SEATTLE – Goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth was credited with three saves and the New England Revolution’s league-leading defense kept its third clean sheet of the season as the Revs battled to a 0-0 draw with Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday afternoon at CenturyLink Field.

The Revs (1-2-2, 5 pts.) have now conceded just two goals through the first five games, including just one in three road matches. Scoring remains elusive, however, as the Revs have been held scoreless for a club record 388 consecutive minutes dating back to the season opener against the Chicago Fire.

Seattle (0-3-2, 2 pts.) snapped a brief two-game losing streak with the draw, but remains Major League Soccer’s only winless club through five games.

Chris Tierney filled the left back vacancy created by Kevin Alston’s absence, while Kalifa Cisse returned to the Revolution’s starting lineup for the first time since the season opener. Saer Sene made a 16-minute appearance off the bench to mark his return from the torn ACL he suffered last August.

Shuttleworth retained his starting spot despite Matt Reis (L knee irritation) making the bench and made a fantastic fingertip save on Osvaldo Alonso’s 20-yard drive in the 15th minute. Just moments earlier, Jose Goncalves made a critical late intervention to block Steve Zakuani’s close-range effort.

Zakuani had another golden opportunity in the 43rd minute when he broke free down the left wing and cut inside onto his right foot, but Shuttleworth was again up to the task as he made a huge stop to keep the game scoreless heading into halftime.

Seattle’s attack continued to filter through Zakuani as the second half began and the Sounders forward found himself in another promising position in the 55th minute only for his shot to whistle wide.

Sene replaced Juan Toja in the 74th minute and the Revolution threatened shortly thereafter. Tierney’s free kick from the left channel found Andy Dorman – another second-half substitute – but he flicked the ball over the crossbar from a difficult spot.

Both teams had chances in the final 10 minutes – Seattle’s Lamar Neagle scuffed a shot straight at Shuttleworth in the 82nd minute and New England’s Jerry Bengtson nearly latched onto a long clearance in stoppage time – but ultimately the sides remained scoreless and shared the points.

The Revs will be on the road once again next weekend when they visit the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, April 20. Kickoff from Red Bull Arena is set for 7 p.m.

New England Revolution at Seattle Sounders FC
April 13, 2013 – Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field
New England Revolution 0, Seattle Sounders FC 0

Scoring Summary:

None

New England Revolution: Bobby Shuttleworth, Chris Tierney, Jose Goncalves, A.J. Soares, Andrew Farrell, Lee Nguyen, Clyde Simms ©, Kalifa Cisse (Andy Dorman 64), Kelyn Rowe, Juan Toja (Saer Sene 74), Jerry Bengtson

Substitutes Not Used: Matt Reis, Diego Fagundez, Stephen McCarthy, Darrius Barnes, Donnie Smith

STATS: Shots 5, Shots on Target 0, Corner Kicks 4, Saves 3, Fouls 16, Offsides 3, Passes 261 (65.9%), Possession 31.5%

Seattle Sounders FC: Michael Gspurning, Leo Gonsalez, Djimi Traore, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, DeAndre Yedlin, Alex Caskey, Shalrie Joseph (Andy Rose 74), Osvaldo Alsonso, Mauro Rosales © (Mario Martinez 83), Steve Zakuani (Philip Lund 74), Lamar Neagle

Substitutes Not Used: Marcus Hahnemann, Zach Scott, Marc Burch, Sammy Ochoa

STATS: Shots 13, Shots on Target 3, Corner Kicks 5, Saves 0, Fouls 14, Offsides 4, Passes 596 (83.2%), Possession 68.5%

* Note that all statistics are unofficial as supplied by Opta
Misconduct Summary:

None

Referee: Chris Penso

Assistant Referees: Mike Rottersman (AR1), Babourcarr Jallow (AR2)

Fourth Official: Tyler Ploeger
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 49 degrees

Attendance: 38,323

Team Records

New England Revolution – 1-2-2 (5 pts.)

Seattle Sounders FC – 0-3-2 (2 pts.)

GAME NOTES

• With the draw, the Revs moved to 3-3-2 all-time against Seattle
• The draw moved the Revs’ road record in Seattle to 1-2-1 in four meetings and snapped the team’s two-game losing streak to the Sounders at CenturyLink Field
• The draw was the teams’ second in as many games … the teams last played to a 2-2 draw at Gillette Stadium on June 23, 2012
• This was just the third shutout for either club in the teams’ all-time history … the Revs have bookended the series with shutouts, also posting a shutout at Seattle in the teams’ first-ever meeting: a 1-0 win on Aug. 20, 2009 … all three shutouts in the series history have occurred in Seattle
• Players from both teams wore orange wristbands during tonight’s game in honor of leukemia awareness following Kevin Alston’s announcement on Monday that he’s been diagnosed with the rare – but treatable – form of leukemia: chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) … he is currently on a leave of absence from the team to undergo treatment
•  With the shutout, the Revs lowered their league-leading team goals against average to 0.40 and extended the team’s best-ever defensive start to a season … the previous best defensive start to a season was 2006 when the team allowed three goals in five games and went on to post a league-leading 10 shutouts
• Bobby Shuttleworth made his third start of the season and his second in a row … in the first four games of the season, the Revs alternated goalkeepers because of inflammation in Matt Reis’ knee
• Bobby Shuttleworth picked up his first shutout of the 2013 season and the fifth of his career … his five career shutouts are now tied for fourth in the Revs’ career record books with Jeff Causey, Ian Feuer and Juergen Sommer
• The shutout was the team’s third of the season in five matches … the Revs have allowed just two goals this season
• Bobby Shuttleworth has now posted three shutouts in his last five appearances spanning the end of the 2012 season into 2013 (Oct. 20 vs. Chicago Fire, Oct. 27 at Montreal Impact and April 13 at Seattle)
• In games in which the Revs have posted a defensive shutout, the team is 1-0-2 … both of the team’s draws this year have been 0-0 affairs
• The Revs have now been held scoreless for 388 consecutive minutes, a new club record … coming into the game, the previous club record was 361 minutes from May 1, 1999 to May 29, 1999 … the last goal the Revs scored was in the 62nd minute at Chicago on March 9
• This was the second game in three outings the team was not able to get a shot on target … the team also did not register a shot on goal on March 23 against Sporting Kansas City
• Kelyn Rowe, a native of Federal Way, Wash., made his first-ever professional start in his hometown this afternoon … it was his 24th career start
• On Friday night before the Revs-Sounders game, Kelyn Rowe had his high school #2 jersey retired at Federal Way High School
• Chris Tierney made his first start of the season, replacing Kevin Alston at left back … it was his 95th career start and his 55th career start at left back
• Kalifa Cisse made his second start of the season and his first start since March 9 in the season opener at Chicago … he missed the Philadelphia match with an adductor strain, but was on the game day 18 for both the Sporting KC (March 23) and FC Dallas (March 30) matches
• Saer Sene made his 2013 debut when he came into the game as a substitute in the 74th minute for Juan Toja … it was Sene’s first appearance since suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Aug. 29, 2012, and his resulting reconstructive surgery on Sept. 17, 2012
• Today’s game was the team’s fourth game this season that the Revs have played a game with an afternoon or late-afternoon kickoff … the team kicked off at 5 p.m. at Philadelphia (March 16), at 4 p.m. against Sporting Kansas City (March 23) and FC Dallas (March 30) and 1 p.m. today