 … among the items up for bid are:

• Matt Reis’ custom-made pink goalkeeper jersey worn on Oct. 2
• all 10 starting field players’ jerseys – autographed and including the MLS W.O.R.K.S. breast cancer awareness patch on the chest
• team-autographed pink adidas game balls (3)
• team-autographed MLS W.O.R.K.S. breast cancer awareness scarf
• team-autographed pink Gatorade sideline towel
• Kevin Alston’s autographed pink/white/black adidas cleats

MANSALLY, NYASSI OFF TO GAMBIA CAMP
Gambia internationals Kenny Mansally and Sainey Nyassi will miss Sunday’s match at Houston after being called into Gambia’s squad for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Burkina Faso on Saturday, Oct. 9 … the duo traveled to Brussels through Philadelphia on Monday, Oct. 4, where they will participate in a training camp before heading to Burkina Faso later in the week … the Gambians are expected to begin the return trip to Boston on Sunday, Oct. 10 … Mansally has five caps with Gambia, while Nyassi has three caps and two goals.

OK GOING BACK TO TEXAS
The Revs will make their second consecutive trip to the state of Texas this weekend when they head to Houston … the team’s last road trip included a stop in Dallas on Sept. 22 … the Revs have found perennial success in the Lone Star State, compiling a 14-6-2 mark against both FC Dallas (11-6-1) and Houston (3-0-1) in the regular season in their home stadiums.

HOUSTON, WE HAVE (NO) PROBLEMS
The Revs have posted an undefeated 3-0-1 mark at the Dynamo’s Robertson Stadium since Houston entered MLS in 2006 … after playing to a 1-1 draw in their first-ever trip to Houston in 2006, the Revs have gone 3-0-0 in their last three visits, including a 1-0 win in 2007, a 2-0 win in 2008 and a 1-0 win in 2009.

FAMILIAR FACE ON THE OPPOSING SIDELINE
When the Revs take the field on Sunday, they’ll see a familiar face on the opposing bench … Revolution legend Steve Ralston retired from MLS as a player on July 20, and accepted an assistant coach position with the Dynamo … Ralston has been Dynamo boss Dom Kinnear’s top assistant since and will face the Revs for the second time since arriving in Houston … in his return to Foxborough on Aug. 14, the Revs defeated Houston, 1-0.

PEROVIC INSISTS ON GETTING THE ASSIST
For the third straight game, Marko Perovi? recorded an assist on a Revolution goal when he picked up an assist on Sainey Nyassi’s strike against Real Salt Lake … after scoring a team-leading six goals in his first 18 games, the Serb has picked up assists in each of the last three games … with six goals and three assists, Perovi? is the team’s leading scorer and is also tied for third in assists on the team, behind leaders Shalrie Joseph and Kheli Dube (five each) and tied with Chris Tierney.

DUBE BACK IN FORM
Kheli Dube picked up an assist on Sainey Nyassi’s goal on Saturday, his first since May 8 at Columbus … Dube is tied for the team lead in assists – shared with Shalrie Joseph – with five, but he went almost five months without an assist … Dube has appeared in 18 games this season – making 11 starts – but missed five games (July 31 at Philadelphia through Aug. 21 at Kansas City) with a knee injury.

NYASSI NOT TO BE OUTDONE BY TWIN …
After Seattle’s Sanna Nyassi scored his first goal of his MLS career on Saturday afternoon in an early tilt, twin brother Sainey Nyassi was not about to be out-shone … later in the evening, Sainey scored – after post-game review following an in-game decision that it was Kenny Mansally’s goal – to reclaim the family headline for the night … Sainey’s goal was his third of the season, marking a new single-season high for the fourth-year winger.

… LEADING TO A LEAGUE FIRST
With twin brothers Sainey and Sanna Nyassi scoring in MLS play on the same night last Saturday, the duo became the first-ever set of brothers to score on the same night in league history … previously, only two sets of brothers had scored in the same season in MLS history: Sean and Chris Henderson (1996 and 1997) and DeMarcus and Jamar Beasley (2000 and 2001).

REIS JOINS THE LEAGUE OF 20,000 MINUTES
In the eighth minute of Saturday’s game, Matt Reis played the 20,000th minute in his MLS career … he became just the seventh goalkeeper – and 38th player overall – to reach the 20,000-minute mark … Reis is the third player in New England history to reach the 20,000-minute mark, joining the retired Steve Ralston (33,143 minutes, 1996-2001 Tampa Bay, 2002-10 New England) and Jay Heaps (27,363 minutes, 1998-2001 Miami, 2001-2009 New England) … Reis played 3,239 minutes in Los Angeles before being traded to New England in 2003, where he has played 16,842 minutes.

LOSSES OF HISTORIC PROPORTIONS
The Revs’ 15 losses so far in 2010 are the team’s most in the recent scoring era of MLS (2004 - present) when there were no shootouts or overtime ... the team’s 13 losses in 2004 had been the team’s highest loss total since the league did away with the penalty shootout (1996-1999) and overtime (2000-2003) ... prior to the 2004 season, the Revs lost 15 or more games in each of the team’s first four seasons (1996-17, 1997-17, 1998-21, 1999-20) ... the team’s top all-time season loss total was 21 losses in 1998, a season in which the club went 11-21, including a 2-4 mark in shootouts.