FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (3-6-0, 9 pts.) will host Vancouver Whitecaps FC (5-2-2, 17 pts.) at 7:30 p.m., on Saturday, May 12, at Gillette Stadium.
Comcast SportsNet will televise the game while 98.5 The Sports Hub will carry the game on the radio.
Saturday’s match will mark the third meeting all-time between the clubs, and the only one this season. The Revs won the regular-season series against expansion-Vancouver in 2011, picking up a 1-0 win on May 14 at Gillette Stadium following a 1-1 draw in the inaugural meeting at Vancouver on April 6.
SERIES INFORMATION VS VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC
Team information vs. Vancouver
· Saturday’s match will be the third meeting ever between the New England Revolution and Vancouver Whitecaps FC
· The match on Saturday will be the only regular-season meeting between the two clubs in 2012
· The Revs are undefeated at home against Vancouver, winning the only match played at Gillette Stadium, 1-0, on May 14, 2011
· New England won the first regular-season series in 2011 … the two teams played to a 1-1 draw at Empire Field on April 6 before the Revs won, 1-0, at Gillette Stadium on May 14
· All three of the goals scored in the all-time meetings have come in the second half
· With the draw against Vancouver on April 6, the Revs moved to 5-0-4 in first meetings against expansion or relocated teams since the start of the 2005 season
Player Notes vs. Vancouver
· Shalrie Joseph is the only active Revs player to score against Vancouver … he scored on a penalty kick – the game’s lone goal – on May 14, 2011
· Joseph and Kevin Alston were the only two current Revolution players to play all 180 minutes last season against Vancouver
· Matt Reis is undefeated at 1-0-0 in his career against Vancouver, stopping five shots and picking up the shutout on May 14, 2011, at Gillette Stadium
· Goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth made his 2011 season debut against Vancouver on April 6, replacing an injured Matt Reis … he made one save in the draw
· Former Revs goalkeeper Brad Knighton was signed by the Whitecaps in the off-season and serves as Joe Cannon’s backup
TEAM NOTES
A Handful of One-Goal Games Lately
Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Real Salt Lake was the team’s fifth consecutive one-goal game … in the last five games, the Revs are 1-4-0, and have scored more than one goal once: Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Colorado … overall, the Revs are 2-5-0 in one-goal games this season.
Gladly Welcoming Canadian Visitors
The Revolution is undefeated (5-0-2) in home matches against MLS’s Canada-based teams, dating back to Toronto FC first visit in 2007 … last season, the Revs defeated Vancouver, 1-0, in the Whitecaps first visit to Gillette Stadium on May 14 … the Revs are 4-0-2 all-time at home against Toronto … New England has yet to win on Canadian soil, however, and is 0-2-4 all-time in Canada … the Revs have two more home games against Canadian teams this season: July 14 against Toronto and August 12 against Montreal.
Seeing a lot of Gillette Stadium
After playing six of the team’s first nine matches on the road, the Revs return to Foxborough this week for back-to-back home games … in fact, seven of the next nine Revolution matches will be played at Gillette Stadium spanning May 12 through July 14 with stand-alone trips to D.C. (May 26) and Toronto (June 23) on deck in that span … the Revs are 2-1-0 at home so far this year.
Cardenas Unavailable Saturday
Fernando Cardenas will miss Saturday’s match against Vancouver while serving a one-game suspension after he was issued his first career red card on Saturday in Salt Lake … the red card was his first-ever booking in MLS, and was the club’s first red card of the season after setting a club record with 10 ejections in 2011.
Blake Blasts First In Blue
Blake Brettschneider recorded his first goal of the season at Real Salt Lake on Saturday night … it was his first goal as a member of the Revolution and his second career goal … it was his first goal in almost 11 months as his only prior goal came on June 11, 2011, as a member of D.C. United in a 4-2 loss to San Jose at RFK Stadium.
Brettschneider Adds to Team Attack
With his goal at Real Salt Lake on Saturday, Blake Brettschneider become the sixth different player to score a goal for the Revolution this season … of the six Revolution goal scorers this year – including Saer Sene (3) Brettschneider (1), Fernando Cardenas (1), Jose Moreno (1), Kelyn Rowe (1) and Chris Tierney (1) – only one scorer, Tierney, was a member of the Revolution last season.
Joseph’s Assist Totals Climb
One season removed from leading the club in goal scoring, Shalrie Joseph leads the Revs in assists with three in 2012 after picking up an assist on Blake Brettschneider’s goal at Real Salt Lake … Joseph’s assist was the 34th of his career … he is now one shy of second place on the Revolution’s career assist chart, behind Joe-Max Moore who had 35 … this is the sixth time in Joseph’s career that he has recorded at last three assists … his career high is eight, which he recorded in 2009.
Reis hits 20,000 Revolution minutes
Matt Reis became the third Revolution player to record 20,000 minutes for the club on Saturday night at Real Salt Lake … he reached the milestone in the eighth minute … Reis became the first Revolution goalkeeper to reach the 20,000 minute-mark, and trails Shalrie Joseph (22,106 minutes) and Jay Heaps (21,566 minutes) for the club lead … in addition to his minutes-played milestone this season, Reis has also recorded his 1,000th career save (March 24) and 100th career win (May 2).
Reis Among League-Leaders in Saves
Following a five-save performance on Saturday at Real Salt Lake, Matt Reis is now tied with Chivas USA’s Dan Kennedy for fourth in the league in saves with 33 in nine games, three behind league-leader Nick Rimando of Salt Lake by three saves (36 saves, 11 games)… Reis has recorded at least five saves in each of the last three games, with a six-save effort last Wednesday against Colorado.
Shots Not Leading to Goals
The Revs have seen 51 of their 113 shots go on frame, a league-leading 45.1 percentage in shots on goal percentage … the club’s 51 shots on goal rank fourth in the league, two behind league-leader Colorado (53 shots on goal, 10 games) … the Revs remain 14th in the league in goals (eight goals in nine games), 13 behind league-leader San Jose (21 goals in 10 games).
YOUTH UPDATE
Revolution Empire is Born
The Revolution has formed a strategic partnership with New York-based Empire United, a youth development program that also plays in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy … beginning with the 2012-13 season, Empire United will become “Revolution Empire, A New England Revolution Soccer Club” … Revolution Empire will be the Revolution’s first affiliate youth club, allowing its Academy players, coaches and development-level players access and involvement in the Revolution Academy development and competition system, with the ultimate goal to produce Revolution Home Grown players.
Under-18s
The Under-18s went 0-1-1 against divisional opponents last weekend … the U18s suffered a 4-1 loss to Empire United at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, May 5, before playing Seacoast United to a 2-2 draw at Durfee High School in Fall River, Mass., on Sunday, May 6 … the U18s are now 6-7-3, and are in sixth place in the Northeast Division of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s East Conference.
Under-16s
The Under-16s went 1-1-0 last weekend, also against divisional opponents … the U16s earned a 3-1 victory over Empire United on Saturday at Gillette Stadium, before suffering a 1-0 loss against Seacoast United on Sunday in Fall River, Mass., on Sunday … the U16s are now 9-6-1 and are in third place in the Northeast Division of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s East Conference.
U16s ranked among TopDrawerSoccer.com’s best
TopDrawerSoccer.com has ranked three members of the Revolution Under-16 team among the Top 50 players nationwide in their age … in its most recent 2015 Boys National Top 150, Guy Kabala (Manchester, N.H.) – who is currently in Bradenton, Fla., with the U.S. Under-17 team – is ranked eighth, Amadu Kunateh (Lynn, Mass.) is ranked 37th and Zach Herivaux (Brookline, Mass.) is ranked 50th … TopDrawerSoccer.com updates its rankings quarterly after consulting scouts, staff and coaches at various levels.
Divisional Play Continues
The Revs’ youth teams continue Northeast Division play this weekend, traveling to Bridgeport, Conn., to meet South Central Premier on Saturday, May 12, before taking on Oakwood SC in Portland, Conn., on Sunday, May 13 … the Revs’ division includes Oakwood SC (Conn.), FC Greater Boston Bolts (Mass.), Seacoast United (N.H.), Empire United (N.Y.) and South Central Premier (Conn.) … clubs’ inter-divisional record is the key determining factor in playoff qualification at the end of the Academy season.
