FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (5-11-12, 27 pts.) look to extend its four-game unbeaten streak when it makes its first visit to JELD-WEN Field to face the Portland Timbers (9-12-6, 33pts.) in a nationally-televised match on FOX Soccer on Friday, Sept. 16.
The game is scheduled for 8 p.m. PT, an 11 p.m. kickoff in the East. While FOX Soccer will televise the game nationally, 98.5 The Sports Hub will carry the game on the radio.
Friday’s match concludes the season series between the two teams. The teams played to an early-season draw as each team scored a goal on April 6 at Gillette Stadium.
TEAM NOTES VS. PORTLAND TIMBERS
- The Revolution are 0-0-1 – both all-time and at home – against Portland, with the teams’ only meeting coming earlier this year at Gillette Stadium
- Friday’s match is the second and final meeting of the year between the two teams
- This week’s trip to Portland will mark the Revs’ first-ever trip to Oregon
- The Revs are 10-8-6 all-time against expansion teams in their inaugural seasons, including a 1-0-2 mark this season against the Timbers (0-0-1) and Vancouver Whitecaps (1-0-1) ... that record includes two draws with the Houston Dynamo, which was considered an expansion team after relocating from San Jose in 2006
- Since 2005 and the most recent wave of MLS expansion, New England is 9-3-6 against expansion teams in their inaugural seasons
- Since 2000, the Revs are undefeated – 5-0-4 – in their first meeting against expansion or relocated teams, including an 0-0-2 mark this year against Portland and Vancouver combined.
PLAYER NOTES VS. PORTLAND TIMBERS
- Stephen McCarthy is the only Revolution player to score a goal against Portland as he had the Revs’ lone goal against the Timbers in April
- Ryan Cochrane, a Portland native, earned his first-ever Revolution start on April 2 against Portland
TEAM NOTES
Four-Game Unbeaten Streak Lives On
With its win on Saturday against FC Dallas, the team snapped a seven-game winless streak (0-2-5) and simultaneously extended its undefeated streak to four games (1-0-3) … since the team’s last win – a 1-0 victory at D.C. United on July 20 – the Revs went 0-2-5 with losses to Chivas USA (Aug. 6) and at Columbus (Aug. 13) … since the loss at Columbus, New England posted a 1-1 draw against Houston (Aug. 17), a 2-2 draw against New York (Aug. 20) and a 4-4 draw at Philadelphia prior to the 2-0 win against Dallas.
Road Woes Turning
The Revs return to the road this week and enter Friday’s game with an 1-7-6 mark in away games, but their road efforts have been vastly different of late from those of the first part of the season ... after drawing their first two road games - at LA (March 20, 1-1) and at Vancouver (April 6, 1-1), the Revs dropped six straight road games (at Houston, at Chivas USA, at San Jose, at Dallas, at New York and at Seattle) before their 3-3 draw at Real Salt Lake on July 4 ... but that has changed: including the July 4 RSL game, the Revs are 1-1-4 in their last six road matches, taking points in five of six contests.
Road Scoring is Scorching of Late
The Revolution have scored 17 goals on the road this year, good for a 1.21 goals per game average ... the team’s 17 away goals are tied for the third-highest total in MLS, and the team’s 1.21 goals per away game is eighth in the league ... amazingly, the team had scored just four goals in their first eight away games (0.50 goals per game), but in their last six road games, has scored 12 goals (2.00 goals per game).
Western Results Few And Far Between
Friday’s match in Portland gives the Revs an opportunity to snap a 15-game winless streak in matches played in the Mountain or Pacific Time zones, which dates back to September 2009 … since earning a 1-0 win at Seattle on Sept. 26, 2009, New England is 0-10-5 in matches played in the Rockies or on the West Coast, and is just 2-12-5 since the start of 2009 in the two Western-most time zones.
Results Even Tougher In Pacific Games
Through five West Coast matches so far this season, New England is 0-3-2 with draws at LA and Vancouver and losses at Chivas USA, San Jose and Seattle … the Revs have not won on the West Coast since a 1-0 victory at Seattle on Aug. 20, 2009 … since that game, New England has gone 0-7-2 (including an 0-4-0 record in 2010) in West Coast games.
Recent Last-Minute Draws Killing Revs’ Postseason Chances
With four draws - instead of wins - coming against Eastern Conference opponents (all via goals in the last five minutes of a game) in the last six weeks, the Revs have severely impacted their playoff chances ... beginning on July 30 at Kansas City, the Revs have surrendered: an 89th-minute goal in a 1-1 draw at KC, a 90th-minute goal against Houston in a 1-1 draw on Aug. 17, an 87th-minute goal against New York in a 2-2 draw on Aug. 20 and a stoppage-time goal at Philly in a 4-4 draw on Sept. 7 ... accounting only for the point swings in just those four games, the Revs would have 35 points entering Friday’s game and, more importantly, would be the third of four wildcard teams, while Houston would have 34 points, Philly 33 and New York 32 ... instead, the Revs have 27 points and are tied for 15th in MLS and currently sit outside the playoff picture.
Revs Hope to Finish FOX Famine
Friday’s game at JELD-WEN Field will be the Revs’ second and final appearance of the season on FOX Soccer this season … since the beginning of the 2009 season, the Revolution hold just a 1-7-2 record, averaging 0.70 goal per game in 10 matches on the all-soccer channel … the lone win came via a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Fire in the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinal Series … in 2011, the Revs have played just one match on FOX Soccer, a 2-1 loss at New York on June 10 … New England went 6-0-3 in nine regular-season and postseason matches broadcast on the station from 2007 and 2008.
Shalrie Strikes: Signals Victory
Shalrie Joseph’s goal in the 14th minute against FC Dallas was the eventual game-winner, giving Joseph his third game-winning goal of the season - two behind league leader Brek Shea … Joseph’s three game-winning goals is a new single-season high for the ninth-year player … Joseph’s goal on Saturday was his 10th career game-winning tally, pushing him into fourth place on the club’s all-time list, passing Kheli Dube, Pat Noonan and Clint Dempsey.
Assist Tides Turning…
While the Revs have struggled to find assists this season – the team is tied for 15th in the league with 25 through 28 games – Saturday’s four-assist performance may have ushered in a new trend …. on both of the goals scored in the 2-0 win over FC Dallas, Revs players earned both primary and secondary assists: Monsef Zerka and Milton Caraglio in the 14th minute on Shalrie Joseph’s goal, and Ryan Cochrane and Benny Feilhaber in the 84th minute on Rajko Lekic’s goal … the pair of two-assist goals marked the first time that the Revs recorded more than one double-assist goal in a game this season.
…Get By With Help From My Friends
Saturday’s four-assist performance – on just two goals – was the first time that the Revs have recorded four assists in a single game this season, and just the fifth time since September 2007 … the last time the Revs recorded four assists in a game came on April 10, 2010 against Toronto FC when Kheli Dube (2), Sainey Nyassi and Shalrie Joseph all had assists in the 4-1 win against the Reds.
First Win by Two or More This Season
Saturday’s two-goal win against FC Dallas was the team’s first win by more than one goal this season … the two-goal victory also marked the first time the team achieved that feat since Sept. 4, 2010, when the Revs defeated Seattle 3-1, a stretch of 35 games without a win by more than one goal.
September Sharp Shooting and Scoring
The Revs have netted six goals so far in September, tops in MLS this month … the team is also making the most of its chances, accumulating a scoring percentage of .545 scoring percentage (6 goals on 11 shots on goal) – good for second place in the league, just one one-hundreth of a percent behind Sporting KC’s .555 scoring percentage (4 goals on 9 shots on goal) in September.
Rajko Making a Habit of Scoring
Rajko Lekic became the second Revolution player to score in back-to-back games this year with his goals in the Philadelphia (Sept. 7) and Dallas (Sept. 10) games … Lekic converted a penalty-kick attempt on Wednesday in Philly, before scoring the Revs’ second goal on Saturday against Dallas … Lekic joined Shalrie Joseph as the team’s only consecutive-game scorers this year as Joseph scored in the first two games of the season (March 20 at LA and March 26 against D.C. United).
Reis Shuts the Door
Matt Reis made six saves on Saturday against FC Dallas en route to his fifth shutout of the season … Reis now has 64 shutouts (251 games) in his career, tied with Pat Onstad for fifth on the all-time MLS shutouts list … 55 of his shutouts have come with the Revolution (2003-present) to lead the club in the category, while he had nine shutouts with the LA Galaxy (1998-2002).
Another Year, Another Handful of Shutouts
With his fifth shutout of the season in Saturday’s 2-0 win over FC Dallas, Matt Reis became the sixth goalkeeper in MLS history to record at least five shutouts in seven or more seasons of play … he joins Pat Onstad, Zack Thornton, Joe Cannon, Nick Rimando and Kevin Hartman in that exclusive group … Reis has recorded at least five shutouts in six of his last seven seasons, recording 10 shutouts each season from 2005 to 2007, six in 2008 and eight in 2009.
Historically Busy Week for Goal Scorers
The Revs scored six goals last week, putting up four goals on the road at Philadelphia on Wednesday and two at home against FC Dallas Saturday … the six-goal effort last week was the first time that the Revs have scored that many goals in a seven-day period in five seasons … the last time the team scored at least six goals in one week came in 2007, on Sept. 9 (a 4-2 loss at D.C. United) and Sept. 15 (a 4-2 win against Dallas).
Less is More?
The Revs have out-shot their opponents in just eight games this year, and surprisingly, the Revs were unable to secure a win in any of those games (0-3-5) … in fact, all five of the team’s regular-season wins this season – including Saturday’s win over FC Dallas – have come when the Revs have been out-shot by their opponents … New England’s total of 306 shots in 28 games (10.93 shots per game) – 16th overall in the league – trails league leader Dallas (395 shots in 27 games, 14.11 shots per game) by 89 shots.
Zerka Zings Into Action
In his first two matches as a Revs player, French-born, Moroccan forward Monsef Zerka has made an immediate impact on his new MLS club ... in his MLS and Revs debut at Philadelphia on Sept. 7, he scored his first MLS goal in the 25th minute on a cross from Chris Tierney ... in his second match - against Dallas on Sept. 10 - Zerka picked up the primary assist on Shalrie Joseph’s game-winning goal.
Defenders Get Offensive
Although staples of the Revs back line, defenders Ryan Cochrane and A.J. Soares both had a busy week in the attacking end of the field … on Wednesday, against Philadelphia Soares scored his first-career MLS goal … on Saturday against Dallas, Cochrane recorded an assist – his first of the season – on Rajko Lekic’s corner-kick goal … both goals came off set pieces, giving reason why the defenders were in the attacking mix.
2012 Season Tickets Now on Sale
Season tickets for the 2012 season are now on sale through the Revolution sales staff at 1-877-GET-REVS or revolutionsoccer.net … discounted 18-game packages start at $234 for seats in The Fort, and $288 for seats along the sideline through Nov. 18 … new season seats are available in all price categories (Presidents Club, The Putnam Club, Category I, Category II, Category III and The Fort) … discounts will end on Nov. 19 … season ticket packages include private meet-the-team events, reserved VIP parking with tailgating, a dedicated service team, reduced ticket prices for add-on tickets, the Ticket Exchange program, referral program and an exclusive Season Ticket Holder newsletter, among other amenities.
COMMUNITY NEWS
Matt Reis Celebrity Golf Challenge
Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis will host the first-annual Matt Reis Celebrity Golf Challenge next Sunday and Monday, Sept. 18-19 … the Matt Reis Celebrity Golf Challenge is a two-day event to raise money for Children’s Hospital Boston, Grassroot Soccer and the Multiple Schelorsis Foundation … the event kicks off on Sunday, Sept. 18, with the Pairings Party at The House of Blues in Boston … celebrities and sports stars from all over will be in attendance to help get the tournament’s draw set … on Monday, Sept. 19, foursomes will square off at Shaker Hills Golf Club (Harvard, Mass.) … foursomes and individual golfing spots are still available … to sign up, donate directly or get more information, visit www.mattreisgolf4charity.com.
