FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – After Saturday’s debut of newly-signed Designated Player Milton Caraglio and the MLS debut of Home Grown Player Diego Fagundez, the New England Revolution (4-10-9, 21 pts.) will head west to visit the Columbus Crew (9-7-7, 34 pts.) at Crew Stadium on Saturday, August 13, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The match will be televised regionally on Comcast SportsNet, and carried locally on the radio by 98.5 The Sports Hub.
The Revs will return to full training on Tuesday and will train three days ahead of Friday’s trip to Columbus.
SERIES INFORMATION VS. COLUMBUS
- Columbus leads the all-time regular-season series between the two teams, 26-16-10 … the Revs are 16-14-6 on the road at Columbus, including a 5-9-6 mark at Crew Stadium since its opening in 1999
- Saturday’s match is the 53rd all-time regular season meeting, and the first regular-season meeting between the Revs and Crew this season
- The teams met twice in 2011 preseason matches and split the series…the Revs claimed a 2-1 victory on March 6 in Chattanooga, Tenn., while the Crew earned a 3-1 win on March 9 in Kennesaw, Ga.
- The last regular-season meeting between the two clubs was a 2-2 draw on Sept. 25, 2010, at Gillette Stadium … in that match, each team successfully converted a penalty kick.
- New England has won just twice in its last ten meetings with Columbus dating back to the 2007 season … the Revs are 2-5-3 in that stretch
- The Revs were winless against the Crew during 2010 season going 0-1-1 … the Revs’ last season-series victory over the Crew came in 2006, when the Revolution went 2-1-1 against Columbus
- The teams have combined for four or more goals in six of their last 10 meetings, including a 3-2 Columbus win in Columbus last May, and a 2-2 draw in Foxborough last September
- Outside of MLS competition, the Revs are 3-0-3 against the Crew, including MLS Cup Playoff (2-0-3) and U.S. Open Cup (1-0-0) matches
PLAYER NOTES VS. COLUMBUS
- Shalrie Joseph is the club’s active leading scorer against Columbus, with two goals and one assist
- Zak Boggs has scored two goals against the Crew, both coming in the 3-2 loss at Columbus on May 8, 2010 … it was his first – and only to date – multiple-goal game of his career
- Pat Phelan scored the fastest goal of the 2010 season last September against Columbus, scoring in the second minute … he also recorded one assist in the May 2010 meeting against the Crew
- Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis has started in all but one of his 26 appearances against the Crew, going 7-8-9 with five shutouts and a 1.41 goals against average
- Darrius Barnes, Pat Phelan and Sainey Nyassi are the only three Revolution players who played in both matches against Columbus during the 2010 season.
TEAM NOTES
Columbus Calling
The Revs will travel to Columbus for the first of two road games in the month of August, after returning home last Saturday for a 3-2 loss against Chivas USA … following Saturday’s match in Columbus, the Revs will return home for two home games next week, the first multi-game week in league play at home since mid-June … the Revs last won in Columbus – a 1-0 decision – on October 25, 2009.
Chance at Winning Record Against East
After picking up a win at D.C. (July 23) and a draw at Sporting KC (July 30), the Revs have a chance to move into winning territory against its Eastern brethren during this weekend’s trip to Columbus … the Revs sit at 3-3-3 against Eastern Conference foes this season, with a 1-2-1 mark on the road within the conference.
Close Games at Columbus…
The last five meetings with Columbus have resulted in one-goal differential games, with the Revs going 1-3-1 against Columbus dating back to 2008 … the road team has also put up at least one goal in each of the previous five games … conversely, the home team has been shut out three of the last five times the two teams have met … the Revs put up two goals at Crew Stadium in their last visit – on May 8, 2010 – but fell to the Crew by one in a 3-2 loss behind Robbie Rogers’ stoppage-time game-winner.
…Need to Score First to Succeed
While the Revs have scored a goal in each of their last four road games -- dating back to their 3-3 draw at Real Salt Lake on July 4 – the Revs have been unable to secure a point this season – home or away – when the opponent scores first – in any match … Chivas USA struck first on Saturday as the Revs fell to the Goats 3-2, sinking to 0-9-2 on the season when conceding the first goal.
Diego’s Debut Steals Show
16-year-old Home Grown player Diego Fagundez made his MLS debut on Saturday against Chivas USA, coming into the game in the 66th minute … the teenager made an immediate impact, drawing a penalty kickthree minutes later, resulting in Shalrie Joseph’s 69th-minute goal … later in the match, he scored his first-ever MLS goal … Fagundez had dressed the three previous games at D.C., Colorado and Kansas City before making his first career appearance on Saturday night.
Young Gun Makes Historic Marks
Diego Fagundez (16 yrs., 173 days) wasted little time after making his MLS debut in the 66th minute on Saturday, scoring his first career goal in the 86th minute … with his goal, he became the second-youngest player in MLS history to score a goal, trailing only Freddy Adu (14 yrs., 320 days) … Fagundez also became youngest Revolution to both play in a game, and score a goal for the team.
Milton’s First MLS Match
Four days after being signed as the club’s first Designated Player, Milton Caraglio made his MLS debut on Saturday against Chivas USA, and logging 62 minutes and recording two shots … the 22-year-old Argentinean joined the Revolution on Tuesday from Argentinean club Rosario Central, where he played since 2007, and drew the starting assignment in the first match in which he was available to play.
Shalrie – So Hot From the Spot Right Now
Shalrie Joseph buried his fourth penalty kick this season Saturday with his successful conversion in the 69th-minute strike against Chivas USA’s Dan Kennedy … Joseph’s four penalty-kick goals now are tied for tops in the league – alongside LA’s Landon Donovan and D.C.’s Charlie Davies – as he has converted four-of-five attempts this season. … Joseph’s last two goals have come from the spot, as his last was a game-tying 90th-minute goal at Colorado on July 23.
Joseph is Just Scoring
Now with seven goals on the season in 21 games, Shalrie Joseph is one shy of his best single-season goal-scoring total of eight … Joseph recorded eight goals in 2009, the year in which he was a finalist for MLS’ most valuable player award ... in 2009, it took Joseph 23 games to reach the eight-goal mark … his 19 goals in the last three seasons combined is more than this 16-goal total in his first six seasons in the league combined.
A.J.’s Back – Alright
After missing Saturday’s match against Chivas USA while serving a one-game red-card suspension, A.J. Soares is expected to be available for Saturday’s match at Columbus … the first-year defender out of the University of California has only missed two games this season – both while serving one-game red-card suspension … so far this season, Soares has started all 21 games in which he’s been available.
No Red-Tinged Vision This Week
For just the second time since July 20, the Revs will not miss any players who are serving one-game red-card suspensions this Saturday … the team has missed players in three of the last four games: Benny Feilhaber at D.C. (July 20), Chris Tierney at Kansas City (July 30) and A.J. Soares against Chivas USA (Aug. 6) … the team has been shown a club-record seven red cards this season.
Alston Assists
Kevin Alston recorded his second assist of the season on Saturday, sending in the long pass that Diego Fagundez picked up for his 86th-minute goal … Alston is now tied for second on the team in assists with Pat Phelan and Chris Tierney, one behind team-leader Benny Feilhaber, who has three assists … Alston has recorded an assist in two of the last three games after recording his first assist of the season July 23 at Colorado … Alston now has four career assists.
Long Way to Columbus for Mansally
On Sunday, Kenny Mansally left Boston to meet up with Gambia for its Wednesday friendly against Congo in Banjul, Gambia … after Wednesday’s game, Mansally will leave Banjul on Thursday, making the full-day trip back to Boston … after he lands on Friday afternoon in Boston, he is expected to turn immediately around and then meet the Revs in Columbus for Saturday’s match … Mansally has seven caps for Gambia.
Scoring Tides are Changing
While the Revs have scored just 22 goals this season -- the league’s lowest mark – the team has seemingly turned a corner and has scored in each of its last four matches …… the Revs have now scored in at least four consecutive games twice, including four games to open the season ( March 20 at LA through April 6 against Portland) and their most-recent four-game stretch … overall, the Revs have scored in seven of their last eight games, notching 11 goals in that span, a 1.38 goals per game mark – higher than the team’s cumulative 0.96 goals per game mark. the Revs have been shut out eight times this season, one of the league’s highest marks after Toronto (11), San Jose (10) and Columbus (9) and tied with Vancouver (8).
