FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution have the opportunity to clinch an MLS Cup Playoff berth this weekend as the team heads north to face the Montreal Impact at Stade Saputo on Saturday, October 11. The match is set to kick off at 4 p.m., and will be broadcast on Comcast SportsNet and carried on the radio on 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Winners of seven of their last eight games, New England (15-11-3, 48 pts.) enter Saturday’s contest knowing a win will see the club return to the MLS Cup Playoffs. However, several other scenarios exist that would allow New England to clinch a berth with a draw or even a loss, pending outcomes around the league this week. Montreal (6-18-7, 25 pts.) sits 10th in the Eastern Conference and has been eliminated from playoff contention.

The Revs continued their late season resurgence on Saturday night, earning a 2-1 win over Columbus behind goals from Lee Nguyen and Jermaine Jones on either side of halftime, and Bobby Shuttleworth’s Man of the Match display in goal. The win gave the Revolution sole possession of second place in the Eastern Conference, two points clear of third-place Sporting Kansas City, and five points clear of the fifth-place Crew heading into the final three weeks of the regular season.

The Revs and Impact last met at Gillette Stadium on September 13 with New England claiming a 2-1 win, courtesy of first-half goals from Kelyn Rowe and Lee Nguyen. The teams previously met at Stade Saputo on May 31, with Montreal snapping the Revs’ first five-game winning streak of the season with a 2-0 win. Saturday’s match is the third and final of the season between the teams.

If Jay Heaps’ squad can secure second place in the Eastern Conference this season, it will mark the first time the club finishes better than third in the conference since 2007. However, the club also has the potential to catch first-place D.C. United, who are four points ahead of the Revs. United have away games at Montreal and Houston, as well as a home match against Chicago, remaining.

TEAM NOTES

WIN AND THEY’RE IN
With seven wins in their last eight games, the Revolution are on the verge of clinching a second consecutive postseason berth … it would be the 12th playoff berth in club history and the team’s second since 2009 … the Revs enter the week in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 15-13-3 record for 48 points … the following scenarios exist for the Revs to clinch a playoff berth this weekend:

• New England Revolution win vs. Montreal Impact on Saturday

OR

• New England Revolution tie vs. Montreal Impact on Saturday AND
• Columbus Crew lose to Philadelphia Union on Saturday OR
• Toronto FC lose to Houston Dynamo on Wednesday OR New York Red Bulls on Saturday

OR

• Toronto FC tie BOTH Houston Dynamo on Wednesday AND New York Red Bulls on Saturday

OR

• Toronto FC lose to one and tie with other: Houston Dynamo on Wednesday OR New York Red Bulls on Saturday

REVS TO HIT THE RUNWAY TOMORROW NIGHT TO SUPPORT THE ELLIE FUND
Soccer and fashion will collide tomorrow night when Darrius Barnes, Teal Bunbury, Charlie Davies, Jermaine Jones, Daigo Kobayashi, Lee Nguyen and Kelyn Rowe – along with team wives and girlfriends and Revolution sideline reporter Jessie Coffield – will model looks from Boden’s Winter line as part of Boston Fashion Week ... the event, which will be held at BOND at The Langham, Boston (250 Franklin Street), will help to raise money for the Ellie Fund in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness month … tickets to the 21+ event, which will kick off at 7:30 p.m., can be purchased online for $25 here, while $50 VIP tickets are also available and include early admission, access to a Grey Goose and St. Germain cocktail reception and a sweet treat … a limited amount of tickets will be available at the door.

FIFTY POINT PLATEAU IN SIGHT
With 48 points, the Revs are just two points away from recording 50 points for the fourth time in team history … with a win over the Impact on Saturday, the Revs would match 2013’s 51-point total with two games to play … New England can finish with a maximum of 57 points, which would be two points shy of the club-record 59 points, which they set in 2005 with a 17-7-8 record on their way to a first-place finish in the East and the first of three straight appearances in MLS Cup … since MLS launched in 1996, just two teams have failed to qualify for the playoffs when recording 50 or more points: the 2012 Columbus Crew (52 points) and 2013 San Jose Earthquakes (51 points).

TEAM AND CONFERENCE WINS RECORDS IN PLAY
In 2005, the New England Revolution set the club record with 17 victories in 32 regular-season games … the 17 wins broke the previous record of 15, which was set in 1996 and matched in 1997 … with 15 wins already and three games remaining on the schedule, the Revs could still match – or surpass – their record win total this season … further, if the Revs win their final three games, they will establish a new club record win total (18), which would equal the record for wins in the post-shootout era by an Eastern Conference club … D.C. United also has the same opportunity this year to match the Eastern record, as they also enter the weekend with 15 wins with three games to play.

HEAPS TO REACH COACHING MILESTONE
On Saturday at Montreal, Jay Heaps will coach his 100th career game, all coming with the Revolution … a New England native, Heaps will become the 30th coach in MLS history to lead a team in 100 or more games … with a 38-41-20 regular-season record, he is already the second-longest tenured coach in club history, trailing only Steve Nicol, who led the club for 301 regular-season games … Heaps replaced Nicol after the 2011 season and is currently the sixth-longest tenured active coach in the league … he can also become the only New England coach – other than Nicol – to lead multiple Revolution teams to the postseason if the Revs reach the playoffs this season.

HEAPS SET TO JOIN RARE CLUB
Jay Heaps played in 243 regular -season games for the Revs from 2001 to 2009 and, when he steps on the sideline on Saturday at Montreal, will become just the third coach in MLS history to coach 100 or more games for the same team that he played for at least 100 times … Heaps will join an exclusive club that includes only former Columbus head coach Robert Warzycha (played 160 games and coached 170 games for the Crew) and current D.C. United head coach Ben Olsen (played 221 games and has coached 145 games in D.C. entering the weekend).

ANOTHER GAME-WINNER FOR JONES
On Saturday in the Revs’ 2-1 win over Columbus, Jermaine Jones scored the game-winning goal for the second straight game, heading home a Chris Tierney free kick in the 67th minute … his two game-winning goals are second on the team as only Lee Nguyen – with an MLS-best seven game-winning goals – has more … the Revs’ U.S. international has appeared in seven games since signing with the club on August 24 … he has two goals and three assists, with all coming in the five games he started … New England has won each of those games, going 5-0-0 in matches he starts … additionally, all of Jones’ goals and assists this season have been either game-winners (two goals, two assists) or game-tying (one assist) … he is the only current Revolution player with whom the club has a perfect record when he starts.

NGUYEN CONTINUES MVP-CALIBER CAMPAIGN
Lee Nguyen wrote his name in the Revolution record books on Saturday night, scoring his 14th goal of the season to set a new club record for goals by a midfielder and give the Revs a 1-0 lead … the top goal-scoring midfielder in MLS this season, Nguyen kicked off October with the same style he played in September when he was a finalist for the Ethiad Airways MLS Player of the Month and claimed his third straight Santander Revolution Man of the Month award … in the last 11 games, Nguyen has scored eight goals and added four assists … his 14 goals is the eight-best single-season goal tally in Revs history, and are the most by a Revolution player since Taylor Twellman scored 16 goals in 2007 … only Raul Diaz Arce (18 in 1998), Joe-Max Moore (15 in 1999), Wolde Harris (15 in 2000) and Twellman (23 in 2002, 15 in 2003, 17 in 2005, 16 in 2007) have scored more goals than Nguyen in a single season for New England … the Revs are now 12-1-1 this season when he scores a goal or registers an assist.

SIX SAVES FOR SHUTTLEWORTH …
Bobby Shuttleworth was the Santander Man of the Match after making six saves in Saturday night’s 2-1 win over Columbus … the six saves matched his second-highest save mark season, having previously made six saves in the 5-0 home win over Seattle on May 11 … he recorded a season-best seven saves on July 19 in a 2-0 loss at FC Dallas … Shuttleworth is now tied with Jeff Causey for second in career saves (207) in the club’s record book … on pace to become the first Revolution goalkeeper to start 30 or more games since Matt Reis in 2007, Shuttleworth has established new single-season bests in games played (29), games started (29), wins (14), shots faced (129) and saves (85), while also becoming the first Revs goalkeeper since Causey in 2000 to stop more the one penalty kick in a season.

… AND A SAVE OF THE WEEK NOMINATION
The first of Bobby Shuttleworth’s six saves in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Columbus is nominated for MLS save of the week … with the score tied 0-0 in the 18th minute, Shuttleworth made a quick reaction save on Aaron Schoenfeld, who had gotten free inside the penalty area eight yards from goal … the save proved important as the Revs took a 1-0 lead just two minutes later … click here to see all of the nominees and to vote Shuttleworth’s stop the league’s save of the week.

REVS HOT HEADING DOWN THE STRETCH
Entering the team’s home match against Colorado Rapids on July 30, the Revolution were tied for sixth place in the Eastern Conference and mired in an eight-game losing streak, one loss away from matching the club’s longest losing streak ever (nine games) … however, the 3-0 win that night ignited an 11-game run in which the club has gone 8-2-1 since … in the last 11 games, New England has claimed 25 of a possible 33 points after taking only 23 points from the 60 available in the season’s first 20 games … in the last 10 games, only the LA Galaxy (8-0-2, 26 points) have been hotter than the Revolution (7-2-1, 22 points).

THREE GAMES REMAIN
With just three games remaining on the schedule, the Revs will play their next two games on the road … the Revolution will travel to Montreal this weekend and then visit Houston’s BBVA Compass Stadium on Thursday, October 16 … both trips are return visits, as the Revs played both Montreal (2-0 loss on May 31) and Houston (4-0 loss on March 8) away already this year … the Revolution will close the regular season at Gillette Stadium against Toronto FC on October 25 … this season the Revs are:

• 4-2-0 against the clubs remaining on their schedule (2-0-0 at home, 2-2-0 on the road)
• 10-4-2 at home and 5-9-1 on the road, overall
• 11-10-1 against fellow Eastern Conference clubs

REMAINING STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
If the MLS season ended today, none of the Revs’ three remaining opponents would make the playoffs and the combined winning percentage of the team’s remaining opponents is .406 (27-44-20) … Montreal is in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and has been eliminated from playoff contention … Houston is in eighth place, seven points back of fifth-place Columbus with a game in hand … Toronto FC are in sixth place, three points behind the Crew with a game in hand … Houston and Toronto meet at BBVA Compass Stadium on Wednesday, after which all 10 teams in the Eastern Conference will have played 31 games … while the Revolution’s remaining opponents have a combined sub-.500 record, Houston and Montreal have a combined .583 (14-9-7) home record, as the Revs will travel to play both opponents away … Toronto, however, is 4-6-5 away as the Revs will host TFC at Gillette Stadium.

VOTING OPEN NOW FOR REVOLUTION 2014 MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Voting is now open for the 2014 New England Revolution Santander Most Valuable Player, which will be selected by fan vote for the fifth straight season … fans who vote for the MVP will also have the opportunity to enter a sweepstakes to win a pair of cleats signed by the club’s 2014 MVP after entering their votes ... all players that appeared in at least 15 of the club’s first 30 regular-season games are eligible for selection, and fans are asked to vote for their first, second and third choices for MVP … voting will remain open until 10 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 11 … the 2014 Revolution team award winners – including the Santander Most Valuable Player – will be announced on Saturday, October 25, in a pregame ceremony before the Revs face Toronto FC in the team’s 2014 home finale.

DONATE TO ALSTON, REVS AND LIGHT THE NIGHT FOR LLS
To help support research and the on-going race for a cure for blood cancers, the Revolution has entered a team in Thursday’s  Boston Light the Night Walk, sponsored by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society … the walk will begin at 5 p.m., on the historic Boston Common (Charles St., Boston, Mass.) … the Revolution is asking fans help fundraise on behalf of the New England Revolution Charitable Foundation by making a donation to the club’s team, which also includes defender Kevin Alston … the Revolution Charitable Foundation will match the first $2,500 in donations received by the team’s walkers … in April 2013, Alston was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), a rare but treatable form of leukemia … while CML does not yet have a cure, Alston has managed his health and has returned to the field. |DONATE NOW