FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (4-6-0, 12 pts.) remains home this week and faces the Houston Dynamo at 7:30 p.m., on Saturday, May 19, at Gillette Stadium.
Comcast SportsNet will televise the game while 98.5 The Sports Hub will carry the game on the radio.
Saturday’s match is the first of two regular-season meetings between the two teams in 2012, with a match at the newly-built BBVA Compass Stadium scheduled for Sept. 29. Last season, the Dynamo won the regular-season series with a 1-0 win on April 17, before the teams played to a 1-1 draw on Aug. 17, at Gillette Stadium. On Saturday, the Dynamo will play their second game in a week after hosting Portland this Tuesday night in Houston.
SERIES INFORMATION VS HOUSTON DYNAMO
Team information vs. Houston Dynamo
• New England and Houston have met 12 times in the overall MLS regular-season series, with the Revs holding a 6-2-4 record against the Dynamo … the Revolution is 6-3-6 against the Dynamo in all competitions, including the MLS Cup Playoffs and SuperLiga
• Saturday’s meeting will be the first of two regular-season meetings between the two teams in 2012 … the Revs will make their first trip to the new BBVA Compass Stadium on Sept. 29
• The Revs hold a 2-1-3 lead in matches played in Foxborough … New England’s first - and only - loss to Houston came in Foxborough on May 3, 2009, a 2-0 defeat
• The Revs are 4-1-1 in matches played in Houston, with their first road loss – a 1-0 defeat – coming on April 17, 2011 … all those matches were played at the Dynamo’s former home, Robertson Stadium
• In all but one meeting – the 2-1 Revs win in Houston on Oct. 10, 2010 - the winning team has recorded a shutout or the match has ended in a draw … overall, there have been seven shutouts in 12 regular-season meetings
• Houston won the 2011 regular-season series, shutting out the Revs, 1-0, on April 17 in Houston before the two teams played to a 1-1 draw on Aug. 17 at Gillette Stadium
• Houston’s victory in the regular-season series in 2011 was just the second Dynamo regular-season series victory … the Revs won the regular-season series in 2007, 2008 and 2010, while splitting in 2006 and 2009.
• New England and Houston have met in three tournament finals in the last seven years (MLS Cup 2006, MLS Cup 2007, SuperLiga 2008) … Houston won the 2006 MLS title match in penalty kicks after extra time finished 1-1 in Frisco, Texas, and then one year later took the 2007 championship with a come-from-behind, 2-1 victory in Washington, D.C. … the Revs won SuperLiga 2008 in penalty kicks after the teams were knotted at 2-2 after extra time at Gillette Stadium
Player Notes vs. Houston Dyanmo
• Shalrie Joseph has scored three goals in 10 regular-season contests and is the only current Revolution player to have scored multiple goals against Houston … he also scored the game-tying goal against Houston in extra time of the SuperLiga 2008 final, sending the match to penalty kicks
• Sainey Nyassi has also recorded one goal and one assist in five appearances against Houston
• Kevin Alston recorded the first assist of his career against the Dynamo, picking up the second assist on Kheli Dube’s game-winning goal at Houston on Aug. 25, 2009
• Matt Reis is 5-2-4 in his regular-season career against the Dynamo with an 0.82 goals against average and five shutouts
• Bobby Shuttleworth has one win in one appearance against Houston, making a career-high six saves in the Oct. 10, 2010 meeting
• Former Rev Steve Ralston is Houston’s assistant coach, and still holds a share of the New England career scoring lead against the Dynamo with three goals and one assist in seven regular-season appearances.
TEAM NOTES
Salute to Heroes on Saturday at Gillette Stadium
In conjunction with Armed Forces Day, the New England Revolution will offer a “Salute to Heroes” this Saturday, May 19, with events and activities surrounding the match against the Houston Dynamo at Gillette Stadium … through a partnership with the U.S.O., the New England Revolution Charitable Foundation has invited members of the Armed Services from all over New England to the game, distributing more than 3,500 tickets to service members … for ticket info and more details on pre- and in-game events, click HERE.
Lee Nguyen – MLS Player of the Week
Following his two-goal, one-assist effort on Saturday in a 4-1 win over Vancouver, Lee Nguyen earned MLS Player of the Week on Monday … the honor comes after the midfielder recorded his first two goals of his MLS career, which also came against his former team … Nguyen’s nod is the club’s first of the season and its first since Week 2 of the 2010 season.
Close Success Against the Orange
The Revolution is 3-1-1 in its last five meetings against the Dynamo, dating back to a 1-0 win at Houston on July 25, 2009 … in the most recent spate of games, four of the five matches have been one-goal decisions … further, the Revs’ 2-1 win on Oct. 10, 2010, was the only time during the last five games in which a team has scored more than one goal in a match against the other team.
Houston Has a Matt Reis Problem
Matt Reis is 5-2-4 against Houston in his regular-season career, helping the Revs collect points in nine of 11 matches he's played. Reis has also backboned the club to five shutouts against the Dynamo in that run. Reis has posted a 0.82 goals against average overall, and made 54 saves, in nine matches against Houston.
Early Goals at Gillette Are Good
Lee Nguyen’s sixth-minute goal against Vancouver marked the third time in four home matches that the Revs scored in the first 10 minutes of play … the early goals have helped the Revs post a 3-1-0 at Gillette Stadium this year after going 4-7-6 at home in 2011 … Saer Sene scored a first-minute goal on March 24 against Portland while Jose Moreno scored in the sixth-minute against D.C. United on April 14.
Fortress Foxborough Returning?
With a 3-1-0 record – and a scoring average of 2.00 goals per game - at home this season, Gillette Stadium may be re-transforming into Fortress Foxborough after several seasons … with a .750 winning percentage at home, the Revs are tied with Montreal (2-0-2), Colorado (3-1-0) and San Jose (4-1-1) in home winning percentage … the team’s 2.00 goals per home game are tied with D.C. for fourth in MLS, behind New York (2.60), Colorado (2.25) and San Jose (2.17) … the Revs posted their best home record at Gillette Stadium in 2005, going 11-2-3 …last year, the Revs went 4-7-6 at home, the team’s fewest wins at the facility in its history (2002 to present).
“Nguyen”ing Fans Over
Lee Nguyen quickly became a fan favorite upon his arrival in Foxborough, but his two-goal, one-assist break-out performance on Saturday against Vancouver – the team that waived him a week before the season opener – solidified his spot in Revs’ fans hearts … Nguyen has appeared in all 10 games, starting 8, but he was unable to break into the scoring column until his two goals against the Whitecaps … Nguyen picked up his first MLS point – an assist – on May 2 against Colorado.
Shalrie Strikes Back to Scoring Ways
One year removed from his team-leading eight goals, Shalrie Joseph scored his first goal of the 2012 season on Saturday – his first goal in 15 games dating back to Sept. 10, 2011 … Joseph hasn’t been a stranger to the scoring line though, as he leads the club in assists this year with three … the Revolution captain averaged at least four goals per season in his first nine campaigns (2003-2011).
Goal Scoring Tides Turning?
For the first time since Week 5 of the MLS schedule (early April), the Revs enter a game with a scoring average greater than one goal per game … following a four-goal performance on Saturday, the Revs are averaging a season-high 1.20 goals this year … the Revs’ previous high was 1.00 goals per game after the Revs 3-1 win at LA on March 31, but their average fell after the team scored just one goal in April: a Jose Moreno goal on April 14 against D.C. United.
Movin’ On Up … the Scoring Chart
The Revs’ four-goal match on Saturday propelled the club into a tie for eighth for goals scored (12) with LA and Montreal the Red Bulls lead the league with 23 goals in 11 games … the Revs are just one goal shy of sixth place, held by Sporting KC and Seattle (13 goals, 10 games apiece).
Assist Men Keep Pace
With two assists on Saturday in the 4-1 win over Vancouver, the Revs now have 13 assists this season … overall, the club is tied for fifth in MLS – with Colorado – in assists, despite being tied for eighth in overall goal scoring … Shalrie Joseph leads the Revs with three assists, while Lee Nguyen, Saer Sène and Chris Tierney each have two assists.
April Showers Bring May Goal-Scoring Flowers
The Revs are averaging 2.33 goals per game in May, scoring seven goals in the three games since being held scoreless at New York on April 28 … the scoring production in May comes after the team scored just one goal in three games in April … the Revs’ seven goals have already matched the team’s highest May goal total since 2008, when the Revs also scored seven goals, but in five matches … in 2000, the Revolution scored a team-high 12 goals in six May matches.
Sene in Select Goal-Scoring Group
Saer Sene scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season on Saturday, pushing him into a tie for sixth place on MLS’ 2012 goal-scoring chart … Sene is tied with seven other players who’ve scored four goals this year … league leader Chris Wondolowski has 11 goals, while New York’s Kenny Cooper and Thierry Henry have nine goals apiece … the D.C. duo of Maicon Santos (six goals) and Chris Pontius (five goals) round out the top five.
Three (Goals) for the Win
With four goals on Saturday in the win against Vancouver, the Revs posted their second three-plus goal game this season … the Revs became the fifth club this year to score three or more goals in multiple games this year, joining D.C. (4), New York (4), San Jose (4) and Real Salt Lake (3) …
Win No. 4 Comes “Early”
With a victory on Saturday, the Revs picked up their fourth win of the season, a feat the Revs accomplished last season in Game #20 on July 20, 2011 … through 10 games this year, the Revs are 4-6-0 and are one win shy of matching the team’s 2011 win total (5) after the club went 5-6-13 in a 34-game season.
Return of the Reserves on Sunday
The Revolution reserves (0-1-0) return to action on Sunday against D.C. United, the team’s first reserve match since April 9 … the Revs’ last three originally-scheduled reserve matches have all been re-scheduled … the Revs’ reserves fell in the team’s only game this season – a 4-2 loss on April 9 at Philadelphia – while Sunday’s match will be the first match of the year for the D.C. reserves … the Revolution reserves went 4-5-1 last season in the Reserve League.
YOUTH UPDATE
For the first time in program history, the Revolution youth teams went a combined 4-0-0 on a weekend, with both the Under-18s and Under-16s sweeping their opponents this weekend. | READ: Youth Update - May 14, 2012
