The New England Revolution was eliminated from the 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs with a 3-0 loss to the rival Chicago Fire at Toyota Park last Thursday night, Nov. 6, ending the club's bid to reach a record fourth consecutive MLS Cup Final. Chicago claimed a 3-0 aggregate-goals victory in the two-game series after the clubs tied, 0-0, in the playoff opener on Oct. 30 at Gillette Stadium.
Although the Revs' bid to reach their record seventh straight Eastern Conference Championship fell short, the season was filled with impressive accomplishments. The Revolution became the first-ever Major League Soccer team to win SuperLiga, as the club defeated league-rival Houston in penalty kicks in the tournament's title match. New England's appearance in the MLS Cup Playoffs marked its seventh consecutive postseason berth, which represents the longest active streak in the league. Additionally, the Revs competed in the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League and reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup just one year after winning the competition.
On the individual front, 2008 Revolution Team MVP and club captain Steve Ralston had a career year at the age of 34, notching a career-high eight goals and adding seven assists to lead the team in both categories. Taylor Twellman recorded his 99th career goal and will begin the 2009 season just one goal shy of becoming the fifth player in MLS history to reach the century mark. Defender Michael Parkhurst represented the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and received the league's Fair Play Award for the second consecutive season.
With an influx of youth into the club's lineup this year - including teenagers Sainey Nyassi and Kenny Mansally and rookies Kheli Dube, Chris Tierney and Pat Phelan - to complement the already-established base of veterans, the Revs are already looking ahead to the promise of 2009.
NEWS & NOTES
DESPITE POSTSEASON STREAK, REVS LEFT WANTING MORE
For many teams, qualifying for the playoffs would constitute a successful season - but the Revolution has set a higher standard with its play over the past decade ... with their qualification for the 2008 postseason, the Revs have now appeared in the MLS Cup Playoffs for seven straight seasons, marking the longest current active streak of playoff appearances ... however, with four MLS Cup losses in that time frame and no titles to show for their efforts, New England is no longer satisfied by merely making the postseason ... a first-round playoff exit at the hands of the rival Chicago Fire ended the Revolution's 2008 season abruptly, and the club is sure to return to preseason training in 2009 hungry to finally bring home an MLS Cup trophy.
REVOLUTION'S RECORD STREAK SNAPPED
New England's record of six consecutive appearances in the Eastern Conference Championship was snapped with a loss to the Chicago Fire in the two-game Eastern Conference Semifinal Series last week ... the Revs appeared in the conference title game from 2002-07, winning the Eastern Conference crown four times (2002, 2005-07), all under the direction of head coach Steve Nicol ... New England is the only team in MLS history to ever advance to six straight conference championships.
MLS CUP TO TAKE ON DIFFERENT LOOK MINUS THE REVS
For the first time in four years, the MLS Cup Final will not feature the New England Revolution, as the club was eliminated from the postseason by the rival Chicago Fire in the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series ... the Revs played on the final day of the season from 2005-07, but never took home a title in those three trips, falling once to the Los Angeles Galaxy (2005) and twice to the Houston Dynamo (2006-07) ... for fourth-year players like Michael Parkhurst, Jeff Larentowicz and Khano Smith, it marks the first time in their Revolution careers that the club did not reach the league's championship match.
FIRE FINALLY TURNS THE TABLES ON REVOLUTION
After being eliminated from the postseason by the Revolution for three straight years, the Chicago Fire finally turned the tables and earned a measure of revenge against the Revs this season, earning a 3-0 aggregate-goals victory in the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series ... New England ended Chicago's season in 2005, 2006 and 2007 - once in the conference semifinals and twice in the conference final - but the Fire finally overcame the Revs and earned the playoff victory in 2008 ... this year's postseason meeting marked the sixth time in the last seven seasons - and the seventh time overall - that the two clubs met in the MLS Cup Playoffs, with the Revolution now holding a 4-3 overall series advantage.
INJURIES THE STORY FOR UNDERMANNED REVOLUTION
When he suffered a severely sprained right ankle in the 39th minute of the Revolution's final match of the season against the Chicago Fire on Nov. 6, midfielder Jeff Larentowicz became the next in a long line of Revolution players who saw their names etched onto the injury list in 2008 ... on the Revs' final injury report of the season, Larentowicz (R ankle sprain), Taylor Twellman (concussion-related symptoms), Steve Ralston (R fibula fracture), Adam Cristman (R toe surgery) and Doug Warren (R elbow hyperextension) were all listed as "Out," while Shalrie Joseph (R knee sprain) and Chris Tierney (L knee sprain) were designated as "Doubtful" ... highlighted by offensive stars Twellman (14) and Ralston (9), New England amassed a total of 94 man-games lost because of injuries in the regular season alone, while the club registered nine more man-games lost because of injury in two postseason matches.
YOUTH SERVED
With an established core of returning veterans leading the club in 2008, New England surrounded its more experienced players with a bevy of youngsters, breathing fresh life into the roster and providing a solid base for the club's future ... leading the pack are teenage Gambians Kenny Mansally and Sainey Nyassi, who emerged this season as regular contributors after signing with the Revs late in 2007 ... Major League Soccer Rookie of the Year finalist Kheli Dube made an instant impact in his first season, notching four goals and four assists to lead all MLS rookies in both categories ... Wellesley, Mass., native Chris Tierney - who, like Dube, was selected by the Revolution in the 2008 MLS Supplemental Draft - converted from midfield to defense almost seamlessly, starting matches along the backline in pressure situations such as the SuperLiga Final and the MLS Cup Playoffs ... second-year defender Amaechi Igwe and rookie midfielder Pat Phelan also made their MLS debuts in 2008, with each making 11 regular-season appearances and representing the Revs in the postseason.
AGELESS RALSTON HAS CAREER YEAR
Captain Steve Ralston was a driving force in the Revolution's success this season, and the 34-year old was rewarded through his recognition as the club's 2008 Team MVP ... despite missing nine regular-season games and the entire postseason with various injuries - including a dislocated left shoulder and a broken right fibula - Ralston struck for club-leading marks in goals (8) and assists (7) ... while Ralston's statistics alone were enough to build a case for league MVP honors, a deeper look into the numbers reveals just how vital Ralston was to New England's achievements this season:
The Revs were 10-0-3 in regular-season games in which Ralston recorded a goal or an assist this season, as opposed to 2-11-4 when he wasn't involved in any scoring.
In regular-season action, the Revs went 10-5-5 with Ralston in the lineup and 2-6-2 without him.
With Ralston sidelined with a broken right fibula, New England failed to score a goal in the two-game Eastern Conference Semifinal Series with Chicago and was eliminated from the playoffs.
Ralston's eight goals were a career-high in his 13th year in the league.
Despite missing one-third of the season because of injury, Ralston tied for the league-lead in both game-winning goals (4) and game-winning assists (5).
Ralston was vital to New England's SuperLiga 2008 victory, as he recorded one goal and four assists in four appearances to key the Revs' attack.
The veteran midfielder own five MLS career records: minutes (31,600), games (358), starts (355), assists (128) and game-winning assists (38).
TWELLMAN FINISHES 2008 STUCK ON 99
Taylor Twellman will have to wait until 2009 to score his 100th career regular-season goal, as the 28-year-old forward finished the 2008 campaign stuck on 99 ... Twellman is just one goal shy of becoming the fifth player in Major League Soccer history - and the first in Revs' history - to score 100 goals ... Twellman is currently ranked fifth in MLS career goals, five behind fourth-place Jeff Cunningham (104), currently of FC Dallas, and 23 shy of D.C.'s Jaime Moreno (122), the league's all-time leading goal scorer ... the U.S. National Team member has scored his 99 goals in just 172 games, while all four players ahead of him on the charts have made at least 260 career appearances ... Twellman is on pace to become the league's youngest 100-goal scorer.
HEAPS IS IRON MAN; PLAYS EVERY MINUTE FOR REVS IN 2008
Defender Jay Heaps was one of just six players in Major League Soccer - and the only member of the Revolution - to play every minute of every game in the 2008 regular season ... it marked the first time in Heaps' 10-year career that he accomplished the feat ... of the six players to play 2,700 minutes this season, four were goalkeepers, making Heaps and Kansas City defender Jimmy Conrad the only two field players to earn "iron man" status ... Heaps also moved into fifth place on MLS' all-time list of career minutes played in the Revs' regular-season finale, passing Los Angeles Galaxy legend - and current assistant coach - Cobi Jones (25,157) ... Heaps has now played 25,193 minutes in his regular-season career and is just 49 minutes behind Jason Kreis (25,242) for fourth place ... including postseason, SuperLiga and CONCACAF Champions league matches, Heaps made 38 appearances in 2008 and played a total of 3,419 minutes.
REIS GOES STREAKING FOR CONSECUTIVE MINUTES PLAYED
Goalkeeper Matt Reis solidified his reputation as one of the most consistent performers in Major League Soccer history this season, as the 33-year-old set the MLS record for consecutive minutes played ... before suffering a right adductor strain in the 55th minute of the Aug. 16 match at San Jose, Reis guarded the Revolution's net for 7,975 straight minutes, a mark that spanned 89 regular-season matches and dated back to Sept. 3, 2005 ... including postseason matches, Reis played 9,145 consecutive minutes (spanning 101 matches), though MLS does not recognize that as a record ... Reis' 36 regular-season shutouts since the start of the 2005 season represents the highest total by any goalkeeper in that time span.
PARKHURST JOINS U.S. NATIONAL TEAM CAMP ...
Cranston, R.I., native Michael Parkhurst was invited to join the U.S. Men's National Team for its current training camp (Nov. 12-15) at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. ... Parkhurst is among the 19 players called into the camp by head coach Bob Bradley in advance of the team's 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Guatemala on Nov. 19, which will also be held at Dick's Sporting Goods Park ... the 24-year-old center back has made three previous appearances for the full national team, while he also represented the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games as one of three "overage players" on the Under-23 roster ... Bradley will name the final training camp roster for the Guatemala match on Sunday, Nov. 16, and the group is expected to consist of some players from the current camp as well as additional players from Europe and the clubs which are eliminated from the MLS Cup Playoffs this week.
... AND REPEATS AS MLS FAIR PLAY AWARD WINNER
Defender Michael Parkhurst was voted the winner of the 2008 Major League Soccer Fair Play Award, the League announced on Tuesday, Nov. 4 ... the Fair Play Award was determined by equal voting from the media, MLS players and MLS coaches and general managers ... Parkhurst - who also won the award in 2007 - recorded just nine fouls in 28 regular-season games this year, bringing his four-year career total to 32 fouls committed in 115 career games ... he has also gone caution-less in MLS action since July 22, 2006 - a span of 71 games played ... a three-time MLS All-Star and a 2007 MLS Best XI selection, Parkhurst is the league's third two-time winner of the Fair Play Award.
REVS CAPTURE TEAM FAIR PLAY AWARD
The Revolution earned the 2008 MLS Team Fair Play Award, recognizing the Major League Soccer club with the fewest disciplinary points during the 2008 regular season ... New England accumulated 300 disciplinary points this season ... disciplinary points are assigned as follows: one point for each caution point received by a player, 10 points for each red card, 0.50 points for each foul committed, and a reduction of 15 points for every clean game in which a team does not receive either a yellow or red card nor has a player sanctioned by the MLS Disciplinary Committee ... the Revs finished the season with the fewest cautions (44) and the most clean games (7) among the league's 14 teams.
ALBRIGHT, SMITH SUSPENDED FOR 2009 SEASON OPENER
Defender Chris Albright and midfielder Khano Smith will be unavailable for the Revolution's 2009 season opener, as both will be serving suspensions ... Albright was red-carded in the Revs' final game of the postseason on Nov. 6, as he was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Chicago's Cuauhtemoc Blanco in the 83rd minute ... Smith was shown a straight red card for a tackle on Kansas City's Herculez Gomez in the regular-season finale on Oct. 25 and received an additional two-game suspension on top of the mandatory one-game ban ... after missing both games of the Revolution's Eastern Conference Semifinal Series with Chicago, Smith has one game remaining on his suspension, to be served at the beginning of next season.
EXPANSION DRAFT SET FOR NOVEMBER 26
Seattle Sounders FC will become Major League Soccer's 15th team in the 2009 season, and the club is set to build the bulk of its roster through the 2008 MLS Expansion Draft on Wednesday, Nov. 26 ... Seattle will select a total of 10 players in the draft, and the club may not claim more than one player from any given team in MLS, meaning that four teams will not have a player taken in the expansion draft ... all 14 MLS teams are required to submit their lists of 11 protected players to the league by 3 p.m. ET on Monday, Nov. 24 - the day after the MLS Cup Final ... to date, Seattle has signed four players: American goalkeeper Kasey Keller, Swedish midfielder Freddie Ljungberg, French striker Sebastien Le Toux and Gambian midfielder Sanna Nyassi - the twin brother of Revolution midfielder Sainey Nyassi.
