FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (9-17-8, 35 pts) enters the offseason after finishing the 2012 season with a 1-0 win at Montreal last Saturday, Oct. 27. With the win, head coach Jay Heaps improved upon the team’s 2011 win (5) and point (28) totals in his first year on the sidelines.
The team will now hold postseason training for several weeks in preparation ahead of the 2013 campaign.
TEAM NOTES
Revolution completes 2012 season on a high note
With the 1-0 win at Montreal on Saturday, the Revolution closed the 2012 season with a 9-17-8 record and 35 points, finishing the season in ninth place in the Eastern Conference … the team ended the season on a high note in the final eight games … since Sept. 1, the Revs posted four shutouts while allowing six goals (0.75 goals against average) and going 3-3-2.
Heaps at the Helm
Jay Heaps closed his first season as head coach and improved upon the team’s 2011 win (5) and point (28) totals in his first campaign at the helm … Heaps earned his first career win on March 24 against Portland in the Revs’ home opener and guided the team to a 7-4-6 record in Foxborough … the Revs secured two wins on the road this season, doubling last year’s win total away from home (1).
Returning from Canada With a Win
The Revs returned home from Canada on Saturday with a win for the first time in club history … the Revs are now 1-3-5 in MLS games in Canada … following the season finale, the Revs are now 1-1-0 in Montreal, 0-2-4 in Toronto and 0-0-1 in Vancouver.
Soares Uses His Head
A.J. Soares recorded his third career goal -- his second of the season – in the 88th-minute on Saturday … Soares’ goal was his first game-winning goal … his first goal of the year was at D.C. United on May 26 … each of Soares’ three career goals have been off set pieces, all assisted by Chris Tierney.
Tierney Lends An Assist Again
Chris Tierney earned his eighth career game-winning assist and his third of the season when his free kick was headed home by A.J. Soares in the 88thminute on Saturday … Tierney is now tied for third with Jose Cancela on the club’s career game-winning assist chart … exactly half (8) of Tierney’s total assists have been game-winners … Tierney’s 16 career assists and is tied with Joe Franchino for 10th on the club’s career assist chart
Club Assist Lead Goes to the Wire
Chris Tierney recorded a career-high five assists in 2012 and finished the season tied with rookie Kelyn Rowe for the team’s lead in assists … Rowe is the first rookie to lead (or co-lead) the team in assists since Pat Noonan recorded seven assists to share the team lead with four other players … Tierney recorded one assist in 2008 and two assists in 2009 before back-to-back seasons of four assists in 2010 and 2011.
Bobby Pulling Out All The Stops in Finale
Bobby Shuttleworth recorded a career-high seven saves in Saturday’s season finale at Montreal … his previous high was six, which came on Oct. 10, 2010 at Houston … the seven-save effort moved Shuttleworth into seventh place on the club’s career saves list with 58 saves, passing Aiden Heaney (51).
Shuttleworth Shuts Door on 2012
After earning the start in his third-consecutive season finale on Saturday, Bobby Shuttleworth recorded his third shutout of the year … he now has four career shutouts and is tied for seventh on the Revs’ career shutout list with Aiden Heaney (4) … the 25-year old started the team’s final five games of the 2012 season and posted a 2-2-1 record in that stretch with a 0.80 goals against average and back-to-back shutouts in the final two games … Shuttleworth finished the year with a 3-3-1 overall record and a 0.71 goals against average and three shutouts, the best marks among MLS’ back-up goalkeepers.
Alston Leads Pack Again
For the second year in a row, defender Kevin Alston led the Revs in appearances for the season … in 2012, Alston appeared in 31 games … in 2011, Alston made 33 appearances, missing just one game … only two other players appeared in 30 games – Lee Nguyen and Kelyn Rowe – and no other player made more than 29 appearances.
Newcomers Pace the Team
Three of the Revolution’s newcomers – Saer Sene, Lee Nguyen and rookie Kelyn Rowe – were the team’s top three scorers this season … Sene led the team in goals with 11, while Nguyen added five and Rowe 3 … Rowe also tied for the team lead in assists (5) with Chris Tierney … in total, Sene, Nguyen and Rowe together accounted for 48.7 percent of the team’s 39 goals and 32.2 percent of the team’s assists.
Not So Red-Faced
One season after setting a new club record for red cards (10) and almost matching the MLS single-season record (11, New York in 2000), the Revolution were shown only three red cards this season – one of which was later rescinded after a review by an independent review panel … additionally, the team lowered its fouls committed totals from 400 in 2011, to 360 this season.
2013 Season Tickets Now on Sale
Season tickets for the 2013 season are now on sale … a special video including a list of pricing, all the benefits of becoming a season-ticket holder and more can be found HERE … the Revs finished the 2012 home schedule on a five-game unbeaten streak (2-0-3) and averaged 24,949 fans in its last home two games of the season.
YOUTH UPDATE
Youth Sweep Met Oval
This past weekend, all three youth teams earned victories against the Met Oval at Regis College in Weston, Mass., on Sunday, Oct. 28 … the U18s topped Met Oval, 3-1, while the U16s shut out their opponents, 6-0, and the U14s won, 5-1.
FC Bolts Celtic Up Next
The youth teams will next face rival FC Bolts Celtic (formerly FC Greater Boston) at Mount Ida College in Newton, Mass, on Sunday, Nov. 4 … the U14s will kick off at 2 p.m., followed by the U18s at 4:30 p.m. and the U16s at 7 p.m.
