FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (5-12-12, 27 pts.) travels to Chicago to battle Eastern Conference rival Chicago Fire (5-8-15, 30 pts.) at Toyota Park on Sunday, Sept. 25.

The match will kickoff at 4 p.m. in the East and will be televised regionally on Comcast SportsNet and will also be carried locally on the radio by 98.5 The Sports Hub’s HD2 station.

Sunday’s match concludes the season series between the two teams. The Revs and Fire played to a 1-1 draw on June 18 at Gillette Stadium, while the Revs will look to snap a five-game winless streak at Toyota Park in regular-season matches, which dates back to the 2007 season.

SERIES INFORMATION VS. CHICAGO
Team Notes vs. Chicago

• Chicago leads the all-time regular-season series between the two teams, 17-13-9 … in all meetings, including MLS Cup playoffs, U.S. Open Cup and SuperLiga, Chicago holds a 27-21-10 edge in the series
• The Revs are 4-9-6 on the road against Chicago all-time, including a 1-4-2 at Toyota Park since the stadium opened in 2006
• The Revs are winless against the Fire in their last nine regular-season meetings, with New England’s last in-season win coming May 6, 2007 at Gillette Stadium (3-1)
• Sunday’s match concludes the season series between the Revs and Fire … earlier this season, the teams played to a 1-1 draw at Gillette Stadium on June 18
• The upcoming match will be the 40th time the two teams have met in MLS regular-season play and the 59th time overall
• The Revs’ win in Chicago in SuperLiga 2010 was New England’s first at Toyota Park since the stadium’s inaugural year in 2006 ... prior to the win, the Revs were 0-6-1 in their seven previous appearances at Toyota Park (2007-present), and had been outscored 14-2 in those matches
• The Revs are a combined 2-8-4 in all competitions against the Fire since the start of the 2008 season ... that record includes eight regular-season games, four playoff matches and two SuperLiga games ... the Revs’ 1-0 win on July 17, 2010, in the SuperLiga group stage was their most recent victory in the series
• New England and Chicago have met at least five times per season (regular-season, playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, SuperLiga) six times since 2002 … in 2007 and 2004, the clubs only played each other four times each … the high came in 2006 when the teams met seven times – four times in the regular season, twice in the playoffs and once in the Open Cup
• The Revs and Fire have met in seven of the last nine postseasons (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) … in total, the teams have met in the playoffs in eight seasons, all since 2000

Player Notes vs. Chicago

• Shalrie Joseph is the team’s active leading scorer against Chicago, with one goal and four assists in 22 matches… Joseph’s lone goal against the Fire was scored in the clubs’ 1-1 draw on May 9, 2009, at Toyota Park
• Matt Reis is the Revolution’s all-time wins leader against the Fire with seven, while he has posted a 1.50 goals against average and five shutouts … Reis also has three career postseason shutouts in seven appearances against Chicago
• Rajko Lekic scored his second career MLS goal in his first appearance against Chicago on June 18, 2010 … Lekic joins Joseph as the only two active Revolution players that have recorded an MLS regular-season goal against the Fire
• Pat Phelan assisted Rajko Lekic’s goal in the first meeting between the clubs in 2011 on June 18, and is the only other active Revs’ player that has recorded a regular-season assist against the Fire
• In the 2009 MLS Cup playoff series against Chicago, Joseph recorded his first career postseason goal ... Kenny Mansally and Pat Phelan also registered their first postseason points ever, both picking up assists

TEAM NOTES

Not a Win-D City
While Chicago has never been a city of tremendous success for the Revs, since the Fire moved to Toyota Park it has been an even harder place to win … Toyota Park opened midway through the 2006 season, and the Revs went 1-0-1 in two regular-season meetings … since then, however, the Revs are 0-4-1 in regular-season meetings, 0-3-0 in postseason meetings and 1-0-0 in SuperLiga, for an 1-7-1 mark record at Toyota Park and 2-7-2 in all meetings there since it opened.

Goals aren’t Gimmes in Chi-Town
Since Toyota Park opened in 2006, the Revs have struggled at the new venue … the team has twice been shut out by the Fire and has been held to one or fewer goals in the last five regular-season games … overall, including the teams’ three MLS Cup Playoff matches played at Toyota Park, the Revs have been shut out five times – including each of the last three postseason visits … one consoling note, however, is that the Revolution has scored one goal in each of the team’s last two visits, and won 1-0 in the team’s SuperLiga match last July.

Sunday, Bloody Sunday
The Revs return to action against the Chicago Fire this Sunday, and look to improve their record in their fifth Sunday contest this season … the Revs are 0-3-1 overall this year on Sundays, including an 0-2-1 mark in road matches … the team’s last Sunday match came on July 17, a 3-0 home loss to Philadelphia … since 2003, the Revs are 12-14-7 in games played on Sundays.

Joseph Closing in on Club Longevity Records
Shalrie Joseph could become the Revolution’s all-time leader in appearances and starts before the end of the season … Joseph started his 234th game for the Revs on Friday in Portland, and trails club leader Jay Heaps, by four games, with five games remaining this season … Joseph, the nine-year veteran – all with New England – could also potentially tie Heaps for games played, as Joseph sits five behind Heaps’ record of 243 appearances for the Revs … earlier this season, Joseph became the first player since Jay Heaps – and just the second player in club history – to record 20,000 minutes for New England, but still trails Heaps by more than 900 minutes for that record.

Sunday Could be E-Day … Elimination Day|
The Revolution could be formally eliminated from the MLS Cup Playoff picture on Sunday, in conjunction with other results … should the Revs lose to Chicago and three of the following four scenarios occur, the Revs would be eliminated from postseason play for the second season in a row:

• Philadelphia wins OR ties at Kansas City on Friday night
• Houston wins OR ties at Dallas on Saturday afternoon
• New York gains four points from Wednesday’s game against Real Salt Lake and Saturday’s game against Portland
• Portland gains four points from Wednesday’s game against San Jose and Saturday’s game at New York

Being Down Early is Unfamiliar
After the Revs conceded the first goal to Portland on Friday night, the team found itself in a recently unfamiliar position – trailing after the game’s first goal was surrendered … the deficit marked the first time in six games – and just the third time in 13 games – that the Revs did not score the first goal of a match … the team went more than one month – since Aug. 6 vs. Chivas USA – without allowing the game’s first goal.

Normally, Revs Own First 30
Portland’s goal in the ninth minute last Friday night marked just the eighth time this season that the Revs have conceded a goal in the first 30 minutes … the team’s eight goals against is the fourth-best mark in MLS, tied with Real Salt Lake and San Jose for fewest goals allowed in the first 30 minutes … Vancouver leads the league with only five goal allowed in that span … conversely, the Revs have scored 15 times in the first 30 minutes, tops in MLS … often striking even earlier, the Revs’ nine goals in the first 15 minutes of the game are tied with New York’s nine goals for most in the opening 15-minute window.

Road Warriors to Strike Again
Although they’ve won only once on the road this season, the Revs have had one of the most potent road offenses in the league … in 15 away games, the Revs average 1.13 road goals a game, tied for fourth in MLS, and just two-tenths of a goal behind leader New York’s mark (1.33 goals per game in 15 road matches) … prior to being shut out on Friday night in Portland, the Revs had recorded at least one goal in eight straight road games since June 4.

Sometimes They Don’t Go In, But Most of September They Have
The Revs were shut out on Friday and only recorded three shots on goal, but the team’s shooting accuracy numbers still don’t lie in September … the Revs’ six goals this month – despite a shutout – are still tied with LA and Philadelphia for first in MLS … the Revs’ scoring percentage of .428 (six goals on 14 shots) is significantly higher than the other two league-leaders in goals scored, as LA and Philly boast a .375 (6 goals on 16 shots) and .352 (6 goals on 17 shots) scoring percentage respectively this month.

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.