Courtesy of a dramatic, come-from-behind 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire yesterday afternoon at Gillette Stadium, the New England Revolution will take a one-goal advantage into the second leg of the two-game, aggregate-goals Eastern Conference Semifinal Series on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Toyota Park. Once again, Fox Soccer Channel will televise the game live nationally, with kickoff set for 8:30 p.m. ET.
NEW ENGLAND VS. CHICAGO SERIES INFORMATION
• Chicago owns a slight edge in the all-time, all-competitions series between the two teams, 24-20-9 ... the Fire has the advantage in regular-season (15-13-8), U.S. Open Cup (2-0-0) and SuperLiga (1-0-0) meetings, but the Revs have a slender lead in the postseason series (7-6-1).
• The Revs are 4-15-6 on the road against the Fire in all competitions ... that record includes a 4-8-6 record in regular-season games, a 0-6-0 record in the MLS Cup Playoffs and a 0-1-0 mark in the U.S. Open Cup ... New England is 1-6-2 against Chicago in all competitions at Toyota Park since the facility opened in 2006.
• New England and Chicago played to a pair of draws in the 2009 regular-season series: 1-1 at Toyota Park on May 9, and 0-0 at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 17 ... it was the first time the Fire didn't win the regular-season series since 2005.
• In addition to two regular-season meetings, the clubs also played in the semifinal round of SuperLiga 2009 on July 15 ... the Fire won that match at Gillette Stadium, 2-1, and advanced to the tournament's title match.
• The Revolution's win in Game 1 of this Eastern Conference Semifinal Series was the club's first victory over Chicago since the 2007 Eastern Conference Championship on Nov. 8, 2007 ... the Revs had gone 0-5-3 in their previous eight meetings with the Fire in all competitions dating back to the start of the 2008 season.
• New England is winless (0-6-1) in its last seven road games against Chicago in all competitions ... that lone draw, however, was a 1-1 result in the Revolution's last trip to Toyota Park for a regular-season meeting on May 9.
PLAYOFF NOTES
• The Revolution earned a 2-1 win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium, and will take a one-goal advantage into Game 2 of the series on Saturday night at Toyota Park.
• With this year's meeting, the Revs and Fire have now met in seven of the last eight postseasons (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) and the last five overall ... in total, the teams have met in the playoffs eight times, all since 2000.
• New England leads the all-time playoff series, 4-3 ... the Revs ended the Fire's season for three consecutive years from 2005-07 before Chicago snapped that skid with a victory over New England in the 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals.
• This is the second straight year in which the Revs and Fire meet in the Eastern Conference Semifinals with Chicago as the No. 2 seed and New England as the No. 3 seed ... last year, the teams played to a 0-0 draw in the first leg at Gillette Stadium before the Fire claimed a 3-0 win at Toyota Park to advance to the Eastern Conference Championship.
• Each team is undefeated against the other on its home field in the playoffs ... New England is 7-0-1 and Chicago is 6-0-0.
• The winner of the previous New England-Chicago postseason matchups has advanced to MLS Cup seven out of eight times ... the only year in which the winner didn't ultimately reach the title match was 2008, when the Fire was eliminated in the Eastern Conference Championship by the Columbus Crew.
PLAYER NOTES VS. CHICAGO
• Taylor Twellman is the Revolution's all-time leading scorer against the Fire with 12 goals, while he has added five assists in 23 career regular-season appearances ... four of his 10 career postseason goals have also been scored against Chicago, including the dramatic bicycle kick which won the 2007 Eastern Conference Championship.
• Shalrie Joseph recorded his first career postseason goal in his 20th career postseason appearance in the Game 1 victory yesterday afternoon ... Joseph led the Revolution with career-high marks in both goals (8) and assists (8) this season.
• Emmanuel Osei recorded his first career goal in his first career postseason appearance in the Game 1 victory yesterday afternoon ... Osei did not score a goal in 23 regular-season appearances this year, his first in MLS.
• Kenny Mansally, Pat Phelan and Jeff Larentowicz each recorded their first career postseason assists in the Game 1 victory yesterday afternoon.
• Matt Reis is 7-10-4 with a 1.43 goals against average and four shutouts in his regular-season Revolution career against the Fire ... Reis also has three career postseason shutouts in seven appearances against Chicago.
2009 EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINAL SERIES - GAME 1
New England 2, Chicago 1
November 1, 2009 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Emmanuel Osei and Shalrie Joseph scored goals either side of halftime to lift the Revolution to a come-from-behind, 2-1 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series at Gillette Stadium ... Chicago's Chris Rolfe opened the scoring in the 17th minute with an opportunistic finish on a rebound, but Osei leveled the score deep into first-half stoppage time with a glancing header from Kenny Mansally's free kick ... that set the stage for Joseph's dramatic game-winner in the 75th minute, as he fought through a crowd in the box to poke his shot into the upper right corner from close range.
2009 REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS
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 0, Chicago 0
October 17, 2009 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
The Revs and Fire combined to register a total of 25 shots, but neither team could find the back of the net as the game finished in a scoreless draw ... Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis made four saves to record his seventh shutout of the season, while the Fire's Jon Busch stopped seven shots to earn his ninth clean sheet ... Chicago had a claim for a penalty kick waved away in the 62nd minute when Chris Rolfe attempted to round Reis on a clear breakaway, as referee Jorge Gonzalez cautioned Rolfe for simulation rather than pointing to the spot.
2009 OUTSIDE COMPETITION MEETINGS
Chicago 2, New England 1
SuperLiga 2009 Semifinal
July 15, 2009 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Edgaras Jankauskas scored his first goal for the Revolution just two weeks after signing with the club, but Cuauhtemoc Blanco led the Fire to a 2-1 win en route to a spot in the SuperLiga 2009 title game ... Blanco assisted on Brian McBride's opening goal midway through the first half before scoring the game-winner on a free kick in the 63rd minute ... Jankauskas scored late in the first half to level the score entering the halftime break, while Sainey Nyassi, Kenny Mansally and Kheli Dube all hit the woodwork for the Revolution, which outshot Chicago, 23-11, including 17-3 in the second half.
NEWS & NOTES
REVS TAKE ONE-GOAL ADVANTAGE INTO DECISIVE SECOND LEG ...
The Revolution earned a dramatic 2-1 victory over the Fire yesterday afternoon at Gillette Stadium in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series, and will now take a one-goal advantage into the decisive second leg this weekend in Chicago ... the series will conclude on Saturday night, Nov. 7, at Toyota Park, with kickoff set for 8:30 p.m. ET ... the winner of the series will advance to the Eastern Conference Championship to face either Real Salt Lake or the Columbus Crew, which will conclude the other Eastern Conference Semifinal Series on Thursday night.
... MEANING A WIN OR A DRAW IS ALL THEY NEED
The situation is simple for the Revolution entering the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series on Saturday night in Chicago:
• A win or a draw will send the Revs to the Eastern Conference Championship to face either Real Salt Lake or the Columbus Crew.
• A loss by two goals or more will eliminate the Revs from the MLS Cup Playoffs and send the Fire to the Eastern Conference Championship.
• A one-goal loss by any score will send the series to a 30-minute extra-time period (consisting of two 15-minute halves), to be played in its entirety immediately following Game 2 on Saturday night ... should the series still be tied after that extra-time period, the series will be decided by penalty kicks.
HISTORY IS ON THE REVOLUTION'S SIDE ...
Following their 2-1 win over the Fire in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series yesterday afternoon, the Revs will have a bit of history on their side entering Saturday night's decisive Game 2 in Chicago ... the Revolution has never lost a postseason series in which it won the opening game, as the club is 3-0 in such situations ... included in that spotless record is a victory in the 2002 Eastern Conference Semifinal Series over Chicago, in which the Revs earned a 2-0 win over the Fire in Game 1 of a three-game series.
... AND IT'S NOT
While the Revolution simply needs to win or draw on Saturday night in Chicago to reach the Eastern Conference Championship, the objective isn't quite so easy ... in fact, the Revs have never earned a win or draw in Chicago in the playoffs, going 0-6-0 in six previous postseason matches in the Windy City ... New England has been outscored, 15-2, in those six matches, including 4-0 in a pair of postseason meetings at Toyota Park (2006, 2008) ... while the Revs have ended the Fire's season in the playoffs four times since 2002, they have always eliminated Chicago at Gillette Stadium and have never won a series against the Fire in Chicago.
GOOD TIMING: REVS BREAK EIGHT-GAME WINLESS STREAK AGAINST FIRE
The Revolution couldn't have picked a better time to finally come up with a win against the Fire, snapping an eight-game winless streak (0-5-3) against Chicago in all competitions with a 2-1 win yesterday afternoon at Gillette Stadium ... the victory was the Revs' first over the Fire since the 2007 Eastern Conference Championship, when Taylor Twellman's famous bicycle kick sent New England to its third straight MLS Cup.
JOSEPH NAMED A FINALIST FOR VOLKSWAGEN MLS MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Shalrie Joseph is one of three finalists for Major League Soccer's Volkswagen Most Valuable Player award, along with LA Galaxy forward Landon Donovan and FC Dallas forward Jeff Cunningham ... Joseph almost single-handedly guided the Revolution to a postseason berth with career-high marks in both goals (8) and assists (8), leading the team in both categories in the absence of Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston for much of the year ... this is the third time in club history that a Revolution player has been a league MVP finalist, as Twellman was a finalist in 2002 and won the award in 2005 ... the three finalists in each award category earned the most votes in polling of MLS players, general managers, coaches, referees and members of the media ... the winner of the Volkswagen MLS Most Valuable Player will be announced on Thursday, Nov. 20.
RALSTON NAMED A FINALIST FOR MLS FAIR PLAY AWARD
Steve Ralston is one of three finalists for Major League Soccer's individual Fair Play award, along with Seattle Sounders FC goalkeeper Kasey Keller and Houston Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad ... Ralston committed just four fouls in 20 appearances this season before a torn right ACL ended his campaign abruptly ... the veteran captain has won the award twice previously, earning the honor in 1999 and 2000 while with the Tampa Bay Mutiny ... former Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst won the award the past two years (2007, 2008) ... the winner of the MLS Fair Play award will be announced on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
OFFENSE FINDS FORM WHEN IT COUNTS ...
Much of the pregame chatter entering the Revolution-Fire series centered on the fact that both teams had been struggling offensively in recent weeks, but that certainly didn't show in Game 1 yesterday afternoon at Gillette Stadium ... the Revs - who scored just two total goals in the final five games of the regular season - scored twice yesterday to earn a crucial 2-1 win over the Fire ... it was the first time the Revolution scored two goals in a game since a similar 2-1 win over Seattle Sounders FC on Sept. 26.
... WHILE THE BACKLINE HOLDS STEADY
The Revolution's offense kicked into gear yesterday afternoon at Gillette Stadium after struggling in recent weeks, but the club's solid defensive effort was more of the same following a stellar finish to the regular season ... the Revs have not conceded more than one goal in a game since a 2-0 loss to Chivas USA on Sept. 13, limiting their opponents to no more than one goal for eight consecutive games ... in the entire 2009 regular season, the Revolution either shut out its opponent or allowed just a single goal in 23 of 30 games.
LEAVE THE LIGHTS ON
It should come as no surprise that the Revolution's game-winning goal yesterday afternoon was scored so late in the game (75th minute), as it merely continued a theme which has been present all season ... the Revs scored five game-winning goals after the 75th minute in the regular season, while they added two game-tying goals in the final 15 minutes ... amazingly, almost half (5-of-11, 45 percent) of the Revolution's victories in the regular season were secured with game-winning goals after the 75th minute.
JOSEPH REPLICATES MVP CALIBER REGULAR-SEASON FORM
Following perhaps the most impressive regular season of his remarkable career, it's no surprise that Shalrie Joseph was once again the Revolution's goal-scoring hero yesterday afternoon at Gillette Stadium ... after controlling the match while playing as a central midfielder in the first half, Joseph moved up to play forward early in the second half and rewarded head coach Steve Nicol for the switch with the game-winning goal in the 75th minute ... the goal was Joseph's first career postseason tally in his 20th career postseason appearance, unsurprisingly arriving in a year in which he led the team with career-high marks in both goals (8) and assists (8).
LARENTOWICZ HAS A KNEE INJURY? WHAT KNEE INJURY?
If it wasn't for the heavy tape job on his right knee, there would've been no way to tell Jeff Larentowicz was battling an injury yesterday afternoon against the Fire ... the fifth-year midfielder has been playing with pain his right knee virtually all season, but still managed to start 28 regular-season games and all six games in outside competitions ... Larentowicz's fortitude has hit new heights in recent weeks, first scoring the game-winning goal in the 1-0 win over Columbus (Oct. 25) to clinch a postseason spot for the Revs, before assisting on Shalrie Joseph's game-winning goal in the 75th minute of yesterday's 2-1 win over the Fire.
OSEI PROVIDES UNLIKELY GOAL-SCORING SOURCE
Central defender Emmanuel Osei certainly made the first goal of his MLS career count in a big way, scoring the game-tying goal deep into first-half stoppage time as the Revs came from behind to earn a 2-1 win yesterday afternoon ... Osei - who had skimmed the outside of the post with a long-range drive just minutes before his crucial goal - did not score a goal in 23 regular-season appearances this year, his first in MLS ... while the Ghanaian has shown a penchant for the occasional long-distance shot throughout the season, he rarely provided an aerial threat until his glancing header found the back of the net yesterday afternoon.
