Foxborough, Mass. – The New England Revolution (0-0-1, 1 pt.) will play its 2011 home opener this Saturday, March 26, at Gillette Stadium, against Eastern Conference rival D.C. United. The game will kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET, and will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet New England. The game will also be broadcast live on the radio by 98.5 The Sports Hub.

NEW ENGLAND VS. D.C. UNITED SERIES INFORMATION

• Saturday’s match is the 55th all-time, regular season meeting between the New England Revolution and D.C. United … this will be the 60th overall meeting between the two clubs, who have played four MLS Cup matches and two U.S. Open contests … the Revs have only played New York on more occasions (60).
• D.C. leads the all-time, regular season series between the two clubs, 25-21-8 ... the Revs own a 14-9-4 advantage in Foxborough – including an 8-3-4 record at Gillette Stadium - but are 7-16-4 when playing United on the road.
• The Revs enter Saturday with a four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1) against United during the last two seasons ... last season, the Revs took both games in the series - including a 2-0 road win at RFK Stadium on April 3, and a 1-0 home win in Foxborough on August 7 ... in 2009, the Revs played to a 1-1 draw at D.C. on April 17, before winning, 2-1, at Gillette on May 30, during the return leg … 2009 and 2010 marked the first time the Revs won back-to-back season series over D.C.
• The regular-season series has been remarkably even in recent years, as the Revs hold a slight 5-4-5 advantage in 14 meetings since the start of the 2006 regular season.
• The teams have met in three postseason series, with D.C. holding a 2-1-1 edge in those matches ... however, the Revs defeated United, 1-0, in the most recent playoff meeting on Nov. 5, 2006, to win the Eastern Conference Championship at RFK Stadium and earn a berth in the MLS Cup 2006.

PLAYER NOTES VS. D.C. UNITED

• Shalrie Joseph has scored three times in 24 career appearances against D.C. to lead all current Revolution players in goals-scored against United.
• Kenny Mansally has tallied two goals and one assist in five career games against D.C. ... Mansally scored both of those goals in a two-minute span during New England’s 2-0 win at RFK Stadium in last year’s series opener on April
• Kheli Dube has scored one goal with two assists in four career games against D.C. ... Dube had a goal and an assist in a 2-2 draw on May 29, 2008, at Gillette Stadium and assisted on the Revs’ lone goal in a 2-1 loss on Oct. 16, 2008, at RFK.
• Matt Reis is the Revs all-time leader in games played in goal against United with 22 ... Reis has posted a 7-9-6 record all-time against D.C. with four shutouts and a 1.45 goals against average.
• Pat Phelan is the only other current Rev to have scored a goal against D.C. ... Phelan scored the game-winning goalin New England’s 1-0 win on Aug. 7, 2010.
• Chris Tierney picked up game-winning assists in both meetings with D.C. last season, feeding Kenny Mansally‘s opening tally in a 2-0 win on April 3, and setting up Pat Phelan for the only goal of a 1-0 win on Aug. 7.

TEAM NOTES

A Storied Rivalry Saturday’s game will open the 2011 season series against Eastern Conference rival D.C. United – the Revs’ most-played opponent all-time … the Revs have played D.C. on 58 previous occasions, including 54 times in MLS regular-season action … D.C. leads the all-time, regular season series 25-21-8, but the Revs have posted a 4-1-1 mark in the last six meetings … the Revs swept the season series last year with a pair of shutouts, including a 2-0 victory at RFK Stadium on April 3, 2010, and a 1-0 win at Gillette Stadium on August 7, 2010.

Opening at Home The Revs will play their 16th home opener on Saturday, entering the weekend with a 10-5-0 overall record in home openers since helping launch the league in 1996 … since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, the Revs have posted a 6-3-0 record – including four straight wins – in the first home game of a season … since 2007, the Revs have out-scored their opposition 13-2 in home openers and have scored at least two goals in each game.

D.C. in Home Openers Saturday’s game against D.C. will mark the fourth time New England has opened its home slate against DC … New England hosted D.C. in home openers in 1998, 1999 and 2000, with the Revs posting a 2-1-0 record … all three games were played at Foxboro Stadium, prior to the construction of Gillette Stadium … both the 1998 (April 8) and 1999 (April 10) home openers resulted in shoot-outs, with the Revs winning the first meeting, 2-1, and D.C. taking the latter, 3-2 … the two sides needed overtime on April 15, 2000, with the Revs scoring a golden goal in the 97th minute to secure a 2-1 win.

Under Nicol’s Guidance Head coach Steve Nicol has led the Revs to an 5-3-0 mark in home openers at Gillette Stadium … from 2003-06, Nicol’s Revs went 1-3-0 in home openers while being out-scored by just a single goal (7-6) during the period … Nicol’s Revs have won four straight home openers, including a pair of shutout wins against Toronto FC (4-0) and Houston (3-0) in back-to-back years (2007 and 2008).

Early to the Party New England captain Shalrie Joseph gave the Revs a 1-0 lead against LA in just the third minute of the team’s 2011 season opener, converting a header on a Marko Perovic cross … Joseph’s goal was the second fastest goal to start an MLS season in Revolution history … on March 28, 1999, Giovanni Savarese converted in the first minute of a loss (2-1, shootout) on the road against the Miami Fusion.

Rookies Earn the Nod The Revs’ starting lineup against LA on Sunday saw two rookies, and three players overall, make their Revolution debut … 2011 SuperDraft selections A.J. Soares and Stephen McCarthy and 22-year old Argentine centerback Franco Coria each earned the start, marking the third-straight season in which the Revs ran out at least two rookies in the season’s opening match … in 2010, Zack Schilawski and Seth Sinovic started, while Kevin Alston and Darrius Barnes were both among the starting 11 in 2009 … the Revs added 11 players to the roster in the offseason and debuted just three players against LA.

Just Three Repeats Just three New England players – Pat Phelan, Zack Schilawski and Chris Tierney – earned spot in the starting lineup for the season opener in both 2010 and 2011 … Phelan and Schilawski started both games in the central midfield and forward positions, respectively, while Tierney earned the start at left back in 2011, and left midfield in 2010.

Snapping the West Coast Streak New England’s 1-1 draw against the Galaxy in Carson, Calif., snapped a six-game losing streak for the Revs in the Pacific and Mountain time zones, dating back to the start of the 2010 season … last season, the Revs went 0-6-0 in their away matches against Chivas USA, Colorado Rapids, LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes and Seattle Sounders FC … the last time the Revs earned a point in the two westernmost time zones before Sunday was during a 1-1 draw at Colorado on October 3, 2009.

Starting Card Clean Sunday’s season opener against LA produced a combined 20 fouls, but zero cautions or ejections … the game marked the first time in team history that a season opener was been played without a single card issued in the game … in both 2008 and 2009 the Revs escaped cards in season openers against Houston and San Jose, but the Dynamo and Earthquakes were issued cards on both occasions.

Individual Tickets Now on Sale Individual game tickets to 2011 Revolution matches are now on sale ... tickets purchased in advance start at $20 for The Fort, and $21 for corner seats … the 2011 season marks the first season in Gillette Stadium history that the West side of the stadium will be opened for Revolution regular-season matches … for more information or to purchase tickets, call 1-877-GET-REVS or visit revolutionsoccer.net.

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Youth Teams Game Recap The Revolution youth teams closed out a three-weekend homestand on Saturday and Sunday, March 19-20, playing a pair of games at Gillette Stadium against Maryland-based clubs Potomac and Baltimore Bays Chelsea … the Under-16s defeated Potomac, 1-0, before falling to Baltimore Bays Chelsea, 1-0 … the U18s came out of the weekend winless after settling to 1-1 draw with Potomac and dropping a result against Baltimore Bays, 2-1 … Cole DeNormandie (Lincoln, Mass.) had one goal and one assist in the two games.

Rev Youths Hit the Road After playing six games in three weeks at Gillette Stadium, the Revs youth teams will train Tuesday through Thursday, from 5-7 p.m. on the stadium field before hitting the road for a pair of games in New York … on Saturday, March 26, the U16s and U18s will face Met Oval in Maspeth, before heading to Brooklyn on Sunday, March 27, for games at Cosmos Academy East … the Under-18s will play at 10 a.m. each day with the Under-16s following at 12:30 p.m.

SUPPORTERS NEWS

Symphony 8 Meet & Greet The Revolution and Budweiser bring Kevin Alston, Darrius Barnes, Ryan Cochrane and Ryan Kinne to Symphony 8 (8 Westland Ave, Boston, Mass.) on Wednesday, March 23, for a meet-and-greet with fans … the New England players and Rev Girls will be on hand to meet fans ahead of the home opener on March 26 … festivities start at 7:30 p.m.