The New England Revolution return home to Gillette Stadium to take on the defending MLS Cup champion Colorado Rapids, a team they haven’t defeated since 2007. The Revolution return from a cross-country and 3-0 loss to Chivas
USA last weekend. The Rapids are playing the second game of a three-game Eastern swing, which began at midweek with a 2-1 victory at Houston.
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REFEREE: David Gantar. SAR (bench): Darren Clark; JAR (opposite): Brian Poeschel; 4th: Tyler Ploeger MLS Career: 3 games; FC/gm: 22.0; Y/gm: 3.3; R: 1; pens: 0
INJURY REPORT: NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION – OUT: DF Didier Domi (L quadriceps strain); DOUBTFUL: MF Marko Perovic (L knee sprain); QUESTIONABLE: DF Franco Coria (L knee sprain); DF Otto Loewy (L & R gastroc strains); PROBABLE: MF Pat Phelan (concussion); GK Matt Reis (L shoulder sprain) … COLORADO RAPIDS – OUT: FW Macoumba Kandji (L knee ACL tear); DOUBTFUL: DF Eddie Ababio (R hamstring strain); QUESTIONABLE: FW Conor Casey (L hamstring strain); MF Sanna Nyassi (lower back strain); PROBABLE: GK Matt Pickens (R groin strain); FW Quincy Amarikwa (L ankle sprain); DF Marvell Wynne (R hamstring strain); FW Caleb Folan (R quadriceps strain)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: COL: Brian Mullan (through June 26)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: NE: Shalrie Joseph … COL: Conor Casey
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (36 meetings): Revolution 11 wins (2 shootout), 47 goals … Rapids 18 wins (1 shootout), 61 goals … Ties 7
AT NEW ENGLAND (18 meetings): Revolution 8 wins (2 shootout), 33 goals … Rapids 6 wins (0 shootout), 27 goals …
Ties 4
RETURN MATCH: 7/23: Colorado Rapids vs. New England Revolution, 7 p.m. MT
LAST YEAR (MLS):
4/24: NE 1, COL 2 (Perovic 19 - Ballouchy 14; Mastroeni 73)
9/18: COL 3, NE 0 (Cummings 5; Casey 35; Thompson 83)
- The Revolution haven’t defeated Colorado since 2007, a 1-0 win at Gillette Stadium. The Rapids have won three of the six meetings since (with three draws), including victories in both games last season.
- New England last won in Colorado on June 15, 2002. The Rapids have won six of the nine home meetings since, with three draws.
- Coaches record: Steve Nicol vs. COL: P21 W6 L9 D6 … Gary Smith v NE: P5 W2 L0 D3
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
- The New England Revolution headed back out onto the road and once again went down to defeat, falling 3-0 to Chivas USA on Saturday evening at The Home Depot Center. The Revolution have 9 points from 8 matches, in fifth place in the Eastern Conference to start the week.
LAST MATCH
- The Rojiblancos took the lead in the 22nd minute of play when Nick LaBrocca split two Revs defenders to head in Ben Zemanski’s cross from the right corner, giving Chivas USA their first lead at home this season.
- Chivas doubled their lead at the end of the first half when Alejandro Moreno floated a cross from the left, and Marcos Mondaini jabbed an acrobatic volley past Revolution 'keeper Bobby Shuttleworth.
- Chivas USA closed the scoring in the 57th minute when Moreno poached a poor back pass by Shalrie Joseph to Didier Domi, and the Venezuelan international fired the ball into the Revolution net from the heart of the box.
- Revolution head coach Steve Nicol made three changes to the team that came back for a 3-2 victory against Sporting Kansas City at Gillette Stadium. Bobby Shuttleworth deputized in goal for Matt Reis, and Kenny Mansally and Zack Schilawski returned to the side in place of Stephen McCarthy and Marko Perovic.
- NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (4-4-2): Bobby Shuttleworth - Kevin Alston, Franco Coria, A.J. Soares, Didier Domi (Chris Tierney 77) - Zak Boggs, Shalrie Joseph, Benny Feilhaber, Kenny Mansally (Sainey Nyassi 46) - Rajko Lekic, Zack Schilawski.
TEAM NEWS
- The Revolution allowed a season-high three goals against Chivas USA, and have now conceded eight in their last four games, after allowing four in their first four games.
- “If we knew how it’d happened, then it’d be easy to prevent it from happening every week,” Nicol said. “The fact is that it does happen sometimes. There are always occasions in a season where you just have nightmare games. That was certainly one, but hopefully, we’ve got rid of it for the season. Forgetting tactics and all kind of things, as soon as the whistle goes, you have to win the battle against your opponent.”
- The Revs are still looking for a first shutout in 2011, one of three teams in MLS still to record a clean sheet (Chicago, Kansas City).
- “Where do you want to start?” Nicol said. “You have to be able to read the game, you have to be able to make good decisions. We didn’t do that. On the goals, we made bad decisions and we weren’t alert. We weren’t reading the play well enough and we got done. It’s pretty straightforward, but it was all too obvious.”
- The Revolution extended their losing streak to Chivas USA to four games, and their goalless streak to 372 minutes.
- “We still have a young team, we still have an inexperienced team, we still have a lot of growing to do,” Shalrie Joseph said. “We have to put our work in next week and come out for Colorado.”
- Third-year goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth stepped in between the posts for Matt Reis for a third time this season. Reis was suffering from a shoulder sprain; Shuttleworth had started back-to-back games April 6 and 9.
- Rookie Stephen McCarthy had started every league game for the Revolution, but after playing the full 90 minutes at midweek in the U.S. Open Cup victory at D.C. United, he was sent to the substitutes’ bench with Benny Feilhaber partnering Joseph in the midfield in his second MLS appearance.
- Ousmane Dabo made his Revolution debut at midweek in the U.S. Open Cup victory at D.C. United, but Nicol opted not to include him in the 18-man gameday roster for the trip to Chivas.
- “He was available, but it was his first game for a while,” Nicol said. “Obviously, it’s a long trip out here as well. We’d rather just let him recover and let him get ready for a full week next week.”
COLORADO RAPIDS
- The Colorado Rapids ended their winless run at four games, starting a three-game road swing with a 2-1 win against the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium. The Rapids have 13 points from 7 games, moving into second place in the Western Conference.
LAST MATCH
- The game burst to life over the final 20 minutes. Former Rapids midfielder Colin Clark opened the scoring in the 71st minute, tallying his first goal in a Dynamo uniform after a quick move to create space in the area and a shot that caught Rapids ‘keeper Matt Pickens cheating off his near post.
- Just three minutes later, Colorado’s Jamie Smith scored on a 40-yard free kick after Houston ‘keeper Tally Hall misjudged the flight of the ball. Hall came off his line and could only flap at Smith’s curling effort, which bounced in the goal area and rolled into the net.
- But the Rapids hit for the winner in the 84th minute. Houston struggled to clear the ball from a long Marvell Wynne throw-in, and Caleb Folan was able to poke it back to Scott Palguta at the top of the box, and he hammered a well-struck left-footed shot just inside Hall’s left-hand post.
- Rapids head coach Gary Smith made two changes to the team that came back for a 1-1 draw with the Chicago Fire at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Scott Palguta came into the back four for Anthony Wallace, and Wells Thompson came in for Sanna Nyassi in midfield.
- COLORADO RAPIDS (4-4-2): Matt Pickens – Kosuke Kimura, Scott Palguta, Tyrone Marshall, Drew Moor – Jamie Smith, Pablo Mastroeni, Jeff Larentowicz, Wells Thompson (Marvell Wynne 80) – Andre Akpan (Quincy Amarikwa 69), Omar Cummings (Caleb Folan 45).
TEAM NEWS
- Scott Palguta was making his first league appearance of the season, though he had played in the U.S. Open Cup loss to Chicago.
- “The winning goal I thought was a decent one,” Gary Smith said. “Scott Palguta, who has had limited opportunities, had a terrific game, all night long. We are very pleased with a really solid display.”
- It was Palguta’s first career goal in MLS in 40 appearances over three seasons, after signing from the second division Rochester Rhinos before the 2009 campaign.
- “Guys are putting in extra preparation to make sure they are ready when they get the chance. Andre [Akpan] did it over the weekend, and I was able to get on the end of one tonight,” Palguta said. “I think it’s a theme that I hope you will see occur throughout the season of guys doing the right things, biding their time, and stepping up when they are called upon.”
- It was the first win in a month for the Rapids. After three consecutive wins to open the season, the last a 4-1 victory against D.C. United, the Rapids had lost three and drawn one, conceding six goals in those four games while scoring just one.
- “We came to life in the last 20 minutes when Colin [Clark] scored,” Gary Smith said. “Our goal was a little freaky, but at the moment we will take them however we can.” The win also opens a stretch where Colorado will play four of five games on the road, the game at Houston beginning three in a row against Eastern Conference opposition.
- “It’s been a tough start to the season. We have lost 4-5 players for different reasons. The guys that have come in have stepped up and done a great job for us,” said Pablo Mastroeni. “We are a deep team, we need guys to step up, and tonight everyone did. This is a great start, a great road game for us to win and build that confidence we had last year.”
- Striker Omar Cummings was forced from the field late in the first half with an ankle sprain, and will return home to Colorado and not make the trip to New England.
- Caleb Folan, who had missed the Chicago match with a quadriceps strain, was able to play the second half in relief of Cummings. Quincy Amarikwa, who missed back-to-back games against Seattle and Chicago because of an ankle injury, was able to come on for the final 21 minutes in place of Andre Akpan, who made a second consecutive start.
- “We are having trouble keeping them all fit at the moment, but having six forwards is serving us well,” Gary Smith said. “I thought the two young guys looked great and I am sure they will continue to be a handful.”
