FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution head back out on the road this weekend for a crucial six-point showdown with the Columbus Crew on Saturday night, September 20, at Crew Stadium. Saturday’s game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and will be shown live on Comcast SportsNet while 98.5 The Sports Hub will carry it live on the radio.
In the midst of a five-game winning streak and a six-game unbeaten run, the Revs head to the Buckeye State in third place in the Eastern Conference with a 13-12-3 record (42 points). New England is five points ahead of the Crew, who enter the weekend tied with Philadelphia for the fifth and final playoff berth in the East with 37 points (9-9-10 record).
This will be the second of three meetings between the Revolution and Crew this season with Columbus earning a 2-1 win at Gillette Stadium on July 26. That was the eighth and final game of the Revs’ eight-game losing streak and since that loss, the Revolution have gone 6-1-1, taking 19 of a possible 24 points to climb from seventh to third in the Eastern Conference.
The Crew, who scored a pair of second-half goals to claim a 2-2 draw away to Houston last weekend, are now 3-1-1 in their last five games to move into a tie for fifth place in the East. Justin Meram has four goals in those five games for Columbus, who will face fellow postseason hopefuls Philadelphia (twice), New York and New England (twice) – as well as Montreal – in the last six weeks of the season.
The two sides will close out their regular-season series on Saturday, October 4, when New England hosts the Crew at Gillette Stadium.
TEAM NOTES
Going streaking
The Revs’ current five-game winning streak is the longest current winning streak in MLS and is tied for the longest in the league this season … New England (April 26-May 24), LA (August 20-September 5) and Seattle (April 12-May 7) all won five straight prior to the Revs’ current winning streak, but no club has won six straight this year … the Revolution are now just the fourth team in MLS history to have multiple five-game winning streaks in a single season and the first to do so since 1999 … they join the 1997 LA Galaxy (winning streaks of five and 15 games), D.C. United in 1998 (winning streaks of nine and five games) and United again in 1999 (winning streaks of seven and 11 games) as having won five or more consecutive games twice in a single season … however, the Revs are the first club to achieve the feat since MLS abolished the shootout after the 1999 season.
Six could be sweet
Should the Revolution win against Columbus on Saturday, the Revs would match their club-record winning streak with their sixth consecutive victory … that occurred from April 9 to May 14, 2005, and helped the Steve Nicol’s squad achieve a club-record of 59 points (17-7-8 record) en route to a second appearance in MLS Cup.
Unbeaten in six
While the Revs have won five straight, the club is unbeaten in their last six, having drawn 1-1 with the Portland Timbers on August 16 prior to starting the current winning streak … New England’s six-game unbeaten streak is one shy of the club’s longest this season as they went 6-0-1 between April 12 and May 24, taking 19 of a possible 21 points to climb to the top of the Eastern Conference standings … with a win or a draw in Columbus on Saturday, the Revs will match the second-longest unbeaten streak in club history … they have gone unbeaten in seven straight games on seven previous occasions … the club record unbeaten streak is 12 regular-season games, which stretched from the final game of the 2004 season through the first 11 games of 2005.
Hitting the road
After playing each of their last three games at home, the New England Revolution will head back out on the road this weekend to face the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium … after playing seven of their last nine matches at Gillette Stadium since July 26, the Revs will close out the season playing four of their final six on the road … the Revs are just 4-8-1 on the road this season, compared to 9-4-2 at home, although they took all three points from their last road game, a 3-0 victory over Toronto FC on August 30.
Nguyen up for Goal of the Week
Lee Nguyen’s game-winning goal from Saturday’s 2-1 win over Montreal has been nominated for the MLS Goal of the Week award … with the game tied at 1-1 in the 25th minute, Nguyen combined with Jermaine Jones and Charlie Davies to get free inside the penalty area before rounding goalkeeper Troy Perkins and deftly chipping the ball into the open net for the game-winning goal in the Revs’ 2-1 win ... Nguyen’s goal was his team-leading 13th of the season and his MLS-best seventh game-winner of the season … two of his 13 goals have been nominated for Goal of the Week … he now has seven goals and three assists in the last eight games with the Revs going 6-1-1 in that time … goal of the week voting is open now at MLSsoccer.com and will continue through Thursday evening. | WATCH NGUYEN’S GOAL HERE
Jones is three-for-three
Jermaine Jones made his third consecutive start for the Revolution on Saturday, playing the opening 45 minutes in the win over Montreal … while Jones was forced to exit that game at halftime because of an injury, he collected an assist on Lee Nguyen’s game-winning goal … Jones now has three assists in the last three games, leaving him tied with Charlie Davies and Chris Tierney for sixth on the team in assists, two behind Kelyn Rowe for the team lead … each of Jones’ last two assists have helped to set up the game-winning goal for the Revs while his first for the club – on September 3 against Sporting Kansas City – set up the game-tying goal in that contest … Jones is the first Revolution player since Saer Sene last September to tally assists in three consecutive contests … since debuting for the Revs on August 30, Jones has played 204 minutes in four games, placing two shots on goal and suffering seven fouls while helping New England go 4-0-0.
Coming from behind … again
The Revolution took all nine points from the club’s recent three-game homestand, earning wins over Sporting Kansas City, Chicago and Montreal … one prevailing theme from each of those three games was that the Revs conceded the game’s first goal, only to come back to win each match … this recent stretch was the first time the Revs won three straight games in which they had fallen behind 1-0 since 1997 … this season, the Revs have four wins from games in which they allowed the opening goal, going 4-11-1 … only Seattle, with five wins, has more wins than the Revs from games in which they trailed 1-0.
Bunbury suspended
Teal Bunbury will be unavailable on Saturday against the Crew as he serves a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation… Bunbury was shown his fifth yellow card of the season early in the second half of Saturday’s 2-1 win over Montreal … this will be the first game Bunbury has missed all season … entering the weekend, he is one of three players (along with Diego Fagundez and Daigo Kobayashi) who have appeared in each of the Revs’ first 28 games this season … prior to this season, Bunbury had never been shown more than three yellow cards in a single season … he is the third different New England player to serve a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation, joining Andy Dorman (who missed the 2-1 loss at Real Salt Lake on July 4) and Scott Caldwell (who missed the 3-1 win over Sporting Kansas City on September 3) … Bunbury, who has two goals in eight career games against the Crew, has four goals and four assists in his first season with the Revs.
Castillion debuts
Recent signing Geoffrey Castillion made his Revolution and MLS debuts on Saturday, coming on for Charlie Davies in the 76th minute of the Revs’ 2-1 win … originally signed on August 25, Castillion arrived in Foxborough on September 5 and trained with his new team for the first time the following day … the 23-year-old is the 26th different player to appear in an MLS regular-season game for the Revs this year … he joined the Revs after spending the entirety of his career in the Netherlands playing for Ajax and spending time on loan with RKC Waalwijk, Heracles Almelo and NEC.
Tierney back in the squad
Chris Tierney was back Jay Heaps’ 18-man squad on Saturday against Montreal … although he did not enter the game, Tierney’s appearance on the game day roster was his first since suffering a left knee injury July 26 against Columbus … the eighth-year defender was forced to leave that game in the 21st minute after spraining his MCL … he missed the next seven games – with Kevin Alston making three starts and Darrius Barnes making four at left back – before returning to the squad on Saturday … the longest-tenured member of the Revolution, Tierney has a goal and three assists in 19 appearances this season.
Dorman activated
Midfielder Andy Dorman was removed from the Revolution’s disabled list on Friday, making him eligible to return to the field at any time … he has missed the last 11 games after suffering a sprained MCL in his right knee on July 12 against Chicago … Dorman, 32, was originally placed on the Disabled List on July 15 and has not played since ... before the injury, he appeared in and started 15 regular-season games, tallying one assist … he missed just two of the club’s first 17 games prior to his injury... it was announced at the time of the injury that Dorman would need 10-12 weeks for recovery … he was removed from the Disabled List ahead of the MLS roster freeze date on September 15, so that he will be available for selection after the roster freeze ... had he not been removed from the Disabled List before the 15th, he would not have been available for selection the remainder of the regular season and the MLS Cup Playoffs.
McCarthy undergoes knee surgery
Revolution defender Stephen McCarthy underwent surgery on his left knee on Friday to repair a torn meniscus that he suffered in training earlier this month … the fourth-year defender is expected to need approximately six weeks to rehabilitate from the procedure … McCarthy has made four appearances in all competitions season, scoring in the 3-2 win over the Richmond Kickers on June 18 in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup … his only league appearance came on July 19 when he started in central defense in New England’s 2-0 loss away to FC Dallas.
Rochester quartet returns to New England
The Rochester Rhinos, New England’s USL PRO affiliate, saw their 2014 season come to an end on Saturday night with a 2-1 loss to LA Galaxy II in the quarterfinals of the USL PRO Playoffs … four Revolution players – Jossimar Sanchez, Donnie Smith, Luis Soffner and Alec Sundly – had been on loan with the Rhinos with Sundly and Smith playing in the loss to Galaxy II … all four players will return to New England this week and are scheduled to rejoin their Revolution teammates in training.
Join Alston, Revs and Light the Night for LLS
To help support research and the on-going race for a cure for blood cancers, the Revolution is joining the greater New England community at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s annual Boston Light the Night Walk at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 9, on the historic Boston Common (Charles St., Boston, Mass.) … the Revolution has created a corporate team to participate in the Light the Night Walk, and is seeking fans and those affected by cancers to join and help fundraise on behalf of the New England Revolution Charitable Foundation … Revolution defender Kevin Alston will be joined by Revs staff and various players’ wives and girlfriends on the Revolution’s team, which will be showcased with a special banner at the walk … every member who signs up to walk as part of the Revolution’s team will receive red, white and blue glow sticks and necklaces at the walk … the team’s top fan fundraisers will be eligible to win prize packages including tickets in the Putnam Club, pregame field passes or a VIP player meet & greet and … the top fundraiser will also be honored in a pregame ceremony at the Oct. 4 match against the Columbus Crew … the Revolution Charitable Foundation will match the first $2,500 in donations received by the team’s walkers … the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is Alston’s charity of choice as he joins millions in the fight against blood cancers. In April 2013, Alston was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), a rare but treatable form of leukemia. While CML does not yet have a cure, Alston has managed his health and has returned to the field.
