FOXBOROUGH - The New England Revolution will host Major League Soccer's 2007 Eastern Conference Championship at Gillette Stadium on Thursday, Nov. 8, when the team plays the Chicago Fire at 7:45 p.m. ESPN2 will televise the game live, with a special live on-site pregame show set to begin at 7:30 p.m. The WEEI Radio Network will also carry the game live.
The Revs will conduct two full training sessions this week with a third optional day. On Monday, an optional workout will be conducted at 10 a.m. on the Lower Practice Field, while the full team will return to training on Tuesday at 10 a.m., again on the Lower Practice Field. On Wednesday, the team will conduct an abbreviated training session on the Gillette Stadium main field at 10 a.m.
For all sessions, media should enter the stadium through Security Command (south end of Gillette Stadium through the bank of doors under the red awning) and check in at the command center. Media must RSVP to the Revs Communications office by the close of business the day prior to guarantee admittance to the session.
Media who plan to attend Thursday's match should alert the Revs' Communications office by the close of business on Tuesday to guarantee entry.
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION SCHEDULE: NOVEMBER 5-11
Monday, Nov. 5 10 a.m. - Optional Training on Lower Practice Field (Gillette Stadium)
Tuesday, Nov. 6
10 a.m. - Training on Lower Practice Field (Gillette Stadium)
1:30 p.m. - TENTATIVE Conference Call with Steve Nicol and Revs player
2 p.m. - TENTATIVE Conference Call with Juan Carlos Osorio and Fire player
(Details of the conference calls will be finalized and distributed on Monday)
Wednesday, Nov. 7
10 a.m. - Training on Gillette Stadium main field
Thursday, Nov. 8
7:45 p.m. - vs. Chicago Fire (Gillette Stadium), TV: ESPN2/Radio: WEEI Radio Network
Friday, Nov. 9 - TBA
Saturday, Nov. 10 - TBA
Sunday, Nov. 11 - TBA
NEW ENGLAND VS. CHICAGO SERIES INFORMATION
• New England holds a slight edge in the all-time, regular-season series between the two teams, 13-12-6
• The teams are 5-5-1 against each other in the last three seasons ... in that span, New England is 3-2-0 at home and 2-3-1 on the road
• Chicago won the series between the two teams this year, earning a 2-1-0 record by taking both one-goal games played at Toyota Park
• Chicago won the teams' first meeting, on April 7, a 1-0 victory behind Logan Pause's fourth-minute goal in the season opener at Toyota Park
• Steve Ralston had one goal and two assists as New England claimed a 3-1 victory at Gillette Stadium on May 6
• Chad Barrett had the game-winning goal and assisted on the game-tying goal in Chicago's 2-1 win at Toyota Park on Oct. 6
• The Fire's victory in the season series marked the second straight season Chicago won the annual series
• New England owns a 9-5-1 regular-season record against the Fire at home (7-4-0 at Gillette Stadium) ... the Revs are 4-7-5 all time in regular-season games played at Chicago
PLAYOFF NOTES
• The Revs and Fire have met in five of the last six postseasons overall (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007) and the last three overall
• New England leads the all-time playoff series, 3-2 ... in the last meeting, the Revs came from a two-goal aggregate-goal deficit on Oct. 28, 2006, in game two of the Eastern Conference Semifinal at Gillette Stadium, and won in penalty kicks (4-2).
• New England has ended Chicago's season in the playoffs three of the last five seasons (2002 Eastern Conference Semifinals, 2005 Eastern Conference Final and 2006 Eastern Conference Semifinals), while Chicago stopped the Revs' 2003 postseason campaign (Eastern Conference Final).
• The winner of the New England-Chicago postseason match-ups has advanced to MLS Cup each time
• Each team is 5-0 on its home field against the other in the playoffs
PLAYER NOTES VS. CHICAGO
• Taylor Twellman leads all Revs players in both goals (11) and assists (5) in regular-season games played against Chicago ... his 11 goals mark his fourth-highest total against any MLS team ... he has also scored two of his seven postseason goals against Chicago
• Steve Ralston had added six goals and five assists in his 18-game Revs career against the Fire
• Andy Dorman has two goals and two assists against Chicago in his career, and they all came last season in 2006 ... he had a career-high seven shots against Chicago in the 2007 season opener
• In his Revs career (regular-season), Matt Reis has 1.25 goals against average against the Fire with a 7-7-2 record, including three shutouts NEWS & NOTES
SIXTH TIME IS THE CHARM
With the series victory against New York in the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series this weekend, the Revs have advanced to their sixth consecutive Eastern Conference Championship ... the Revs will face the Chicago Fire - the East's fourth seed - on Thursday, Nov. 8, in a game that will be televised live on ESPN2 ... ESPN2's special pregame show begins at 7:30 p.m., and kickoff is scheduled for 7:45 p.m.
RECORD-SETTING STREAK
The Revs are now appearing in their MLS-record sixth consecutive conference championship ... entering this season, the Revs shared the MLS record for continuous appearances in the conference championship match with the 1998-2002 Los Angeles Galaxy.
IT ALWAYS COMES BACK TO CHICAGO
With another postseason date set, the Revs and Fire will now have met in five of the last six postseasons ... each time the teams have met previously, the winner has eventually advanced to MLS Cup ... the teams met in the 2002 Eastern Conference Semifinal Series (NE victory), 2003 Eastern Conference Championship (CHI win), 2005 Eastern Conference Championship (NE victory) and the 2006 Eastern Conference Semifinal Series (NE victory) ... the teams also met in the 2000 MLS Cup playoffs, with Chicago taking the series win that season.
THE LAST TIME AGAINST THE FIRE IN THE PLAYOFFS
These two teams met in the 2005 Eastern Conference Championship, also at Gillette Stadium ... in that game, New England's Clint Dempsey scored in the fourth minute and the Revs' defense made the score stand to earn the team a second trip to MLS Cup in club history with the 1-0 win ... in an already heated rivalry, tempers flared at the end of the game when Chicago's Gonzalo Segares thought he'd scored the game-tying goal in stoppage time, but he was ruled to have come from an offside position and the goal was overturned ... Andy Herron stormed the referees as both teams came to a near brawl, with Herron earning a six-game suspension to start the 2006 season courtesy of his antics.
HOME SUCCESS IN TEAMS' (POSTSEASON) SERIES
In the New England-Chicago postseason series, the home team enters the weekend 5-0-0 ... the Revs have earned four of their five postseason home victories against Chicago at Gillette Stadium since its opening in 2002 ... overall at home - including both the regular-season and the playoffs - New England is 14-5-1 against Chicago.
FORTRESS FOXBOROUGH IN POSTSEASON
The Revolution has been outstanding at home in its playoff history, compiling a sterling 8-0-4 record in postseason matches in Foxborough, including a 7-0-3 mark at Gillette Stadium (MLS lists MLS Cup 2002 as a neutral game, even though the Revs played at Gillette Stadium) ... the Revs have out-scored their opponents 18-7 in those 12 games at home and have posted six defensive shutouts ... the Revs have scored two or more goals six times at home in the postseason at home, while limiting opponents to one goal or fewer in 11 of 12 games played in Foxborough.
SHUTOUT SUPREME
Although the Revs posted 10 shutouts in the regular season, they only had two in the final third of the year, the last coming on Sept. 29 against Colorado ... however, the Revs have not allowed a goal yet this postseason, posting back-to-back shutouts in Games One and Two of their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against New York ... Matt Reis made five saves in Game One at Giants Stadium and four saves in Game Two at Gillette Stadium ... the Revs' shutouts in the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series were their second and third in their last four postseason games and Matt Reis' fourth and fifth in the postseason for the Revs (fifth and sixth overall in his career).
PLAYOFF PROCEDURE
Thursday's game will be a normal 90-minute contest ... however, should the score be tied after 90 minutes, the teams would play a 30-minute mini-game (two 15-minute halves) immediately following full time to determine a winner ... should the score still remain tied after the mini-game, penalty kicks would be used to determine the winner ... in the event of penalties, they would be taken at the north (lighthouse or TV left) end of the field in front of the Revs' supporters in "The Fort."
CITY'S CHAMPIONSHIP FEVER INCLUDES REVS
With the Red Sox winning the World Series, the Patriots starting the season 8-0 and the Boston College football team ranked in the top 10 in nation, there is much anticipation for multiple championships in Boston this season... that eagerness for trophies should also include the Revs as they have already won the U.S. Open Cup and have a chance to complete the rare "domestic double" by winning MLS Cup 2007.
