FOXBOROUGH, Mass – The New England Revolution will officially open its 2011 campaign on Monday, Jan. 31, when preseason training kicks off at the Dana-Farber Field House at Gillette Stadium. The team will convene for the first time and train for two weeks indoors before making two trips to the southeastern U.S. for outdoor training.
Preseason Camp Roster
The Revolution will begin preseason camp with 27 players, including 18 players under contract and nine non-rostered players.
Goalkeepers (3): Tim Murray, Matt Reis, Bobby Shuttleworth
Defenders (6): Kevin Alston, Darrius Barnes, Ryan Cochrane, Didier Domi, A.J. Soares, Seth Sinovic
Midfielders (12): Fernando Cabadas, Jason Griffiths, Shalrie Joseph, Ryan Kinne, Roberto Linck, Kenny Mansally, Stephen McCarthy, Sainey Nyassi, Marko Perović, Andrew Sousa, Pat Phelan, Chris Tierney
Forwards (6): Zak Boggs, Kheli Dube, Alan Koger, Steven Perry, Zack Schilawski, Ilija Stolica
non-rostered/non-contracted player
Recently-signed Home Grown player Diego Fagundez will not start preseason with the first team, and will continue training with the club’s youth squads in Foxborough on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights … Supplemental Draft pick Hunter Christiansen has decided to finish his final semester of school at the University of Tulsa, and is presently scheduled to join the team on a try-out basis in late spring.
Preseason Plan
In addition to at least 13 total days of local training in Foxborough, the Revolution will make two 11-day training trips to the Southeastern part of the United States, heading to Orlando and the Atlanta area … overall, the Revs will conduct a six-week preseason, with approximately 35 days of activity scheduled between Monday, Jan. 31 and Sunday, March 13 … the team will begin regular-season training the week of March 14 ahead of the trip to Los Angeles for the season opener against the Galaxy on Sunday, March 20.
Orlando Itinerary
The team will arrive in Orlando, Fla., on Monday, Feb. 14, and will base training at the University of Central Florida before returning to Boston on Thursday, Feb. 24 … a full schedule of matches during the team’s stay in Orlando will be released ahead of the trip … the team is expected to finalize between two and four matches during the trip, which will be announced before the team departs.
- Monday, Feb. 14: Travel to Orlando
- TBA: Preseason matches
- Thursday, Feb. 24: Return to Boston
Atlanta Itinerary
The Revs will depart for the Atlanta area on Thursday, March 3, and return to Boston late on Sunday, March 13 … the club will play three preseason matches during the trip, including two games as part of the inaugural Atlanta MLS Challenge in Kennesaw, Ga. … the first match, against the Columbus Crew, will be played on Sunday, March 6, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tenn., about a two-hour drive from Kennesaw … the teams will meet again on Wednesday, March 9, in the first game of the three-team round-robin tournament, followed by a closing match against the Houston Dynamo on Sunday, March 13.
- Thursday, March 3: Travel to Atlanta
- Sunday, March 6: vs. Columbus Crew (Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, Tenn.), 4 p.m.
- Wednesday, March 9: vs. Columbus Crew (Kennesaw State Soccer Stadium, Kennesaw, Ga.), 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, March 13: vs. Houston Dynamo (Kennesaw State Soccer Stadium, Kennesaw, Ga.,) 2 p.m.; Return to Boston
Home Opener Set for 4:30 p.m.
The Revs will kick off their 2011 home schedule on Saturday, March 26, when the team faces arch-rival D.C. United at 4:30 p.m. … previously, kickoff was announced as TBA.
Pair of Picks in the Fold
The Revs’ top two 2011 SuperDraft selections – A.J. Soares and Stephen McCarthy – have already been added to the team’s roster … both players signed contracts with Major League Soccer ahead of the draft, and therefore do not need to signed at a later date.
Returning Players Re-Upped
So far this off-season, three returning Revs have penned new contracts to play for the team … on Dec. 23, goalkeeper Matt Reis signed a new contract as his old deal was to expire on Dec. 31 … fourth-year midfielder/defender Chris Tierney re-signed a new contract on Jan. 12, while second-year defender Seth Sinovic signed a new contract on Jan. 18 after his old deal expired at the end of the 2010 season.
Backline Bolstered
After surrendering a league-high 50 goals in 2010, the Revs have made an effort to re-tool the backline heading in to 2011 … two players – veterans Cory Gibbs (Re-Entry Process to Chicago) and Emmanuel Osei (waived) – have moved on from the club … two new players – MLS veteran Ryan Cochrane (Re-Entry Process from Houston) and French defender Didier Domi have been added to the roster … additionally, the Revs used their first overall selection in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft to select a top-rated center back in A.J. Soares from the University of California.
Shuttleworth Promoted
Among the team’s off-season transactions, third-year goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth was elevated to the team’s Senior Roster and enters camp as the second-string goalkeeper behind Matt Reis … in 2010, Shuttleworth came in to camp as the third goalkeeper behind Reis and league veteran Preston Burpo, but saw action in six games – including starting the final three matches of the year after Reis underwent season-ending ankle surgery.
Media Day – Save the Date
The Revolution will hold its annual Media Day on Wednesday, March 16, at Gillette Stadium … every member of the Revolution roster and coaching staff will be on hand and available to media, following a press luncheon and press availability for Chief Operating Officer Brian Bilello and Vice President of Player Personnel Mike Burns.
Off-Season Transactions
- November 1, 2010: Promoted Bryan Scales to Director of Youth Development
- November 3, 2010: F Taylor Twellman ends playing career because of medical condition
- November 15, 2010: Signed M/F Diego Fagundez as first-ever Home Grown Player from Under-16 squad
- December 15, 2010: Selected D Ryan Cochrane (Houston Dynamo) and M Fred (Philadelphia Union) in Second Round of Re-Entry Process
- December 23, 2010: Signed D Ryan Cochrane, Re-signed GK Matt Reis
- January 11, 2011: Signed D Didier Domi
- January 12, 2011: Re-signed M/D Chris Tierney
- January 13, 2011: Selected D A.J. Soares, M Stephen McCarthy, F Steven Perry, F/M Ryan Kinne and F Alan Koger in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft
- January 17, 2011: Waived D Emmanuel Osei
- January 18, 2011: Re-signed D Seth Sinovic; Selected D/M Hunter Christiansen, M Fernando Cabadas and M Andrew Sousa in the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Eight invited to US Soccer Evaluation
Eight of the Revolution’s youth players have been invited to U.S. Soccer’s Training Center, being held at the Dana-Farber Field House on Saturday, Jan. 28 … Daniel Apajee (Cranston, R.I.), Diego Fagundez (Leominster, Mass.), David Hepp (Natick, Mass.), Kevin Herrera (Lynn, Mass.), Yannick Kabala (Manchester, N.H.), Peguy Ngatcha (Manchester, N.H.), Christian Sady (North Andover, Mass.) and Mitchell Taintor (Storrs, Conn.) will take part in the evaluation center, which will be led by U.S. Soccer coaches at various age levels …the eight Under-16 players will perform in either the 1996/1997 birth years group or the 1994/1995 birth years group.
Signing Day coming up
High school soccer players can start signing National Letters of Intent to attend colleges and accept financial assistance starting on Wednesday, Feb. 2 … several Revolution youth players have either decided their signing intentions, or are still deciding their college futures … forward Cole Denormandie (Lincoln, Mass.) has announced he plans to sign an NLI with the University of Cincinnati, while midfielder Cam Bielski (Dover, Mass.) is scheduled to sign an NLI with the University of New Hampshire.
SUPPORTER ACTIVITIES
Saturday, Jan. 28 Chant/Song recording (Gillette Stadium), 1 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 9 U.S.-Egypt Watch Party (The Banshee, Dorchester, Mass.), Time TBA
YELL PRACTICE
On Saturday, Jan. 28, members from the team’s supporters groups, including the Rebellion, Midnight Riders, The Barra and Revs Army, as well as non-aligned fans, will come together at Gillette Stadium to record chants and cheers for use during the 2011 season … for more information, visit the Rebellion’s Facebook Invite at http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=156779701039173.
U.S.-EGYPT WATCH PARTY
When the U.S. National Team takes on Egypt in Cairo on Wednesday, Feb. 9, the Revolution will join with the Boston chapter of the American Outlaws (a national supporters group for the U.S. National Teams) for a watch party at The Banshee in Dorchester … more information will be available when the kick off time and broadcast information are available from U.S. Soccer.
