FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution will look to book a spot in the Eastern Conference Championship for the first time since 2007 when they host the Columbus Crew in the second leg of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series on Sunday evening at Gillette Stadium. The Revs won 4-2 in the first leg at Crew Stadium on Saturday and can now advance with a win, draw or single goal loss.
Sunday’s game is scheduled to kick off at 5 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes. Locally, 98.5 The Sports Hub will carry the game on the radio in English, while WMVX 1570 AM will carry it on Brazilian radio.
The Revolution are unbeaten in their last eight games at Gillette Stadium, going 7-0-1 in that time dating back to a 3-0 win over Colorado on July 30. In those matches, the Revs have outscored opponents 15-5, including a 2-1 victory over the Crew on October 4 that saw Lee Nguyen and Jermaine Jones score for the home side. Since a 1-0 loss to Columbus on September 20, the Revs have gone 5-0-1 in all competitions, including Saturday’s first leg victory that saw Charlie Davies score a pair of goals with Chris Tierney and Lee Nguyen each adding the first postseason goals of their MLS careers.
New England is now 3-0-3 in six all-time postseason meetings with the Crew, including a 1-0-2 mark at Gillette Stadium. The Revs eliminated Columbus from the playoffs in 2002 and 2004 and will set up an Eastern Conference Championship meeting with D.C. United or the New York Red Bulls if they advance on Sunday.
MLS CUP PLAYOFFS
Complete MLS Cup Playoffs bracket: http://nerevs.us/DOq5o
MLS Cup Playoffs – Conference Semifinal Second Leg Schedule
Saturday, November 8
D.C. United vs. New York Red Bulls, 2:30 p.m. ET – NBC
(Red Bulls lead 2-0 on aggregate after the first leg)
Sunday, November 9
New England Revolution vs. Columbus Crew, 5 p.m. ET – ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes
(Revolution lead 4-2 on aggregate after the first leg)
LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake, 7:30 p.m. ET – ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes
(Series tied 0-0 on aggregate after the first leg)
Monday, November 10
Seattle Sounders FC vs. FC Dallas, 10:30 p.m. ET – NBC Sports Network
(Series tied 1-1 on aggregate after the first leg)
TEAM NOTES
THE SECOND LEG SCENARIOS
The New England Revolution are one game away from qualifying for the Eastern Conference Championship for the first time since 2007 … as a result of the club’s 4-2 road win over Columbus on Saturday, the Revs now know that they can advance to the Conference Championship with:
- A win, draw or one goal loss to the Crew on Sunday
- A two-goal loss by the score of 2-0 or 3-1
The only way that the Revs can be eliminated from the postseason would be with:
- A loss by three goals or more
- A two goal loss in which the Crew score more than four goals (5-3, 6-4, 7-5, etc.)
If Sunday’s game finishes 4-2 in favor of the Crew, the series will be decided by 30 minutes (two 15-minute halves) of extra time … if the score remains tied through extra time, the series would be decided by penalty kicks.
SUCCESS ON AGGREGATE
This is the Revs’ ninth two-leg, aggregate-goal playoff series since MLS adopted the format for the conference semifinals in 2003 … New England advanced to the Conference Championship from each of their first five aggregate-goal series before being eliminated at the conference semifinal round in 2008, 2009 and 2013 … following last weekend’s win, the Revs are 5-2-2 in the first leg of the series compared to 3-3-2 in the second leg … since the league moved to the aggregate goals format, the Revolution have played on the road in the first game as the higher seed five times, including this series …in those series, the Revs are now 2-2-1 in the opening leg and have advanced to the conference championship in each previous series.
LONGTIME RIVALS AWAIT
If the Revs can knock off the Crew, they will face either D.C. United or the New York Red Bulls in the Eastern Conference Championship … if United advance from their Conference Semifinal series, the Revs will host the first leg of the Conference Championship while they would host the second leg if the Red Bulls, who won the first leg 2-0 at home last weekend, advance … New England is 1-2-1 all-time in the postseason against D.C. United, losing in the 1997 Eastern Conference Semifinals, two games to none, before falling on penalties after a 3-3 draw in the 2004 Eastern Conference Championship … the sides last met in the 2006 Eastern Conference Championship with Taylor Twellman scoring to give the Revs a 1-0 win and a berth in MLS Cup … New England and New York have also met three times in the postseason with the Revs advancing on each occasion … in 2003, the Revs claimed a 3-1 win on aggregate in the Eastern Conference Semifinals … two years later, New York (then the MetroStars) led their Conference Semifinal series 2-0 on aggregate with 30 minutes remaining, only for New England to score three times en route to a 3-2 aggregate win … they last met in the 2007 eastern Conference Semifinals with New England claiming a 1-0 win on aggregate thanks to a Taylor Twellman goal in the second leg of that series at Gillette Stadium.
A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
In a game that saw New England set a new club record for the most goals in a postseason game with four, the Revolution experienced a series of other firsts in Saturday’s first leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Columbus:
- Charlie Davies, Jermaine Jones and Bobby Shuttleworth each started, making their MLS Cup Playoff debuts.
- Teal Bunbury made his first postseason appearance as a member of the Revolution, having previously made five postseason appearances for Sporting Kansas City, including one against the Revs in 2013.
- Patrick Mullins and Daigo Kobayashi saw the first postseason action of their MLS careers, coming on as second-half substitutes in the 79th and 89th minute, respectively.
- Charlie Davies, Lee Nguyen and Chris Tierney each scored their first career postseason goals.
- Charlie Davies became the first Revolution player to score multiple goals in a postseason game.
- Scott Caldwell and Jermaine Jones recorded their first postseason assists in game.
DAVIES FIRES HIS WAY INTO HISTORY BOOKS
After scoring three goals in the regular season, Revolution forward Charlie Davies nearly matched that total in 79 minutes of play against the Crew on Saturday … Davies, making his MLS postseason debut, scored his team’s first and fourth goals in their 4-2 win over Columbus, making the score 1-0 in the 34th minute and then adding his second goal in the 78th minute, stretching the Revs’ lead to 4-1 … Davies is the first player in Revolution history to score more than a single goal in a postseason game … he is now tied with Wolde Harris, Brian Kamler and Steve Ralston for third place in the club’s postseason goal scoring charts … only Taylor Twellman (10) and Pat Noonan (5) have more postseason goals in a Revolution shirt than Davies.
NGUYEN KEEPS ON SCORING
After scoring a club record nine game-winning goals in the regular season, Lee Nguyen tallied his first postseason game-winner on Saturday, scoring New England’s third goal in the 4-2 win over Columbus … after scoring 18 goals in the regular season, Nguyen now has 19 in all competitions for New England this year ... those are the most goals in a single year by a Revolution player since Taylor Twellman had 23 goals in 2007, scoring 16 in the regular season, four in the U.S. Open Cup and three in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
JONES PRODUCES IN POSTSEASON DEBUT
Jermaine Jones was credited with the first assist of his MLS Cup Playoff career on Saturday, setting up Lee Nguyen’s game-winning goal in the 70th minute … since being signed by the club on August 24, Jones has tallied two goals and five assists in 11 regular season and postseason games … the Revs are now a perfect 7-0-0 when Jones has a goal or an assist and they are 9-1-1 in all competitions since the U.S. National Team midfielder joined the club … on Wednesday, Jones was fined an undisclosed amount for simulation after being fouled by Crew defender Waylon Francis in the 70th minute of Saturday’s game … Francis was shown a yellow card for the infraction.
ROWE GIVES AN ASSIST
Kelyn Rowe was credited with the only assist on Charlie Davies’ first-half goal, sending a curling, right-footed free kick into the box for Davies to head home … that was the second assist of Rowe’s MLS Cup Playoff career, having set up Dimitry Imbongo’s goal in the second leg of the Revs’ Eastern Conference Semifinal series with Sporting Kansas City a year ago … he is the first Revolution player to have an assist in consecutive postseasons since Clint Dempsey did so in 2004 and 2005 … Rowe’s two career postseason assists leave him two behind the club record of four, which is held by Jose Cancela and Steve Ralston.
NOVEMBER = MOVEMBER
The Revs will once again lend their support for Movember’s mission “to have an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health” when the Revs grow mustaches as part of the charity’s annual November men’s cancer awareness campaign … as part of MLS WORKS’ Soccer Kicks Cancer’s Movember 2014 campaign, a selection of Revolution players, executives and front office staff, as well as the club’s supporters groups and fans will join MLS WORKS to grow mustaches as members of the club’s Movember team … friends, family and fans are encouraged to show their support for men’s cancer awareness by donating to the Revolution’s Movember team, or to individuals’ campaigns … the Revolution will recognize the highest fundraiser on its Movember team with a special prize, and the Kraft family will match the first $5,000 in donations made to the Revolution’s Movember campaign … visit the Revs’ Movember page to sign up or make a donation at www.mobro.co/nerevolution.
