FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution will close out a three-game homestand on Saturday night when the team hosts fellow Eastern Conference side, the Montreal Impact. Unbeaten in their last five games and winners of their last four, the Revs enter Saturday’s contest as one of the hottest teams in MLS. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., with Comcast SportsNet televising the game live and 98.5 The Sports Hub carrying it on the radio. Revs Post Game Live will air immediately after the game on Comcast SportsNet.

Saturday’s game is also the organization’s annual “Salute to Heroes” event, where a series of events and activities have been planned to celebrate the region’s military heroes, veterans and their families, as well as the region’s first responders. Additionally, as part of the team’s 2014 Revolution Charitable Drive series, the Revolution will be collecting “comforts of home,” benefitting USO New England.  

The Revolution (12-12-3, 39 pts.) enter the week in sole possession of third place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind second-place Sporting Kansas City, with a game in hand, and three points ahead of Columbus and Philadelphia, who are tied for fourth place. The club is unbeaten in its last five games, going 4-0-1 in that time to take 13 of a possible 15 points and move from sixth place in the East up to third. In that stretch, head coach Jay Heaps’ squad has scored 10 goals while conceding just three.

The Impact are currently in last place in the Eastern Conference with a 5-16-5 record for an MLS-low 20 points. They will look to add to that total on Wednesday night when they host the LA Galaxy at Stade Saputo, before traveling to Foxborough for Saturday’s match. After suffering a seven-game losing streak between July 5 and August 9, Montreal has gone 2-2-0 in its last four league games, collecting home wins over Chicago and Columbus.

Saturday’s match at Gillette Stadium will be the second of three meetings between New England and Montreal this season and the only one that will be played in Foxborough. Montreal snapped the Revs’ five-game winning streak with a 2-0 win at Stade Saputo on May 31 behind first-half goals from Andres Romero and Jack McInerney.

The two sides will meet once again in Montreal on Saturday, October 11, in New England’s penultimate road game of the season.

TEAM NOTES

Looking for a first
Saturday’s game will be the seventh all-time meeting between the Revolution and Impact and the third played at Gillette Stadium … all-time, New England is 2-4-0 against the Impact … New England is 0-2-0 in the first two meetings between the two sides in Foxborough, with Montreal claiming a 1-0 road win over on August 12, 2012, and a 4-2 win on September 8, 2013 … New England was forced to play the final 85 minutes of the 2013 meeting with just 10-men after goalkeeper Matt Reis was sent off in the fifth minute for a foul on Montreal’s Marco Di Vaio … Montreal is the only current MLS team that New England has not beaten at home, though the Revs did win a pair of games – one in 2012 and one in 2013 – at Montreal’s Stade Saputo … the clubs will meet for the third and final time this season on Saturday, October 11 in Montreal.

One shy of season-long streak
The Revolution will enter Saturday’s game in the midst of a four-game winning streak … since a 1-1 home draw with Portland on August 16, the Revs have won four straight games, out-scoring opponents 9-2 in that time … with a win over the Impact on Saturday, the Revs would match their longest winning streak of the season at five games … New England won five straight from April 26 through May 24 before the Impact snapped that streak,  with a 2-0 win in Montreal on May 31 … that five-game winning streak is tied for the longest winning streak in MLS this season … the LA Galaxy has won five straight heading into Wednesday’s game in Montreal, while Seattle won five straight from April 12 to May 7 … the Revolution club record for longest winning streak is six, which was set in 2005.

Back to .500
Sunday’s win over Chicago improved New England’s record to 12-12-3 on the season, bringing the club back to .500 for the first time in more than two months … the club had been 7-3-2 on May 24, but an eight-game losing streak dropped the Revs to four games under .500 by late-July … however, the club has gone 5-1-1 since July 30 and now has as many wins as losses for the first time since July 4 when the club stood at 7-7-2 … the Revs were in third place in the Eastern Conference at that point, just as they are now … New England has finished above .500 seven times in its history, with each coming since 2003 … seven teams in MLS are currently above .500 ,while the Revs are one of five sides with a .500 record … New England is also one of two teams – along with Sporting Kansas City – that have 10 or more wins and 10 or more losses.

Staying positive, too
In addition to getting back to .500 with a 12-12-3 record, the Revolution once again claims a positive goal difference … New England has scored 39 goals this season, while conceding just 38 … this is the first time the club has owned a positive goal differential since July 4 when the team had scored 23 goals and conceded 22 before allowing a game-winner for RSL, bringing the club’s goal difference to even … the Revs are one of six Eastern Conference teams and 11 sides in the league with a positive goal differential … last season, the Revs finished with a +11 goal difference, which was the second-greatest goal differential in club history … Saturday’s opponent, the Montreal Impact, have the second worst goal difference in MLS at -19 heading into their game on Wednesday against the LA Galaxy, who have an MLS-best mark of +27.

Nguyen pacing the recent success
Lee Nguyen, who has emerged as an MLS MVP candidate this season, is helping pace the Revolution’s recent resurgence … in the last seven games, New England has gone 5-1-1 – rising from sixth to third in the Eastern Conference standings … in that stretch, Nguyen has scored four goals and added three assists, extending his team lead in the goals category to a career-high 12 … Nguyen is currently the league’s highest-scoring midfielder and is tied for sixth overall in goals in the league.

Jones settling right in
Jermaine Jones has been a member of the Revolution for less than three weeks, but has already made a big impact on the team … the Revs are undefeated in his three appearances – wins at Toronto (second-half substitute), and at home against Sporting KC (start) and Chicago (start) … Jones has also recorded a pair of crucial assists in each of the team’s last two games, setting up Teal Bunbury to level the score at 1-1 against Sporting KC – before the Revs went on to a 3-1 win – and then playing Charlie Davies in for the game-winning goal on Sunday against Chicago as the club claimed a 2-1 victory.

A first (assist) for the Captain
Revolution captain Jose Goncalves tallied the first assist of his MLS career on Sunday night, hustling to keep a ball in play near the corner flag before feeding Lee Nguyen, whose cross was headed into the net from close range by Diego Fagundez … Sunday’s game marked his 54th regular-season MLS appearance, and he had yet to record an assist before the match … the 28-year-old center back scored two goals in 2013 – when he won MLS defender of the year honors – including one against the Impact, but he had never been credited with an assist … before Sunday’s game, only one non-goalkeeper had appeared in more games for the Revolution without tallying an assist: Rusty Pierce (2000-04, no goals and no assists in 101 career regular-season game in New England).

Fagundez gets going again
Jose Goncalves’ first-career assist came on Diego Fagundez’s fifth goal of the season … he now has 22 goals in 84 regular-season games since making his Revolution debut in 2011 … Fagundez’s goal on Sunday against Chicago was his first in 14 regular-season appearances as he last scored on May 24 against D.C. United … that was the longest stretch of his career without a goal for the club, topping a 12-game stretch during the 2012 season … New England is now 14-3-4 when the 19-year-old scores a regular-season goal for the club, including a 4-0-0 record this season.

Castillion arrives and begins training
Dutch forward Geoffrey Castillion trained with the Revolution for the first time on Saturday, September 5, after receiving his P1 Visa and officially being added to the club’s roster … Castillion was signed by the Revs on August 25, but missed the next two games while awaiting his Visa in the Netherlands … he arrived in Boston on Friday, September 5, and trained with his new team on Saturday … while he was eligible for selection for Saturday’s squad against Chicago, he did not dress … a six-foot-three forward from Amsterdam, Castillion wears the No. 39 shirt for the Revs.

Rochester to open USL PRO Playoffs on Saturday
The Rochester Rhinos, the Revolution’s USL PRO affiliate, will open the 2014 USL PRO Playoffs on Saturday on the road against LA Galaxy II … the Rhinos (10-10-8, 38 pts.) are the sixth seed in the eight-team playoffs, while LA (15-7-6, 51 pts.) is the third seed … the two sides met once during the regular season with the Rhinos pulling out a 2-1 road win on June 11 … of the four Revolution players who are currently on loan to the Rhinos, Alec Sundly has received the most playing time, scoring four goals in 24 matches for the club … goalkeeper Luis Soffner started 10 games with two shutouts, while defender Jossimar Sanchez has made seven appearances … while those three have been on loan for the entire USL season, Donnie Smith – who was loaned back to Rochester last week for the final regular-season match and the playoffs - spent much of the season in Foxborough with the Revs … he has six appearances for the Rhinos this season.

Saturday’s “Salute to Heroes”
The Revs and the New England Revolution Charitable Foundation have planned a series of events and activities at Saturday’s match against Montreal to celebrate the region’s servicemen and women, first responders and their families … almost 3,000 tickets have been distributed to servicemen and first responders, while the following activities will take place on Saturday:

• U.S. Army and Navy vehicles will be on display in the NRG Plaza
• The Army and Navy will set up pull-up bars for competitions among fans
• The Army will have a dog-tag-making machine to make custom tags for fans
• The USO Show Troupe will perform pregame in the NRG Plaza
• Members of the military and their families will create a special pregame rally tunnel for the players and officials as they walk on to the field
• Revolution players will walk out on to the field during the procession wearing t-shirts from the five branches of the military, as well as local police, fire and EMS units
• A large United States flag will be presented by troops on-field for the National Anthem
• The National Anthem will be performed by Angie Johnson of the U.S. Air National Guard, while the Canadian National Anthem will be performed by James Shackelford.
• The USO “Every Moment Counts” flag – which recently earned the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® title for “most signatures on a flag” – will be unfurled at halftime. The flag has 115,405 signatures, gathered digitally and in-person from around the globe, and its display will be accompanied by a performance by Johnson.
• The night’s Honor Guard will feature members of various military service branches
• Revolution players will wear jerseys with camouflage numbers

Additionally, the Revolution will collect “comforts of home” – New England-based items to remind them of their home region – in conjunction with the USO New England through its fourth Charitable Drive Series event … items and gift cards from local coffee shops, beverages and snacks from regional companies can help cheer up service men and women.