FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution continues a two-game home-stand this weekend when the team hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps FC at 7:30 p.m., on Saturday evening at Gillette Stadium. Comcast SportsNet New England will televise Saturday’s match, while 98.5 The Sports Hub will have the game on the radio.

SERIES INFORMATION AGAINST VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC
Team information vs. Vancouver

• Saturday’s match will be the second meeting ever between the New England Revolution and Vancouver Whitecaps FC … it will also be the second and final regular-season meeting between the two clubs in 2011
• In the first meeting, the teams played to a 1-1 draw at Empire Field in Vancouver on Wednesday, April 6 … Eric Hassli put Vancouver ahead with a successful penalty kick in the 55th minute before Ilija Stolica struck for the equalizer in the third minute of stoppage time
• With the draw, the Revs moved to 5-0-4 in first meetings against expansion or relocated teams since the start of the 2005 season
• Since the April 6 meeting, the Revolution is 1-3-0 while the Whitecaps are 0-3-1
• In their first-ever meeting, the Revs outshot their opponents 10-6, and 4-2 in shots on goal

Player Notes vs. Vancouver

• Ilija Stolica is the only player to score for the Revs against Vancouver … he has since been loaned to FC New York of the USL PRO league
• Pat Phelan and Zack Schilawski recorded assists on Stolica’s goal … Schilawski’s assist was the first of his career, while Phelan’s was the second of his career
• Goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth made his 2011 season debut against Vancouver, replacing an injured Matt Reis … he made one save in the draw and was rarely tested

TEAM NOTES

First Series to End
Saturday’s match against Vancouver will mark the team’s first completed season series of the 2011 campaign … the Revs already faced the Whitecaps on April 6, and will close the two-game series this weekend … five-and-a-half weeks will have passed between the first and second meetings of the teams, the Revs’ shortest duration between playing the same opponent all season.

Dabo Makes MLS Debut
Midfielder Ousmane Dabo made his MLS debut on Saturday night against Colorado … after signing with the club in February, Dabo joined the team for preseason training on Feb. 28, but was injured in training the following day on March 1 and missed the next seven weeks while rehabbing his strained right quadriceps muscle … he was on the bench on April 23 for the Sporting Kansas City match, and played 76 minutes at D.C. United on April 26 in a U.S. Open Cup Play-In match … after not traveling to the LA for the Chivas USA match on April 30, he made his MLS debut with a 74-minute appearance in the central midfield.

Reis Returns
After a one-game hiatus while continuing to rehab a sprained left shoulder suffered on April 23, goalkeeper Matt Reis returned to action on Saturday night against Colorado … the veteran keeper made one save – a first-half diving effort on former Harvard forward Andre Akpan – to preserve his 60th career shutout in MLS, and his 51st with the Revolution … Reis has now made six appearances this year and has posted a 1.00 goals against average.

First Defensive Shutout …
Saturday night against Colorado, the Revs posted their first defensive shutout of the season … New England was the third-to-last team to record a shutout (Chicago recorded one later in the evening) on the year, now leaving just Kansas City as the final team without a defensive shutout … the Revs’ last defensive shutout came on Oct. 16, 2010, in a 1-0 win against Kansas City behind Bobby Shuttleworth’s four-save effort.

… But Another Shutout the Other Way
On the other side of the field, the Revolution was shut out offensively for the fourth time in five games … the Revs have scored just eight goals in nine games, including a three-goal effort on April 23 against Kansas City in their only match with goals scored in the last five … Shalrie Joseph leads all Revs players with three goals, while five other players had added tallies this season.

Vers-a-Tierney
On Saturday night, Chris Tierney continued to show his versatility for the Revolution … he made his second start of the season at left back and his third start of the year overall … after starting the game at left back, he moved in to the defensive central midfield in the 74th minute when Darrius Barnes came on for Ousmane Dabo … Tierney has now played five different positions in all competitions this season: left back, left midfield, center midfield, defensive center midfield and center back (USOC qualifier) … in 2010, Tierney led all MLS players with seven positions played during the season, adding right back and attacking center midfield to the list above.

All In for No One
With Zack Schilawski seeing no minutes on Saturday against Colorado, the Revolution no longer has a single player who has appeared in each game this season … Schilawski, who was the only Revs players who had appeared in each of the team’s first eight games, was available but did not play … he also saw his team-best 11-game streak of consecutive appearances snapped.

New Team Consecutive Appearances Leader
Kevin Alston is now the team’s active leader in consecutive appearances with eight … the third-year defender missed the team’s first match of the season at LA on March 20, but has started every game since … the streak ties Alston’s second-longest appearance streak in his career as he went 33 consecutive games including playoffs (31 straight regular-season matches) between May 9, 2009 and May 5, 2010 … he also had an eight-game streak dating May 15 through July 31, 2010.

Reserves fall to Columbus
On Monday morning, the Revs’ reserves dropped a 1-0 decision to the Columbus reserves at Crew Stadium … Columbus’ Justin Meram scored in the 88th minute to snap the scoreless game and give the Crew the reserve league victory … a total of six members of the Revs’ Academy system traveled to Columbus, including Home Grown player Diego Fagundez.

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT NEWS
The Revolution Academy teams were off last weekend and return to action in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy this coming weekend … on Saturday, May 14, the Under-18 and Under-16 squads will host South Central Premier at the Fruit Street Complex in Hopkinton, Mass., before welcoming Oakwood to Gillette Stadium on Sunday, May 15 … last week, the Under-18s scrimmaged Mass United on Wednesday, May 3, at Gillette Stadium, winning 2-1, while the Under-16s scrimmaged Bayside FC on Thursday, May 4, at Gillette Stadium, winning 4-0.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Recognizing Sam on Saturday
On Saturday against Vancouver, FC Stars player Samantha Prescott will be represented by more than 200 friends and family in section 117 … Prescott, an Under-15 player, is undergoing treatment for brain cancer and will be recognized through We Got Soccer, the Revolution’s Soccer Specialty Store partner … Sam’s friends and family in Section 117 will don special pink t-shirts and proceeds from the block ticket purchase will support her family and her ongoing medical care.