FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution wraps up the first of two preseason trips this week as the club continues training in Casa Grande, Ariz. The 10-day trip will conclude with an exhibition match against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at 6 p.m. MT (8 p.m. ET) on Tuesday, Jan. 29, at the Grande Sports World in Casa Grande, Ariz.
Also this week, the Rev Girls will hold their Boston-area finals search on Thursday, Jan. 31, from 9-11 p.m., at Game On! (82 Lansdowne St., Boston, MA 02215). Revolution defender Kevin Alston will be one of five celebrity judges that will determine four selections for the Revs’ 2013 promotional team.
TEAM’S TOP TWEETS
@LeeNguyen24: Jan 22, 3:44pm
Welcome to my office #worktime pic.twitter.com/G8esQ9Nz
@jeff_lemieux: Jan 24, 7:33pm
Here's my story on Stephen McCarthy's number change to honor Kirk Urso. Emotional gesture. bit.ly/10F9TRc #NERevs
@ClydeSimms19: Jan. 27, 4:08 pm
View from my hotel room. Slight rainbow action through the mountains and clouds pic.twitter.com/JklWIccL
TEAM NOTES
Current training camp roster
An up-to-date preseason roster can be accessed at the team’s website … click on the CLUB link at the top of the home page, and click the 2013 Preseason Roster (PDF) link in the drop-down menu.
Revolution launches affiliate agreement with Rochester Rhinos
The Revolution and the Rochester Rhinos (USL PRO) announced this morning that the Rhinos the official USL PRO affiliate of the Revolution … the teams’ agreement is part of the landmark announcement made by MLS and USL PRO last week to help further the development of professional soccer in the U.S. and Canada … the agreement calls for the Revolution to loan a minimum of four players to the Rhinos for the season … more information on the partnership agreement – including its immediate impact on the Revs’ preseason training – can be found HERE.
Tuesday match vs. Vancouver to wrap Arizona trip
The Revs will complete their first preseason trip with a friendly against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. MT) at the Grande Sports World in Casa Grande, Ariz. … in-game updates will be provided on Twitter through @NERevsLive.
Revs draw against Sporting KC
The Revs opened their preseason schedule on Friday, Jan. 25 with a scoreless draw against Sporting KC … the match – which featured three 30-minute periods – allowed for both teams to work on fitness and tactics while also allowing for numerous substitutions … for a full recap of the game, click HERE.
Boston-area 2013 Rev Girl search finals on Thursday
The Boston-area Rev Girl Search Finals will be held at Game On! on Thursday, Jan. 31, from 9 to 11 p.m. … four of the 10 finalists will be selected to the 2013 Rev Girls squad, the Revs’ promotional team … the free event is open to the public (ages 21+) … an additional finals date will be held in Providence on Thursday, Feb. 7 to round out the squad … guest judges at the Boston-area finals include Revolution defender Kevin Alston, professional boxer Danny O’Connor, NESN reporter Jenny Dell, Hot 96.9 on-air personality Pebbles and Luke O’Neil of Boston Phoenix and Slate.com.
Raise your glass: 2013 Revolution Pub Tour
Members of the New England Revolution will stop by several of the region's top bars and pubs – all official pub partners of the Revolution – next week as part of the Revolution’s official 2013 Pub Tour … at each stop, fans 21 and older will get the opportunity to meet the team’s players and mingle with their favorite stars and the Rev Girls in a casual setting during the team’s brief stay in Boston between preseason training trips … all events will begin at 7 p.m. and run two hours:
- Tuesday, Feb. 5: The Banshee Pub (934 Dorchester Ave., Boston, Mass.) … Players scheduled: Andy Dorman, Lee Nguyen, Clyde Simms, A.J. Soares and Juan Toja
- Wednesday, Feb. 6: Phoenix Landing (512 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge, Mass.) … Players scheduled: Scott Caldwell, Jose Goncalves, Matt Reis, Kelyn Rowe and Chris Tierney
- Thursday, Feb. 7: Rí Rá Providence (50 Exchange Terrace # 50, Providence, R.I.) … Players scheduled: Kalifa Cisse, Ryan Guy, Dimitry Imbongo, Saer Sene and Bobby Shuttleworth
Revs sign forward Matt Horth
On Friday, the Revs signed forward Matt Horth … Horth, 23, most recently played for North American Soccer League’s Atlanta Silverbacks, where he played two seasons … in 49 appearances, he scored 18 goals in 2011 and 2012 … last season, he scored 10 goals and added one assist, following an eight-goal, one-assist effort as a rookie in 2011 … more on Horth’s journey -- from Division III soccer at Gordon College (Wenham, Mass.) to the NASL, to the Revs – can be found HERE.
Revs pick up four in Supplemental Draft
Last Tuesday, the Revs selected four players in the 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft … the Revs chose defender Jossimar Sanchez (UConn), forward Chris Thomas (Elon), defender Alex De John (Old Dominion) and midfielder Gabe Latigue (Elon) … De John, Latigue and Thomas are currently in training camp with the team in Casa Grande, Ariz.
Roster breakdown by position
The Revs’ preseason camp has 24 players under contract … there are two (2) goalkeepers, seven (7) natural defenders, 10 natural midfielders and five (5) forwards on the roster.
Roster breakdown by international status
With eight international roster spots available to the Revs this season, seven are currently occupied with signed players: Jerry Bengtson (Honduras), Kalifa Cisse (France), Diego Fagundez (Uruguay), Jose Goncalves (Portugal), Dimitry Imbongo (Congo), Saer Sene (France) and Juan Toja (Colombia).
Roster breakdown by age
Of the 24 players signed, there are currently:
- Three (3) players who are 30 years old or older: Matt Reis – 37, Andy Dorman – 30 and Clyde Simms – 30
- Five (5) players age 27-29: Kalifa Cisse – 29, Jose Goncalves – 27, Ryan Guy – 27, Chris Tierney – 27 and Juan Toja – 27
- Eight (8) players ages 24-26: Darrius Barnes – 26, Jerry Bengtson – 25, Stephen McCarthy – 24, Lee Nguyen – 26, Saer Sene – 26, Bobby Shuttleworth – 25 and A.J. Soares – 24
- Five (5) players ages 21-23: Scott Caldwell – 21, Matt Horth – 23, Dimitry Imbongo – 22, Sainey Nyassi – 23 and Kelyn Rowe – 21
- Three (3) players 20 years old or younger: Andrew Farrell – 20, Diego Fagundez – 17 and Tyler Polak – 20
Bengtson remains with Honduras national team
Jerry Bengtson remains with the Honduras national team through Feb. 6 … Honduras was the runner-up to Costa Rica in last week’s Copa Centroamericana and is one of five Central American teams to qualify for the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup … Honduras went 3-1-0 in the tournament and Bengtson scored a 75th-minute goal in the 1-1 draw against El Salvador on January 18 … Bengtson will remain with Honduras following Copa Centroamericana for the team’s World Cup Qualifier against the United States on Wednesday, Feb. 6, at Estadio Olimpico in San Pedro Sula, Honduras … he will join the Revs immediately following that match before the team heads to Tucson.
Bengtson continues to shine for Honduras
Jerry Bengtson picked back up where he left off in 2012 for Honduras, scoring the squad’s lone goal in a 1-1 draw against El Salvador on Jan. 18 … after starting all four matches for Honduras in Copa Centroamericana, Bengtson now has 14 goals in 31 appearances for Honduras.
First Kick Plans on sale
The Revolution’s popular First Kick Plans are now on sale and include tickets to the highly-anticipated 2013 home opener on Saturday, March 23 against Sporting Kansas City … fans have a choice of four- or six-game First Kick Plans and both plans include a limited-edition Revolution long-sleeve t-shirt … four-game plans start at $90 for lower-bowl seating, while six-game plans start at $111 … first Kick Plans are also now available in the supporters-only section of Gillette Stadium – The Fort – and are $86 for a four-game plan and $105 for a six-game plan.
Desert Diamond Cup tickets on sale
Tickets for the 2013 FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup are on sale … for the second year in a row, the Revs will participate in the February tournament to wrap up their preseason training … the New York Red Bulls and Real Salt Lake – both teams competed in the 2012 tournament – and Seattle Sounders FC will also join the Revs in Tucson for the tournament … the round-robin group games will be played on Wednesday, Feb. 13, Saturday, Feb. 16 and Wednesday, Feb. 20, before the championship (which will be televised by NBC Sports Network) and consolation games are played on Saturday, Feb. 23 … tickets are available for purchase by clicking HERE.
YOUTH UPDATE
Spring schedule
All three of the Revolution’s youth teams will resume play on Saturday, March 2, at Gillette Stadium. The U18s and U16s will take on FC Westchester, while the U14s are scheduled to play Oakwood SC … regular training begins back up this week, with sessions scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Season to-date records
Amid their winter hiatus, the Under-18s are 8-2-0 (24 pts.) overall and rank second in the Northeast Division of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s East Conference based on points per game … the Under-16s hold a 4-2-4 record (16 pts.) and are currently in fourth place in the Division … the Under-14s enter the break at 4-2-0 (12 pts.), which is good for sixth in U.S. Club Soccer’s Northeast Pre-Academy League.
