[
View the story "New England Revolution's Top Tweets - April 16" on Storify
]

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Following a road draw at Seattle last Saturday, the New England Revolution (1-2-2, 5 pts.) travels to face the New York Red Bulls (2-3-2, 8 pts.) for the first of three meetings this season.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET, at Red Bull Arena. Comcast SportsNet will televise the game live, while 98.5 The Sports Hub will have the game on the radio. 

ICYMI: LAST WEEK ON THE WEB

revolutionsoccer.net:

• Saer Sene returns from ACL surgery to provide a spark in Seattle
• Postgame: Revs 0, Sounders 0
• Revolution re-signs goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth

THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES
Revs affected by Boston Marathon blasts

While many Bostonians and visitors alike were affected by Monday’s blasts near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, the Revolution family was also affected … Matt Reis’ father-in-law was injured and remains in the hospital for treatment, while Chris Tierney’s girlfriend was also injured … WATCH:  Video of team reaction

League’s best defense gets better

Following a third defensive shutout in five games, the Revolution maintained the league’s top defense last weekend in Seattle … through five games this season, the Revs have allowed just two goals, good for a 0.40 goals against average ... anchored by A.J. Soares, Jose Goncalves and Andrew Farrell – who have started all five games – the Revs have posted their best defensive start to the season in club history … Revs goalkeepers Matt Reis (two shutouts) and Bobby Shuttleworth (one shutout) have also been instrumental in the defensive stance this year … entering Week 7 in the MLS schedule, only four teams have posted GAAs below 1.00: New England (0.40), Sporting Kansas City (0.50), LA (0.80) and Montreal (0.83).

Saer Sene returns to action for Revs

Saer Sene made his first appearance of the 2013 season last Saturday in Seattle, coming on as a 74^th-minute substitute … it was his first action since August 29, 2012, when he left the home match against Chivas USA, with a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury in his left knee.

Best defensive start in club history

With Saturday’s 0-0 draw in Seattle, the Revs bested the 2006 solid defensive start – the club’s previous best defensive start (three goals allowed in five games played) – by allowing just two goals through the first five matches … in 2006, the Revs posted an MLS-low 35 goals allowed in 32 games (a 1.09 goals against average) with 10 shutouts.

Orange wristbands for leukemia awareness

On Saturday, the Revolution players – and Sounders FC midfielder, and former Rev, Shalrie Joseph – donned orange wristbands to show support for leukemia awareness … following defender Kevin Alston’s recent diagnosis with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), the team is showing its support for their teammate … more activities are planned for April 27 when the team plays its first home game since Alston’s announcement.

Coaching Development Night announced

As the spring soccer season gets underway, the region’s top youth soccer coaches have a new opportunity to hone their coaching skills when the New England Revolution present the Revolution Coaching Development Night on Tuesday, May 14, at Gillette Stadium … head coach Jay Heaps and his staff, along with the Revolution Academy youth teams’ technical staff, will be part of a special free coaching education night at Gillette Stadium that will run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. … coaches interested in attending the free Revolution Coaching Development Night must RSVP before Friday, May 10 … further information about the evening, including an RSVP link, can be found here.

Revs, NuRide renew partnership

Massachusetts and Connecticut residents who are concerned with preserving the environment and reducing their carbon footprint continue to have a way to earn New England Revolution-related rewards for their conscientiousness … the Revolution and NuRide have renewed their partnership to offer Revolution-affiliated rewards to NuRide participants … through NuRide, commuters can learn how reducing "drive alone" car rides can help them save money and earn points that can be redeemed for rewards from local, regional, and national restaurants, retailers and events – including Revolution games … for more information on NuRide or to sign up for free, visit www.nuride.com.

Autism Awareness game announced

The Revolution will support Autism Awareness Month in partnership with Autism Speaks, Saturday, April 27, when the team presents its first-ever Autism Awareness game at Gillette Stadium against the Philadelphia Union at 7:30 p.m. … highlighted activities of the night will include local performer and Autism awareness advocate Gianna Hitsos performing the national anthem, a representative of Autism Speaks serving as honorary captain during the pregame coin toss and Autism Speaks tables set up at the stadium with information about their awareness, fundraising, science and advocacy efforts … for more information on how you can support Autism Speaks, visit autismspeaks.org.

THIS WEEK IN ROCHESTER

• The Revs currently have four players on loan to the Rochester Rhinos as part of the teams’ affiliation agreement: defender Bilal Duckett, midfielder Gabe Latigue, forward Matt Horth and defender Tyler Polak
• On Saturday, April 13, the Rhinos opened their regular season on the road against VSI Tampa Bay FC, suffering a 3-0 loss, before falling to Orlando City FC on Sunday, April 14, by a 3-1 score
• All four Revs players on loan have appeared in both games this season, with Duckett leading the group with 158 minutes played
• The Rhinos return to action with a pair of road games: at the Charlotte Eagles on Friday, April 19, and at the Richmond Kickers on Saturday, April 20.

SATURDAY’S OPPONENT & SERIES INFORMATION
Revolution vs. New York (regular season) 26-19-13
Home: 18-4-6
Away: 8-15-7
TEAM NOTES AGAINST NEW YORK

• The Revs lead the all-time, regular-season series with the New York Red Bulls (formerly the New York/New Jersey MetroStars), 26-19-13
• On the road, the Revs are 8-15-7 all-time against New York, including an 0-3-0 regular-season mark at Red Bull Arena since the stadium opened in 2010
• Saturday’s game will mark the 59th regular-season meeting and 67th all-time between the Revolution and Red Bulls in MLS regular-season, postseason and tournament action combined, which is the most meetings against any opponent in Revs history
• Saturday’s match is the first of three regular-season meetings between the two clubs this year … the teams will also meet at Gillette Stadium on May 11, and close the three-game series at Red Bull Arena on Oct. 5
• The teams split the 2012 season series with a 1-1-1 record … the Revs dropped a 1-0 decision on April 28 at Red Bull Arena, but earned a 2-0 win on July 8 at Gillette Stadium … the teams played to a 1-1 draw in the final meeting of the year at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 22
• Five of the last seven games have been one-goal games or draws, dating back to May 29, 2010 … in those five “close” games, the Revs are 1-2-2 … the largest margin of victory in that span was two goals - by the Red Bulls in 2-0 victory on Oct. 21, 2010 and by New England in 2-0 win on July 8, 2012
• Since the Red Bulls re-branded from the Metrostars in 2006, the Revs have posted an 8-3-8 record against New York
• New England and New York have met in the postseason three times – all since 2003 – and the Revs have eliminated New York on each occasion … the clubs most recent playoff encounter was in the 2007 Eastern Conference Semifinal Series, which the Revs won, 1-0, on aggregate

PLAYER NOTES AGAINST NEW YORK

• Chad Barrett has scored four goals against New York, all coming in 2008 – two each while playing with Chicago and Toronto
• Andy Dorman, despite not playing a game against New York since 2007, is the Revs’ leading active scorer against the Red Bulls with two goals … Dorman’s last goal against the Red Bulls came on July 7, 2007, in a 1-0 win at Giants Stadium … Steve Ralston assisted on that goal, his 115^th-career assist to assume the MLS career lead in the category
• Jerry Bengtson scored his first career goal in his MLS debut against New York when the two teams met on July 8, 2012
• Lee Nguyen has one goal in three appearances against New York … Nguyen scored the game-winner on July 8, 2012, in Foxborough
• Two other current players – Sainey Nyassi and Clyde Simms – have also scored single goals against New York
• Chris Tierney leads all current Revolution players with two assists in seven appearances – including the game-winning assist on July 8, 2012
• Matt Reis is the only other Revs player to record an assist against New York
• Matt Reis is 10-4-7 in his Revolution career against the Red Bulls, posting a 1.27 goals against average and six shutouts
• Bobby Shuttleworth is 2-1-2 in his Revolution career against New York, with a 1.31 goals against average and one shutout … Shuttleworth – a native of Tonawanda, New York (a Buffalo suburb) – went 1-0-1 in a pair of games against New York last year

REVOLUTION ACADEMY UPDATE
Youth teams return to action with mixed results

All three of the Revolution Academy’s youth teams were in action on Sunday, April 14, going 2-1-0 as the Under-14s shut out FC Westchester, 6-0, while the Under-18s and Under-16s split their results, suffering a 2-1 loss and earning a 4-0 victory against Revolution Empire, respectively … the U18s and U16s were originally scheduled to play the Montreal Impact in Canada on Saturday, April 13, but the playing fields were still covered in several inches of snow from the recent storm and the games were postponed .

U16s, U14s on extended undefeated runs

Both the U16s and the U14s are in the midst of extended undefeated runs as they into head this weekend’s schedule ... the Under-16 team in the middle of a seven-game unbeaten streak … the Under-14s are riding a five-game unbeaten streak and have posted four straight shutouts in that span … on Sunday, April 14, the Under-18 team suffered a 2-1 loss to Revolution Empire, snapping its 12-game unbeaten streak.

Season to-date records

Heading into this weekend’s games, the Under-18s are 10-3-2 (29 pts.) overall and rank second in the Northeast Division of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s East Conference based on points per game … the Under-16s hold a 9-2-4 record (31 pts.) and are currently in third place in the division … the Under-14s are now 9-2-0 (27 pts.), which is good for second in U.S. Club Soccer’s Northeast Pre-Academy League based on points per game.

Summer Player Development Programs enrolling

The Revolution Academy’s Player Development Programs are now enrolling for summer sessions, with locations all over New England … the Revolution Academy trains players of all abilities in all aspect of the game, including ball mastery, speed of play, coordination and balance and movement with and without the ball … the objective of all the training programs is to replicate the speed, tempo and environment of the Revolution Youth Teams’ training sessions … through the age-appropriate player development sessions, the Revolution Academy fosters an atmosphere that is competitive, challenging, demanding and fun … encouragement and support from the professional coaching staff allows every player to gain a better understanding of – and continued passion for – the game … more information, including the full spring and summer schedule, is available here.