FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution departs today for 14-day preseason trip in Tucson, Ariz., during which the team will play in the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup at the Kino Sports Complex.
The round-robin tournament -- featuring the New York Red Bulls, Revolution, Seattle Sounders FC and Real Salt Lake – begins Wednesday, Feb. 13, with the Revolution match against Seattle at 5 p.m. MT (7 p.m. ET). The Revs will finish the first week of action against New York on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. MT (8 p.m. ET). Both matches this week will be streamed live at MLSsoccer.com.
TEAM’S TOP TWEETS
TEAM NOTES
Watch the Revs in the Tucson
The Revolution will play four matches while in Tucson, Feb. 11-24 … the round-robin FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup will feature the New York Red Bulls, Revolution, Seattle Sounders FC and Real Salt Lake … the Revolution will play the following schedule:
- Wednesday, Feb. 13 – 7 p.m. ET vs. Seattle Sounders FC (live streamed on mlssoccer.com)
- Saturday, Feb. 16 – 8 p.m. ET vs. New York Red Bulls (live streamed on mlssoccer.com)
- Wednesday, Feb. 20 – 7 p.m. ET vs. Real Salt Lake (live streamed on mlssoccer.com)
- Saturday, Feb. 23 – 6 p.m. ET Consolation (no broadcast coverage) / 8 p.m. ET – Championship (televised live on NBC Sports Network)
Revs sign two ahead of Tucson trip
The Revs made two signings ahead of the upcoming preseason trip to Tucson, Ariz., adding defender Bilal Duckett and forward Chad Barrett
Duckett adds defensive depth
The Revs added depth to the back line on Monday, signing defender Bilal Duckett … Duckett, 24, spent the 2012 season with the Harrisburg City Islanders of USL PRO … he made 19 appearances as a defender as the team advanced to the USL PRO playoffs … prior to signing with Harrisburg, Duckett played one season with Vancouver Whitecaps FC after the Whitecaps drafted him in the third round (37th overall) of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft … he made four appearances, including two starts, as a rookie with Vancouver.
Barrett bolsters Revs up top
The Revs signed forward Chad Barrett on Monday – a player the team had selected from the LA Galaxy with the first pick (fourth overall selection) in the first round of Stage 2 of the Re-Entry Draft on Dec. 14, 2012 … Barrett has seven seasons of MLS experience and has scored 42 goals and added 27 assists in 192 career appearances with Chicago (2005-08), Toronto (2008-2010) and LA (2011-12) … the 27-year old was most recently on loan from the Galaxy to Valerenga of Norway’s Tippeligaen where he made five appearances and recorded one assist through the end of the 2012 season.
Bengtson joins Revs after Wednesday’s WCQ
Jerry Bengtson has joined the Revolution for the first time this preseason last Friday following a successful international duty performance … Bengtson’s game-winning goal in the 79th minute gave Honduras the 2-1 win against the U.S. in a World Cup Qualifying match at Estadio Olimpico in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, last Wednesday … Bengtson has 32 caps with Honduras, scoring 15 goals, since he entered the national team picture in 2010.
Single-game tickets go on sale Saturday
Single-game tickets to 2013 New England Revolution matches will go on sale Saturday, Feb. 16, at 10 a.m. through all Ticketmaster outlets … individual tickets purchased in advance start at $24 for bowl seating … the Revs will play 17 regular-season MLS games at Gillette Stadium this year, including their home opener on Saturday, March 23, against Sporting Kansas City.
Current training camp roster
An up-to-date preseason roster can be accessed via PDF here.
2013 Turf Tour underway
The New England Revolution is hosting a five-stop Turf Tour at local sports facilities ahead of its 2013 home opener on Saturday, March 23 … each event will include a soccer clinic and player meet-and-greet opportunity … the tour got underway on Feb. 1 with a stop at the Wide World of Indoor Sports in North Kingstown, R.I., and will continue with four stops before the home opener:
- Wednesday, Feb. 27 at Forekicks, Norfolk, Mass.,
- Thursday, Feb. 28 at JunglePlex, Plymouth, Mass.,
- Saturday, March 2 at Champsions, New Bedford, Mass., and
- Thursday, March 21 at Kroc Center, Dorchester, Mass. (not open to public)
Each event will contain two portions: a soccer clinic – held for a preselected group of local children – and an open-to-the-public Q&A and autograph session.
Roster breakdown by position
The Revs’ preseason camp has 26 players under contract … there are two (2) goalkeepers, eight (8) natural defenders, 10 natural midfielders and six (6) 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 26 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
- Six (6) players age 27-29: Chad Barrett – 27, Kalifa Cisse – 29, Jose Goncalves – 27, Ryan Guy – 27, Chris Tierney – 27 and Juan Toja – 27
- 10 players ages 24-26: Darrius Barnes – 26, Jerry Bengtson – 25, Bilal Duckett – 24, Stephen McCarthy – 24, Lee Nguyen – 26, Sainey Nyassi – 24, Saer Sene – 26, Bobby Shuttleworth – 25 and A.J. Soares – 24
- Four (4) players ages 21-23: Scott Caldwell – 21, Matt Horth – 23, Dimitry Imbongo – 22 and Kelyn Rowe – 21
- Three (3) players 20 years old or younger: Andrew Farrell – 20, Diego Fagundez – 17 and Tyler Polak – 20
College season ticket packages on sale
Revolution college student season ticket package is now available for purchase … available only to students with a valid college ID, college student season ticket holders will receive special benefits including their own section at Revolution home games … for $99, the 17-game package includes one ticket to every regular-season home game, a limited edition college student season ticket holder adidas t-shirt and the ability to purchase tickets for international games before they go on sale to the general public.
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.
YOUTH UPDATE
Six U18s announce college commitments
Six members of the New England Revolution Under-18 team have announced their commitments to college soccer programs, which they'll join this summer ahead of the fall 2013 semester ... additional U18 players are expected to finalize their collegiate commitments in the coming months.
- Willis Griffith (Amherst, N.H.) – Villanova University
- Ryan Kingsley (North Attleboro, Mass.) – College of the Holy Cross
- Coupar Lipp (Shrewsbury, Mass.) – Saint Joseph’s University
- Dominik Machado (Attleboro, Mass.) – Providence College
- Matt Mozynski (Bellingham, Mass.) – Campbell University
- Will Szostkiewicz (Longmeadow, Mass.) – University of New Hampshire
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.
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.
