FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - After battling to a hard-fought draw with the Kansas City Wizards as part of a tripleheader at Gillette Stadium last night, the New England Revolution will train in Foxborough four times this week and will play two more home games. First, the Revs will host the rival Chicago Fire in the SuperLiga 2009 semifinals at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15, in the first game of a doubleheader which will also feature the other semifinal between Mexican clubs Tigres UANL and Santos Laguna at 9 p.m. Four days later on July 19, the Revolution will welcome Western Conference foe Chivas USA to Gillette Stadium for a regular-season match at 6 p.m.
Stadium on Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, with each session scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. A full schedule for the week is below.
Media wishing to attend any Revolution training session on the Gillette Stadium grounds must notify the Revolution Communications office (media@revolutionsoccer.net) by 5 p.m. the day before to RSVP and guarantee admittance. Media availability usually begins between 11 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. for 10 a.m. sessions, although the length of training sessions can and will vary.
The deadline to apply for credentials for SuperLiga 2009 has passed, and applications are no longer being accepted. If you have any further questions, please contact the Revolution Communications office (media@revolutionsoccer.net). Meanwhile, all media who plan on attending Sunday's match against Chivas USA must submit their requests to the Revolution Communications office (media@revolutionsoccer.net) by 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 16, to be considered.
Please note that the schedule is subject to change.
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION SCHEDULE: July 13-19
Monday, July 13 - Training on Lower Practice Field (Gillette Stadium), 10 a.m.
Tuesday, July 14 - Training on Lower Practice Field (Gillette Stadium), 10 a.m.
Wednesday, July 15 - SuperLiga Semifinal vs. Chicago Fire (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.), 7 p.m. ET ... TV: Comcast SportsNet (English), Telefutura (Spanish) ... Radio: ESPN Deportes Radio (Spanish), WEEI Radio Network (English, taped delay following Red Sox coverage): SuperLiga Semifinal, Tigres UANL vs. Santos Laguna (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.), 9 p.m. ET ... TV: Telefutura (Spanish) ... Radio: ESPN Deportes Radio (Spanish)
Thursday, July 16 - OFF
Friday, July 17 - Training on Lower Practice Field (Gillette Stadium), 10 a.m.
Saturday, July 18 - Training on Lower Practice Field (Gillette Stadium), 10 a.m.
Sunday, July 19 - vs. Chivas USA (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.), 6 p.m. ET ... TV: TV38 ... Radio: WEEI Radio Network
NEW ENGLAND VS. CHICAGO SERIES INFORMATION
• Chicago owns a slight edge in the all-time, all-competitions series between the two teams, 23-19-8 ... the Fire has the advantage in regular-season (15-13-7) and U.S. Open Cup meetings (2-0-0), while the clubs have split 13 postseason matches (6-6-1).
• The Revs are 15-8-2 against the Fire at home in all competitions ... that record includes a 9-7-1 mark in regular-season games, a 6-0-1 record in the MLS Cup Playoffs and a 0-1-0 mark in the U.S. Open Cup ... New England is 12-6-1 against Chicago in all competitions at Gillette Stadium since the facility opened in 2002.
• Wednesday night's SuperLiga semifinal will be the second of three meetings between the Revs and Fire this season, and the first of two at Gillette Stadium ... the clubs already met in the regular season on May 9 at Toyota Park, playing to a 1-1 draw ... the regular-season series will conclude on Oct. 17 at Gillette Stadium in the Revolution's home finale.
• The Revs are 0-4-2 in six meetings with the Fire in all competitions dating back to the start of the 2008 season, including 0-3-1 in the regular season and 0-1-1 in the MLS Cup Playoffs ... New England last beat Chicago in the 2007 Eastern Conference championship game, 1-0, on Nov. 8, 2007 at Gillette Stadium.
• Entering Wednesday night's SuperLiga semifinal, the Revs and Fire have already met 15 times outside of the MLS regular-season schedule, which is by far the most times the Revolution has played any opponent outside of the regular season ... New England and Chicago have played 13 times in the MLS Cup Playoffs and twice in the U.S. Open Cup.
• The Revolution was eliminated by the Fire in the first round of the 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs ... the clubs played to a 0-0 draw at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 30 before Chicago earned a 3-0 victory at Toyota Park on Nov. 6 to advance to the Eastern Conference championship.
• New England and Chicago have met in six of the last seven postseasons (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) and the last four overall ... in total, the teams have met in seven postseason series, all since 2000 ... the Revolution leads the all-time playoff series, 4-3.
PLAYER NOTES VS. CHICAGO
• Taylor Twellman leads the Revolution with 12 goals in 23 regular-season appearances against Chicago ... he has also scored four of his 10 career postseason goals against the Fire.
• Steve Ralston has recorded nine career assists against the Fire, including five in 22 appearances with the Revolution ... Ralston has also added six goals against Chicago, all of which have been scored during his time with the Revs.
• Jeff Larentowicz has two goals and two assists against the Fire in 10 career regular-season games, marking his best offensive output against any team ... Larentowicz does not have multiple career goals or assists against any other team.
• Matt Reis is 7-10-3 against the Fire during his Revolution career with a 1.50 goals against average and three shutouts.
LAST MEETING New England 1, Chicago 1
May 9, 2009 - Toyota Park (Bridgeview, Ill.)
Shalrie Joseph scored the game-tying goal in the 49th minute to end the Revolution's fourth-longest scoreless streak in club history at 269 minutes, as the visiting Revs earned a 1-1 draw with the Fire ... defender Wilman Conde gave Chicago the lead in the 36th minute with his third career goal - all of which had been scored against the Revolution - finishing a loose ball in the box following Cuauhtemoc Blanco's corner kick ... Joseph leveled the score at 1-1 just four minutes into the second half, however, firing home from close range after Jeff Larentowicz's initial cross was deflected to the back post.
NEW ENGLAND VS. CHIVAS USA SERIES INFORMATION
• New England leads the all-time, regular-season series between the two teams, 4-2-2 ... the clubs have met just once outside of MLS regular-season action, playing to a 1-1 draw in the SuperLiga 2008 group stage.
• The Revs have never lost to Chivas USA at Gillette Stadium, going 3-0-1 in four meetings since the Goats' expansion season in 2005 ... New England has outscored Chivas USA, 9-2, in those four matches.
• Sunday night's match will be the first of two meetings between the Revolution and Chivas USA in the 2009 regular season ... the Revs will visit The Home Depot Center on Sept. 13 to conclude the season series.
• New England's 2-1 win over Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center on May 11, 2008, is the only game in the all-time series in which the visiting team has won.
• The Revolution's 4-0 win over Chivas USA in the most recent meeting between the clubs on Sept. 11, 2008, marked New England's most decisive victory of 2008 ... it was the only game in which the Revs scored four goals all season.
• Nine of the Revolution's 12 total goals against Chivas USA have been scored in the second half, including all four in the 4-0 win on Sept. 11, 2008.
• New England swept the 2008 regular-season series, earning a 2-1 win at The Home Depot Center on May 11 and a 4-0 victory at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 11 ... the clubs also played to a 1-1 draw in SuperLiga 2008 group play on July 20.
• Despite the Revolution's big win in the most recent meeting on Sept. 11, 2008 (4-0), five of the eight regular-season meetings between the two teams have been decided by a single goal or finished as a draw ... additionally, the clubs finished tied at 1-1 in their only meeting in an outside competition (SuperLiga 2008).
PLAYER NOTES VS. CHIVAS USA
• Taylor Twellman leads the Revolution in career goals (4), shots (24) and shots on goal (10) in seven appearances (five starts) against Chivas USA ... Twellman scored the game-winning goal in both of New England's wins over Chivas USA in 2008.
• Steve Ralston leads the Revs with five assists in seven career appearances against Chivas USA ... Ralston had one goal and three assists in two appearances against the Goats in 2008.
• Jeff Larentowicz has one goal and one assist in four career appearances (two starts) against Chivas USA, both of which were recorded in 2008.
• Wells Thompson recorded his first career assist on Larentowicz's goal against Chivas USA in the 4-0 win on Sept. 11, 2008.
• Jay Heaps and Matt Reis have both played every minute of every game against Chivas USA in the eight-game, regular-season series.
• Matt Reis is 4-2-2 with two shutouts in eight regular-season appearances against Chivas USA ... his goals against average of 0.88 is his lowest goals against average against any MLS team.
LAST MEETING
New England 4, Chivas USA 0
September 11, 2008 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Steve Ralston notched one goal and two assists, Taylor Twellman added one goal and one assist and goalkeeper Matt Reis earned his 48th career shutout as the Revs earned their most decisive victory of 2008 ... all four goals were scored in the second half, beginning with Twellman's give-and-go with Ralston ... Jeff Larentowicz doubled the lead in the 83rd minute with a long-range blast, before former Revs midfielder Khano Smith scored the Revolution's third goal just seconds into stoppage time ... Ralston then rounded out the scoring in the third minute of stoppage time.
NEWS & NOTES
REVOLUTION TO HOST RIVAL FIRE IN SUPERLIGA 2009 SEMIFINALS ON WEDNESDAY ...
The New England Revolution will continue defense of its SuperLiga title on Wednesday, July 15, when the club hosts one of its most bitter rivals, the Chicago Fire, in the SuperLiga 2009 semifinals at 7 p.m. at Gillette Stadium ... the Revs finished at the top of Group B as the only undefeated team in the competition, racking up a record of 2-0-1 (7 pts.) with wins over Mexican clubs Santos Laguna and Atlas and a draw with the Kansas City Wizards ... the Fire (2-1-0, 6 pts.), meanwhile, took second place in Group A after finishing tied with Mexico's Tigres UANL but losing the group on the head-to-head tiebreaker ... SuperLiga 2009 has been on a brief hiatus since the group stage finished on June 28, as both the Revs and Fire have played two regular-season games and a U.S. Open Cup game between the group stage and the semifinal round.
... AS PART OF A SUPERLIGA 2009 SEMIFINALS DOUBLEHEADER
Just four days after hosting a tripleheader with an MLS regular-season game and a pair of CONCACAF Gold Cup matches, Gillette Stadium will play host to a doubleheader on Wednesday night, July 15 ... after the Revolution and Fire kick the evening off with the first SuperLiga 2009 semifinal at 7 p.m., the second semifinal will follow at 9 p.m. between Mexican Primera División clubs Tigres UANL and Santos Laguna ... the winner of the Revolution-Fire match will host the winner of the Tigres-Santos match in the SuperLiga 2009 final on Aug. 5 ... with one all-MLS semifinal and one all-Mexican semifinal, the SuperLiga 2009 title match is guaranteed to be contested between an MLS club and a Mexican club.
FOR 16th TIME, REVOLUTION AND FIRE SET TO BATTLE OUTSIDE OF REGULAR SEASON
Since the Chicago Fire entered Major League Soccer as an expansion team in 1998, some type of force has put the club on a collision course with the New England Revolution ... Wednesday night's meeting in the SuperLiga 2009 semifinals will mark the 16th time that the Revs and Fire have met outside of MLS regular-season action, by far the most times the Revolution has ever played any team in outside competitions ... New England and Chicago have met in seven postseason series and played a total of 13 MLS Cup Playoff games, while they've also squared off twice in the U.S. Open Cup ... the Revs have played the New York Red Bulls seven times in outside competitions, which is the second-most games they've played against any other team.
AFTER DEVASTATING 2007 LOSS, FIRE HAS TURNED THE TABLES
On Nov. 8, 2007, Taylor Twellman scored what is likely the most famous goal in Revolution history, hovering in the frigid Foxborough air and converting a fantastic bicycle kick to earn New England a 1-0 victory over Chicago in the Eastern Conference Championship ... that night, the Revs continued their dominance of the Fire, eliminating their rival from the postseason for the third straight year ... that dominance seems to have shifted slightly, however, as New England hasn't defeated Chicago since that Eastern Conference title game in 2007 ... since then, the Revs are 0-4-2 in six meetings with the Fire, including 0-3-1 in the regular season and 0-1-1 in the MLS Cup Playoffs as Chicago ended the Revolution's 2008 postseason run.
REVS EMBARK ON CRITICAL STRETCH OF HOME GAMES
The Revolution has been reliant on its home form in the first half of the 2009 season, as the club is 3-1-2 at Gillette Stadium in the regular season and just 1-4-3 on the road ... after playing eight of their first 13 regular-season games away from home, the Revs have embarked on a stretch in which they'll play seven of nine league matches within the friendly confines of Gillette Stadium, beginning with yesterday's 0-0 draw with Kansas City (July 11) and finishing with yet another home game against the Wizards on Sept. 5 ... including Wednesday night's SuperLiga 2009 semifinal against Chicago (July 15), the Revolution will play eight of 10 games at home in all competitions, while that figure could reach nine of 11 should the club reach the SuperLiga 2009 title game ... with five of their final eight regular-season games on the road following this stretch, the Revs will want to take advantage on their home field.
HALFWAY HOME
Sunday night's meeting with Chivas USA will be the Revolution's 15th game of the regular season, marking the halfway point of the 2009 campaign ... entering this week's action, the Revs are 4-5-5 (17 pts.) and occupy sixth place in the Eastern Conference ... New England is still within striking distance in the balanced East, however, as the club is just eight points behind the first-place Chicago Fire (6-3-7, 25 pts.) with two games in hand ... the Revs have at least two games in hand on every team ahead of them in the standings, including three games in hand on Toronto FC (7-6-4, 25 pts.), D.C. United (5-3-9, 24 pts.) and the Columbus Crew (5-3-9, 24 pts.) ... last year, New England was 8-4-3 (27 pts.) at the season's midway point.
SCORELESS STREAK REACHES 242 MINUTES
After being shut out for the second straight game in yesterday afternoon's 0-0 draw with Kansas City, the Revolution's scoreless streak has now reached 242 minutes of regular-season action entering Sunday night's meeting with Chivas USA ... the Revs haven't found the back of the net in league action since Shalrie Joseph scored in the 28th minute of the 3-1 loss to Kansas City on June 13 ... entering Sunday's showdown with Chivas USA, the Revolution's scoreless streak is the eighth-longest in club history, while it's the longest current scoreless streak in Major League Soccer ... New England went 269 minutes without scoring a goal from April 17 - May 9 earlier this season, the fourth-longest scoreless streak in club history.
REVS UNDEFEATED AGAINST CHIVAS USA AT GILLETTE STADIUM
While the series history between the Revolution and Chivas USA is brief - the Goats entered the league as an expansion club in 2005 - New England has been dominant against its Western Conference foe at Gillette Stadium ... the Revs have welcomed Chivas USA to Foxborough four previous times and have gone an undefeated 3-0-1 in those four matches, outscoring the Goats, 9-2, in the process ... the Revolution's only minor blemish at home against Chivas USA is a 1-1 draw on July 7, 2007.
NEW ENGLAND LOOKS FOR REPEAT OF MOST RECENT CHIVAS USA MEETING Considering the Revolution enters Sunday night's meeting with Chivas USA on a 242-minute scoreless streak in regular-season play, the club would love to repeat its performance against the Goats on Sept. 11, 2008 ... that night, the Revs scored four second-half goals en route to a 4-0 victory over Chivas USA in front of a national television audience on ESPN2 ... the offensive outburst was the Revs' best of the season, as it was the only time in 2008 that they scored as many as four goals.
HOMETOWN HERO HEAPS EARNS FIRST CAP FOR U.S. NATIONAL TEAM
Longmeadow, Mass., native and Revolution stalwart Jay Heaps finally made his first appearance for the United States National team on Saturday night, playing left back for the full 90 minutes of the U.S.' 2-2 draw with Haiti as the Americans clinched the top spot in Group B of the CONCACAF Gold Cup ... Heaps, who is the oldest player on the current U.S. roster at 32 years old, made 301 MLS appearances before earning his first cap, the most appearances by any MLS player before appearing for his country ... the veteran defender had previously been called into numerous U.S. camps - most recently in 2005 - but had never seen action ... the U.S. will now play a quarterfinal match in Philadelphia on Saturday, July 18, although the opponent will not be determined until Sunday evening.
REMARKABLE REIS SETS NEW SINGLE-GAME CAREER-HIGH FOR SAVES
Goalkeeper Matt Reis established a new career-high for saves in a game in the Revolution's 0-0 draw with Kansas City last night, stopping 11 shots to earn his 51st career shutout ... many of Reis' saves were of the spectacular variety, including stuffing Claudio Lopez on a first-half breakaway and making back-to-back stops on Jack Jewsbury in the 64th minute ... the netminder's previous career-high for saves in a game was 10, set on June 6, 2008, in a 2-1 win over FC Dallas ... Aidan Heaney holds the Revolution's club record for saves in a game, as he stopped 14 shots in a 2-0 win over the Dallas Burn on Sept. 7, 1996.
RALSTON RETURNS TO REVS LINEUP ... AT LEFT BACK
Captain Steve Ralston made his return to the Revolution's starting lineup on Saturday afternoon in the 0-0 draw with the Kansas City Wizards, marking his first appearance since injuring his right hamstring against Santos Laguna in SuperLiga action on June 21 ... the long-time midfielder was thrust into an unfamiliar position, however, as he started and played the full 90 minutes at left back ... third-year defender Amaechi Igwe strained his left hamstring in training on Friday and failed a late fitness test before the match, and with Jay Heaps on international duty, Chris Albright and Chris Tierney both injured and even last weekend's stand-in left back Wells Thompson suspended, Ralston stepped up ... the 14-year MLS veteran was solid in the back, helping the Revolution shutout the Wizards ... it was Ralston's first-ever start at left back, although he did have limited previous experience playing right back.
JULY 26 MILAN DERBY CREDENTIAL INFORMATION
For those media members wishing to apply for credentials to the July 26 match between AC Milan and Inter at Gillette Stadium, you can apply using an online accreditation form ... the New England Revolution is not involved in the credentialing of media for this event, so all questions regarding the credentialing process should be directed to the contacts provided within the link.
The online accreditation form can be found at the following address: https://worldfootballchallenge.iwebreg.com/apply/2009_WFC?lang=en
