NEW ENGLAND VS. REAL SALT LAKE SERIES INFORMATION

• Friday night’s match will be the 11th all-time meeting between the Revolution and Real Salt Lake, which entered the league as an expansion team in 2005 … the Revolution holds a slight edge in 10 previous meetings, 4-3-3.
• New England and Real Salt Lake’s match on Friday is the first of two meetings between the two clubs this season, and the only one at Rio Tinto Stadium ... the regular-season series will conclude on Oct. 2, when the Revs host RSL at Gillette Stadium.
•  New England and RSL split the 2009 regular season series, 1-1-0 ... in the teams’ first meeting on April 25, 2009, the Revs suffered a 6-0 loss, their worst regular-season loss in club history ... the Revolution then exacted its revenge on Aug. 23 with a 3-1 win over RSL at Gillette Stadium.
•  Friday night’s match will be the Revolution’s second ever match at Rio Tinto Stadium ... New England conceded a club-record six goals in the second half in its only other visit to Rio Tinto Stadium.
• The Revs are 2-3-3 in their last eight meetings with Real Salt Lake after winning the first two games of the all-time series.
• Six of the Revolution’s 14 goals against Real Salt Lake have been scored after the 75th minute, 43 percent of the club’s total scoring output against RSL.
• New England and Real Salt Lake have never met outside of the MLS regular season.

PLAYER NOTES VS. REAL SALT LAKE

• Taylor Twellman is one of two Revolution players with three career goals against Real Salt Lake … in all, Twellman has three goals and one assist in six appearances against RSL.
• Kheli Dube became the fifth different player in Revolution history to register a hat trick when he netted three scores in a 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake at Gillette Stadium on Aug. 23, 2009.
• Khano Smith scored two goals against Real Salt Lake in one match during his first stint with the Revolution … Smith tallied a goal in each of the Revs meetings with RSL in 2005.
• Matt Reis is 4-2-3 in his career against Real Salt Lake, posting a 1.11 goals against average and three shutouts … Reis missed the 6-0 loss to RSL on April 25, 2009 with inflammation in his right knee.

NEWS & NOTES

REIS BACK BETWEEN THE PIPES
Goalkeeper Matt Reis returned to the field for his first MLS action of 2010 Sunday night against the Chicago Fire … Reis had missed the first portion of the season while recovering from offseason shoulder and knee surgeries, but did start and play the first half against Brazilian power Cruzeiro in the teams’ friendly on June 13 … Reis made three saves and surrendered one goal in the Revolution’s 1-0 defeat on Sunday night.

REVOLUTION LOOKS TO FLIP FORTUNE AT WESTERN CONFERENCE FOES
When New England takes the pitch against Real Salt Lake on Friday night, the Revolution will be looking to snap a six-game road winless streak against Western Conference clubs … the Revs are 0-5-1 against Western conference teams on the road since last year, with New England’s last win coming in the form of a 1-0 victory at Seattle on Aug. 20, 2009 … over the current six-game winless stretch, the Revs have fallen to LA, Seattle, San Jose, Dallas, Chivas USA and played to a draw against Colorado … the Revs are 0-5-2 overall against Western Conference teams this season.

ROUGH TIME AT RIO TINTO
This week, the Revolution will make its second appearance at real Salt Lake’s Rio Tinto Stadium, which opened last year … the Revolution’s only other appearance at Rio Tinto Stadium came on April 25, 2009, when the club suffered its worst regular-season loss in team history … the Revs conceded a club record six second-half goals en route to a 6-0 shutout … prior to the opening of Rio Tinto Stadium, Real Salt Lake played its home games at Rice-Eccles Stadium, where the Revs ran a 2-1-1 record from 2005-08.

REVS LOOK TO PICK UP ROAD POINTS
The Revs are looking to pick up their first win since a 3-2 win over New York on May 29 and their first road win since a 2-0 victory at D.C. United on April 3 at Real Salt Lake this Friday night … New England is 1-5-0 on the road in 2010, losing four straight away contests … the Revolution has had trouble scoring on the road this year, scoring only four goals while allowing 10 in six games away from Gillette Stadium … the only Revolution players to score on the road this season are Kenny Mansally, who netted two scores at D.C. United on April 3, and rookie Zak Boggs, who also scored two goals in a 3-2 losing effort at Columbus on May 8.

SHALRIE JOSEPH LOGS MILESTONE MINUTES
Midfielder Shalrie Joseph played the full 90 minutes against Chicago on Sunday night, but he only needed 60 to become the third player in Revolution history to amass 17,000 career minutes played in a Revolution uniform … Joseph has been a mainstay in the New England lineup since his rookie season in 2003, playing fewer than 26 games only once, when he suited up for 23 in 2004 … Joseph has joined elite company in the Revolution’s 17,000-minute club, as he now shares the pedestal with Steve Ralston (17,643 minutes played) and the club’s minutes played record holder, Jay Heaps (21,619 minutes played).

FOOTBALL FRIDAYS
The Revs will play their first Friday night game of 2010 this week when they take on Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium … it will be the first of two Friday night games scheduled this season … the Revolution are also scheduled to play at Chivas USA on Friday, Sept. 10 … New England also played two Friday night games in 2009, tying in both matches … last year, the Revs tied United, 1-1, in D.C on April 17, and 1-1 at the New York Red Bulls on Sept. 18.

ROOKIE GRIFFITHS MAKES MLS DEBUT
Rookie midfielder Jason Griffiths, who signed with the Revs on June 24, made his MLS debut on Sunday night against the Chicago Fire when he came on for fellow rookie Zack Schilawski in the 81st minute … after being drafted in the third round of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, Griffiths finished his degree at Kentucky before beginning his trial period with the club… Griffiths appeared in 65 games for the Wildcats with 64 starts in his four-year career … while at Kentucky, Griffiths netted 12 goals and picked up 10 assists, including a perfect 8-for-8 on penalty kicks.

REVS HAVING TROUBLE FINDING THE BACK OF THE NET
The Revolution has had trouble scoring goals in 2010, but lately, the Revs have had more problems scoring than at any point in the season … New England has been shut out in four of its last five matches dating back to May 15 … the lone match the Revolution has scored in during that stretch was a 3-2 win over the New York Red Bulls on May 29 … in their last five regular-season matches, the Revs have been outscored 7-3 and seen their 2010 goal differential slip to -8.

TROUBLE CLOSING THE GAP
It is a well-known fact that scoring the first goal in a soccer match is of the utmost importance, and New England is adding to that school of thought this season … through 13 regular-season matches, the Revolution has conceded the first goal in eight games, compiling a 1-7-0 record in those matches … the only game in which the Revs have come from behind in this year was in the home opener on April 10, when they battled back from an early 1-0 deficit and scored four consecutive goals en route to a 4-1 win.

NIOUKY AVAILABLE FOR FRIDAY’S MATCH AT RSL
Midfielder Joseph Niouky will be available for Friday night’s match at Real Salt Lake after serving a one-game suspension for caution accumulation … Sunday night’s match against Chicago marked the second game of 2010 that Niouky missed because of a suspension … the midfielder was also suspended for the Revolution’s May 5 match against Chivas USA following a red card in the previous match against FC Dallas on May 1 … Niouky leads all MLS players with 30 fouls committed and is tied with three others with five yellow-card bookings.

CONVERSION RATE DOES NOT ADD UP
On Sunday against the Fire, the Revolution was shut out for the seventh time this season against, but it was not for lack of chances in the offensive zone … the Revolution significantly outshot the Fire, 22-13, and earned more corner kicks, 13-6, than Chicago but still dropped a 1-0 decision … it was not the first time this season which the Revs could not convert on more shots and corner kicks … New England out-shout Toronto FC at BMO Field on May 22 (11-8) and earned more corner kicks (6-1), but still lost, 1-0.

FACING THE DEFENDING CHAMP
When New England takes the field on Friday night at Rio Tinto Stadium, the club will kick off against the defending MLS Cup champion, Real Salt Lake … historically, the Revolution has compiled a 7-6-0 record in its first matchup with the defending MLS champ the following season … recently, the Revs have had better success against the defending champion, going 4-1-0 since 2005, including four consecutive wins from 2005-08 (D.C., LA, Houston, Houston, in order), including three straight shutouts from 2006-08 … last season, the Revolution dropped a 1-0 decision at 2008 MLS Champion Columbus on Oct. 10, 2009.

THIS WEEK IN REVOLUTION HISTORY: JUNE 28-JULY 4

• June 28, 2008: Head coach Steve Nicol named head coach of the 2008 MLS All-Stars.
• June 30, 2008: M Steve Ralston selected MLS Player of the Week after scoring two unassisted goals against Toronto FC in a 2-1 win at Gillette Stadium two days earlier.
• June 30, 2009: Acquired an international roster spot from the Kansas City Wizards in exchange for a third-round selection in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft.
• July 1, 1997: D Ted Chronpoulos, F Chiquinho Conde, D Alexi Lalas and GK Walter Zenga named to the East squad for the 1997 MLS All-Star game in New Jersey.
• July 1, 2009: Signed F Edgaras Jankauskas.
• July 3, 2006: M/F Clint Dempsey selected as MLS Player of the Week after scoring two unassisted goals in a 3-2 loss against the New York Red Bulls at Gillette Stadium two days earlier.

YOUTH UPDATE
The New England Revolution youth teams are in Greensboro, N.C. for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s playoffs, which began on Friday, June 25 … the USSDA’s playoff system is set up in traditional cup championship form, with each team playing three games against the other clubs in its pool, but with only the top team advancing from each pool advancing to the next round … the U16s have compiled an 0-0-2 record so far that includes a 2-2 draw with Sockers FC (Ill.) on Friday and a 1-1 tie with Greensboro (N.C.) on Saturday … the U18s have struggled in their first two games of the tournament, dropping a 3-0 decision to Indiana United on Saturday and a 4-0 loss to Concorde Fire (Ga.) on Sunday … the U18s are enjoying an off day today before playing their final group match tomorrow against the Lonestar Aztex (Texas)., while the U16s play their final group match today, also against the Lonestar Aztex (Texas).