FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution and Vancouver Whitecaps FC played to a 0-0 draw at Gillette Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The draw was New England’s (0-2-1, 1 pt.) first point of the season as the team played its home opener in front of 13,103 fans. The draw extended Vancouver’s (1-0-2, 5 pts.) unbeaten streak to three games to open the season.

Despite the 0-0 score line, New England pushed 17 shots toward goal – one off its season high – as the team finally had its first-choice attackers on the field at the same time. In the Revs’ first two matches, several players missed time because of injury, including central midfielders Lee Nguyen (groin) and Kelyn Rowe (hamstring), while Saer Sene worked his way back from late-season ankle surgery.

But tonight, all three players started – in addition to captain Jose Goncalves at center back after a one-game lay-off – and the Revs were buzzing from the start. With windy conditions and a brief shower at kickoff, the Revs had the first chance of the match inside five minutes, when Andy Dorman’s flashing header at the near post off Chris Tierney’s corner kick service forced a leaping save from Vancouver goalkeeper David Ousted.

Ousted came up big again on Saer Sene (20th minute) and Diego Fagundez (33rd minute) in the first half, and Revolution goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth made a diving save on Kenny Miller in first-half stoppage time, keeping the score at 0-0 headed into the half.

In the second half, both teams came out and pushed the tempo, but neither team managed to break through. Fagundez, Rowe and Daigo Kobayashi all had chances go wide for New England, while Vancouver’s best chance came through Miller late in the half, but it was wide of Shuttleworth’s goal.

The draw extended the Revolution’s unbeaten streak in home openers to eight matches (6-0-2) since 2007.

The Revolution returns to action next Saturday, March 29, when the team travels to San Jose to face the Earthquakes at Buck Shaw Stadium. Kickoff is set for 10:30 p.m., with the game set to be televised by Comcast SportsNet and carried on the radio by 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Vancouver Whitecaps at New England Revolution
March 22, 2014 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
New England Revolution 0, Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0

Scoring Summary:
None

New England Revolution: Bobby Shuttleworth, Chris Tierney, Jose Goncalves ©, A.J. Soares, Andrew Farrell, Diego Fagundez, Lee Nguyen (Dimitry Imbongo 81), Andy Dorman, Kelyn Rowe (Scott Caldwell 89), Saer Sene (Daigo Kobayashi 58), Teal Bunbury

Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Jerry Bengtson, Stephen McCarthy, Darrius Barnes

STATS: Shots 17, Shots on Target 3, Corner Kicks 9, Saves 2, Fouls 13, Offsides 0, Passes 70.6% (309), Possession 48.0%

Vancouver Whitecaps FC: David Ousted, Jordan Harvey, Johnny Leveron, Andy O’Brien, Steven Beitashour, Sebastian Fernandez (Pedro Morales 46), Nigel Reo-Coker (Gershon Koffie 70), Kenny Miller ©, Matías Laba, Russell Teibert (Kekuta Manneh 67), Darren Mattocks

Substitutes Not Used: Paolo Tornaghi, Erik Hurtado, Nicolas Mezquida, Christian Dean

STATS: Shots 8, Shots on Target 2, Corner Kicks 5, Saves 3, Fouls 13, Offsides 3, Passes 70.5% (342), Possession 52.0%

Misconduct Summary:
VAN – Nigel Reo-Coker (caution) 7
NE – Andy Dorman (caution) 38
VAN – Jordan Harvey (caution) 83
VAN – Matías Laba (caution) 88

Referee: Hilario Grajeda
Assistant Referees: Paul Scott, CJ Morgante
Fourth Official: Robert Sibiga
Weather: Cloudy, 52 degrees
Attendance: 13,103

Team Records
New England Revolution: 0-2-1, 1 pt.
Vancouver Whitecaps: 1-0-2, 5 pts.

GAME NOTES:

• With the draw, the Revs are now 2-1-2 against the Whitecaps all-time, with a 2-0-1 record at Gillette Stadium
• The Revs extended their unbeaten streak in home openers to eight games, going 6-0-2 since 2007
• The Revs last tied Vancouver in the sides’ first ever meeting, playing out a 1-1 stalemate on April 6, 2011 at Empire Field in Vancouver
• The last time the Revs played to a scoreless draw was on June 8, 2013, against D.C. United at Gillette Stadium
• The shutout was the Revolution’s first of the 2014 season, and the first at Gillette Stadium since a 2-0 victory over Chicago on Aug. 17, 2013
• The shutout was Bobby Shuttleworth’s first of the season and the 14th of his career
• There were three changes in today’s lineup from the team that faced Philadelphia last weekend … Jose Goncalves returned in place of Darrius Barnes – Andrew Farrell moved back to right back with Goncalves occupying a center back spot – Saer Sene replaced Donnie Smith in the midfield, and Kelyn Rowe recovered from a hamstring injury to replace Scott Caldwell.
• Saer Sene made his first start since Oct. 12, 2013, when he suffered a broken leg and dislocated ankle in a 1-0 win over Montreal at Stade Saputo
• Kelyn Rowe returned to the lineup after a hamstring injury confined him to the bench in the Revs’ match at the Philadelphia Union last weekend
• Teal Bunbury and Daigo Kobayashi saw their first action at Gillette Stadium as members of the New England Revolution
• Jose Goncalves returned to the side after missing his first ever minutes for the Revolution last Saturday at Philadelphia … he had previously played every minute of every game in which he played since joining the team in 2013 (35 straight matches)
• Andrew Farrell made his first appearance at right back in the 2014 season, having played center back against the Union last Saturday
• Dimitry Imbongo made his season debut, coming on as an 81st minute substitute for  Lee Nguyen
• Lee Nguyen and Daigo Kobayashi appeared against their former club… Nguyen has two goals and one assist in three appearances against the Whitecaps, while Kobayashi made his first appearance against his old side having been acquired by the Revs during the offseason
• Additionally, Revolution assistant coach Tommy Soehn was the Whitecaps Director of Soccer from 2010-12 – while serving a interim head coach in 2011 … Revs goalkeeper Brad Knighton also played two seasons in Vancouver before re-joining the Revs after the 2013 season