FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The Revolution travels to Tucson, Ariz., today to compete in the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup against the LA Galaxy, New York Red Bulls and Real Salt Lake. Following two weeks of training and four matches, the club will return to Foxborough, Mass. on Sunday, March 4, to prepare for MLS First Kick on Saturday, March 10, in San Jose.
TEAM NOTES
Current training camp roster
An up-to-date preseason roster can be accessed at the team’s website HERE ... this roster will be updated weekly roster so check the web site regularly for the most up-to-date version … click on the CLUB link at the top of the home page, and click the 2012 Preseason Roster (PDF) link in the drop-down menu … as of Monday, six non-rostered players are in camp with the Revolution: forward Blake Brettschneider, defender Gabe Mercier, forward Alec Purdie, forward Michael Roach, forward Dawyne “Rick” Smith and midfielder Jeremiah White … defender Blake Wagner, who had been in camp since the beginning of February, has been released from camp.
Tucson tournament to be streamed live on MLSsoccer.com
The Revolution will play four matches while in Tucson, Feb. 20 through March 4 … the round-robin FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup will feature the LA Galaxy, New York Red Bulls, Revolution and Real Salt Lake … for a preview of the tournament, click HERE … live video streaming of all eight tournament games will be available at mlssoccer.com … the Revolution will play the following schedule:
- Wednesday, Feb. 22 – vs. LA Galaxy, 8 p.m. ET
- Saturday, Feb. 25 – vs. New York Red Bulls, 10 p.m. ET
- Wednesday, Feb. 29 – vs. Real Salt Lake, 8 p.m. ET
- Saturday, March 3 – Championship/Consolation matches, 10 p.m. / 8 p.m. ET
Conference calls from Arizona
Head coach Jay Heaps and select Revolution players will be made available on media conference calls three times during the upcoming trip: on Thursday, Feb. 23, Sunday, Feb. 26 and Thursday, March 1 … each call will be scheduled the day following the club group-round matches in the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup … media will be alerted with the times, call-in numbers and player details when the call details are confirmed, generally 24-36 hours in advance.
Revs take 3-0-0 preseason record to Arizona
The Revs will have their first taste of MLS opponents in the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup beginning this week … the Revs enter the round-robin tournament with a 3-0-0 preseason record with a 2-1 win against FC Tucson on Jan. 28, and a pair of home wins against Boston College on Feb. 10 (3-0) and Feb. 15 (2-1) … the club will play seven preseason games before traveling to San Jose to face the Earthquakes in MLS First Kick on Saturday, March 10.
Mansally, Nyassi get Gambia call-ups
Revolution midfielders Kenny Mansally and Sainey Nyassi were called up for Gambia’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Algeria on Wednesday, Feb. 29 … Mansally will not travel with the Revolution to Arizona, and instead will depart to meet up with Gambia on Wednesday, Feb. 22 … Nyassi will not be able to travel to meet up with Gambia, however, after suffering a hamstring injury on Feb. 10, in a scrimmage against Boston College … Mansally has nine caps with Gambia.
Single-game tickets now on sale
Single-game tickets to 2012 New England Revolution matches are now on sale … individual tickets start at $24 for bowl seating with advance purchase, and can be purchased by calling 1-877-GET-REVS or by clicking here.
YOUTH TEAMS UPDATE
Revs to send U17 squad to South Africa for international tournament
The Revolution’s youth development program has accepted an invitation to feature an Under-17 squad in the 2012 Future Champions Gauteng Tournament, which will be held Monday, March 26, through Saturday, March 31, in Johannesburg, South Africa … the elite international competition features 12 youth clubs from five different continents … each team will play five games in South Africa: three round-robin, playoff and placing games … the Revs are the lone representative from North America … for more information, click HERE.
U.S. Soccer Development Academy mandates move to 10-month season
Beginning this fall, all U.S. Soccer Development Academy clubs will move to a 10-month schedule (September – June) … the move will eliminate most double-fixture weekends in the competition schedule, increase the amount of training time and make the Development Academy schedule more consistent with the rest of the world … for more explanation and quotes about the change from Director of Youth Development and Under-16 head coach Bryan Scales and Revolution General Manager Michael Burns, click HERE.
Youth teams on winter break
Outside of regular training, both the U18s and U16s have a break from competition until early March, when the Revs will resume their fourth season in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy … both teams finished the 2011 portion of the season at the top of the Northeast Division of the East Conference: the U18s hold a 4-1-0 record (12 pts.), while the U16s are 3-2-0 (9 pts.) … kicking off a series of road matches, the youth teams will next play D.C. United at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Md., on Saturday, March 10.
