From Revolutionsoccer.net:
The New England Revolution will face their I-95 rival MetroStars at
7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 26, at Gillette Stadium. The two teams
have already met twice this season, once at Giants Stadium and once
at Gillette Stadium, with both games resulting in 1-1 draws.

The MetroStars will be coming off of a home-and-home series against
the league-leading Los Angeles Galaxy. Last Saturday, the two squads
met at Giants Stadium where the MetroStars overcame the absence of
nine players through international duty and injury to claim a 90th
minute 2-1 victory. This past Wednesday, the MetroStars traveled to
the West Coast to face the Galaxy at the Home Depot Center, a match
that they won 3-0. Forward Amado Guevara scored the first goal in
the 16th minute and then assisted on both of Eddie Gaven's goals
(39th and 43rd minutes) to beat the Galaxy.

The Revolution have only won one of the last eight MLS matches, and
that was at Kansas City on June 2nd. The victory saw Revs forward
Pat Noonan scoring a hat trick, with the third goal coming in the
90th minute for a 3-2 victory over the Wizards. New England returned
home to Gillette Stadium to face the Columbus Crew in a match that
saw the Revs dropping a 2-1 decision. The next weekend the Revs
traveled to Dallas to take on the Burn in the Cotton Bowl; the Revs
lost the match 3-1. Last weekend the Revs dropped another 3-1
decision, this time to the Kansas City Wizards at Gillette Stadium.
New England is currently last in the league with nine points, but
the Eastern Conference remains tight with only 10 points separating
the first-place MetroStars and the Revolution.

Both the Revs and the MetroStars have been playing shorthanded
lately. In the MetroStars' 2-1 win over the Galaxy last Saturday,
head coach Bob Bradley fielded the youngest team in Major League
Soccer history with an average age of 22 years, 138 days.

MetroStars defender Pablo Brenes had his first start on June 19th
and played the full 90 minutes; Brenes' MLS debut was in the 85th
minute on June 12th against San Jose. Defender Seth Stammler also
made his first career MLS appearance last Saturday against the
Galaxy. Additionally on Saturday, MetroStars midfielder Gilberto
Flores and defender Kenny Arena made their second starts for the Red
and Black this season. The MetroStars have only two players who have
started every game for the team this season.

Arena's 42nd minute goal last Saturday marked his first career
tally. The second year player's finish from a Mike Magee corner kick
delivery marked the second consecutive week that a MetroStars
defender has scored his first MLS regular season goal, as fellow
stopper Jeff Parke scored in the previous weekend's 3-1 loss to the
San Jose Earthquakes. Magee's assist on Arena's goal was also his
first of the season and third in his career.

Although the MetroStars played without many of their regular
starters for the past two weeks, they will have most of those
players back for Saturday's match in New England, including the
return of Trinidad and Tobago national Cornell Glen, Honduran
national Amado Guevara and U.S. national Jonny Walker.

On the other hand the Revolution will not be returning to full
strength this weekend, with most of the Revs' injured players
remaining sidelined. Revs' captain Joe Franchino will return to the
starting lineup after missing the Kansas City game with a one-game
suspension resulting from a red card. New England was expecting the
return of midfielder Shalrie Joseph, after his two-week duty with
the Grenada National Team for its World Cup Qualifiers against the
U.S. However, Joseph injured his hip flexor/quad in the second game
of the U.S. – Grenada series and is expected to be out two to three
weeks.

The three long-term injuries for the Revolution include the absence
of Revs defender Carlos Llamosa (left knee sprain), forward Joe-Max
Moore (right knee sprain) and defender Rusty Pierce (right
quadriceps contusion). Revs defender Brian Kamler returned to the
starting lineup last week against the Wizards, but left the game in
the 30th minute after aggravating his left hamstring injury that he
first suffered on May 29th against D.C. United. Forward Taylor
Twellman also injured a hamstring (right) during the D.C. match and
is not expected to return this weekend.

The Revs' also lost goalkeeper Adin Brown in May with a groin strain
injury suffered during sprinting drills in training. Keeper Matt
Reis got the starting nod on May 15th at Columbus and remained the
starter for six straight MLS matches (seven, including an
exhibition), even though Brown was healthy after only two matches.
Brown had his first start back in the net last week against the
Wizards, making five saves and giving up three goals.






From MLSNet.com:
Metros, Revs resume East Coast rivalry
MLSnet.com Staff
GILLETTE STADIUM
FOXBOROUGH, Mass.
7:30 pm ET (WB-56; MSG)
The suddenly rampaging MetroStars continue their coast-to-coast
travels by flying back across the country for another road game,
going from the western-most club to the eastern-most for a test
against the New England Revolution. The Metros came away from their
home-and-home series over four days with the Los Angeles Galaxy with
two victories and the top spot in the Eastern Conference, and now
face a Revolution club that hasn't won in three matches and sits at
the foot of the East with the league's worst overall record.

REFEREE: Ramon Hernandez. SAR (bench): Greg Barkey; JAR (opposite):
Tom Supple; 4th: Nik Bratsis
MLS Career: 4 games; FC/gm: 28.3; Y/gm: 5.3; R: 0; pens: 0 Games
involving Revolution: P1 W1 L0 T0; FC/gm: 32.0; Y/gm: 6.0; R: 0;
pens: 0
Games involving MetroStars: P1 W0 L1 T0; FC/gm: 33.0; Y/gm: 7.0; R:
0; pens: 0
INJURY REPORT: NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION  OUT: DF Carlos Llamosa (L
knee sprain); FW Joe-Max Moore (R knee sprain); DF Rusty Pierce (R
quadriceps contusion); DOUBTFUL: MD Shalrie Joseph (L hip
flexor/quadriceps); QUESTIONABLE: DF Brian Kamler (L hamstring
strain); PROBABLE: FW Taylor Twellman (R hamstring strain) ...
METROSTARS  OUT: MD Michael Bradley (R foot stress fracture); MD
Mark Lisi (R ankle sprain); MD Joselito Vaca (back strain)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: none
YELLOW PERIL: none

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (33 meetings): Revolution 15 wins (3 shootout), 58
goals ... MetroStars 14 wins (2 shootout), 62 goals ... 4 draws
AT FOXBORO (16 meetings: Revolution 9 wins (1 shootout), 32
goals ... MetroStars 4 wins (2 shootout), 22 goals ... 3 draws


The I-95 rivals continue their bitter rivalry from a year ago, which
saw the Revolution claim almost all the spoils, certainly in league
and MLS Cup play, but theyve battled to two draws this season. This
is the final meeting in Foxborough this season, the final match at
the Meadowlands on Sept. 11.
In their last meeting on May 22, Pat Noonan once again hit home
against the MetroStars. Noonan drove home the rebound of a deflected
Shalrie Joseph shot in the seventh minute, the fifth consecutive
league match - and seventh including MLS Cup playoff games - Noonan
has scored against the Metros. But Cornell Glen ran onto a perfect
Mark Lisi through ball 11 minutes into the second half to pull Metro
level.

Here's Steve Nicol's team (3-4-1-2): Matt Reis - Jay Heaps, Brian
Kamler, Avery John - Steve Ralston, Shalrie Joseph, Clint Dempsey,
Joe Franchino - Jose Cancela (Felix Brillant 71) - Taylor Twellman,
Pat Noonan.
Here's Bob Bradley's team (4-4-2): Jonny Walker - Craig Ziadie, Jeff
Parke, Eddie Pope, Chris Leitch - Joselito Vaca, Amado Guevara, Mark
Lisi, Eddie Gaven (Ricardo Clark 80) - Cornell Glen (John Wolyniec
84), Fabian Taylor (Mike Magee 68).
In the first meeting, a makeshift Revolution held on for a 1-1 draw
against the MetroStars on April 25 at Giants Stadium. Clint Dempsey
gave the Revolution the lead after just 12 minutes, pounding home
from the spot after Jay Heaps headed down from a corner. But just
two minutes later the MetroStars answered through Amado Guevara, who
curled home a shot from just inside the area after corraling a mis-
hit chance.
A year ago, New England didn't lose in the league series, winning
three of the four matches (one draw). The MetroStars posted a
stunning comeback to pull back to a 3-3 draw in Foxborough on July
12 (Twellman 9, J-M Moore 36, Noonan 50 - Wolyniec 66, own goal 73,
Clark 76), then the Rev won 2-1 on Sept. 13 in New Jersey (Jolley
81 - Noonan 11, 72).
The Revolution then won both matches in the season-ending home-and-
home pair just before they played again in the East semifinals,
winning 2-1 at Giants Stadium on Oct. 18 (Juskowiak 75 - Fabbro 15,
Noonan 37) then 5-2 in New England on Oct. 25 (Noonan 41, 51, 68;
Fabbro 45; Ralston 65 - Lisi 58 pen, LeBlanc 69).
Then in the MLS Cup Playoffs, the Rev eased to a 2-0 victory at
Giants Stadium on Nov. 1 in the first leg (Fabbro 17, Noonan 65),
before advancing after a 1-1 draw at Gillette Stadium (Noonan 21 -
Guevara 46+ pen)
The only success the MetroStars saw against New England came in the
quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup, when Metro claimed a 2-1 golden
goal victory at Piscataway, N.J. (Mathis 29, Guevara 111 - Heaps
47+).
The MetroStars haven't won in the last nine league and MLS Cup
meetings in the series. But their last win, a 4-3 triumph on July
20, 2002, was the last of four in a row against the Revs.
In 1999, New England had the same kind of success as they did a year
ago, winning all four meetings in the series (two by shootout). The
next year, the MetroStars won three of the four meetings, all three
wins coming before a Rev victory in the final encounter.
Pat Noonan had a remarkable run against the MetroStars last year,
seven of his 11 league goals in his rookie season coming against
Metro (then adding two more in the playoffs). He is now second on
the club's all-time scoring list against Metro with 8 goals, behind
Joe-Max Moore (7 goals, 6 assists). Steve Ralston leads current Rev
players with 5 goals, 12 points v MetroStars - 2 goals, 4 assists
with New England.
Mark Lisi leads current MetroStars with 2 goals, 8 assists v New
England (all but 3 assists while a Metro). Of current MetroStars,
only Eddie Pope, John Wolyniec, Amado Guevara, Ricardo Clark and
Cornell Glen have goals against the Revs (Pope's while with D.C.
United).
Coaches record: Steve Nicol v MET: P10 W5 L2 T3 ... Bob Bradley v
NE: P18 W5 L7 T6
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
The New England Revolution lost for the third consecutive match and
fourth time in their last five, falling 3-1 at home to the Kansas
City Wizards. The Revolution are still mired in last place in the
Eastern Conference with the worst record in the league with nine
points from 12 matches, now six points behind the fourth-place
Columbus Crew in the East, and three points adrift of the Colorado
Rapids in the overall table.


The Wizards remained unbeaten through the first four games of their
five-match road swing and showed the absence of regular Josh Wolff
to international duty wouldn't affect them, as rookie Matt Taylor
came off the bench to score two goals.
Davy Arnaud drove home a rebound of a swerving Francisco Gomez shot
that Revs 'keeper Adin Brown failed to hold (41) to give Kansas City
a first-half lead, then seven minutes after coming on, Taylor
finished off a fine counter when he tapped home from close range
(70).
A diving header from Clint Dempsey, his third goal of the season,
gave the Revolution life when he pulled a goal back four minutes
later. But the Wizards sent the home side to a third consecutive
defeat and kept them mired with the league's worst overall record
when Taylor finished off another counter with a clinical strike from
just inside the area three minutes into stoppage time.
"If the league was based on balls, we'd be top of the league," Nicol
said. "The final part of putting the ball in the net just wasn't
there."
Nicol made three changes to the team that lost 3-1 to the Dallas
Burn the Saturday before at the Cotton Bowl. Adin Brown returned to
goal for the first time in six matches, coming in for Matt Reis.
Brian Kamler returned from a hamstring injury that kept him out of
three games as Joe Franchino was suspended, while Pat Noonan also
returned from injury, replacing Richie Baker.
Here's Nicol's team (3-4-1-2): Adin Brown - Jay Heaps, Avery John,
Marshall Leonard - Felix Brillant, Andy Dorman, Brian Kamler (Richie
Baker 30), Steve Ralston - Jose Cancela - Pat Noonan, Clint Dempsey.
But Nicol's plans went awry after just a half-hour, when Kamler
reinjured his hamstring and was forced from the field, again
bringing a shift in personnel. Felix Brillant moved forward to
partner Noonan in attack, Clint Dempsey moving into a central
midfield role and substitute Richie Baker coming in on the right
flank.
"I felt good out there," Brillant said. "I'm a little bit restricted
on the right side. I'm an instinct player and on the outside, you
have to make a lot of decisions. That's where I have to get better
is in my decision-making, but at forward I can just run at guys and
play on my instincts."
The Revolution thought they had tied the game three minutes after
the halftime break when a Brillant shot appeared to have crossed the
line but was ruled out for a Pat Noonan handball. "The ball was in
the box," Nicol said. "There was some good play. You can only ask
for so much. It was a helluva second half. I don't want to be crying
but again this week we've lost a goal from a bad decision by the
official."
Already wracked by injuries, there was more bad news from St.
George's, where Shalrie Joseph and Grenada lost 3-2 to the USA on
Sunday. But Joseph suffered a groin and thigh injury, which will
keep him out of action for up to the next month.
"The easy thing is to moan and groan and complain about the
injuries, but we have to make do with what we have," Nicol
said. "(And) what we have, in my book, is showing true colors. But
we can't put ball in the net, and obviously that's a huge part of
game.
METROSTARS
The MetroStars took over top spot in the Eastern Conference with
their second victory in four days against the Los Angeles Galaxy,
stunning the home side at The Home Depot Center by a 3-0 scoreline.
Metro is now on 19 points from 12 matches, two ahead of the Chicago
Fire in a very tight East.

The MetroStars hit for a three-goal blitz in the first half, the
first time this season the Galaxy were shut out, and the 3-0 loss
was their heaviest-ever league defeat at The Home Depot Center.
Amado Guevara notched the first goal of the night before turning
provider on a pair of beautiful goals from 17-year-old Eddie Gaven
to give the Metros sole ownership of the top spot in the Eastern
Conference table.
Guevara had a hand in all three goals in his first match back with
the Metros after missing the previous two while representing
Honduras in World Cup qualifying. His goal came on a blistering 25-
yard strike by Guevara in the 16th minute.
Gaven then sealed the deal before the end of the opening stanza with
two splendid finishes within four minutes. He cut past Marcelo
Saragosa before slotting home from close range in the 39th minute,
then skipped through traffic before curling a shot around Hartman's
dive and inside his right-hand post (43).
"I thought it was good to follow up on the all around effort of the
last game and get the same kind of result," MetroStars coach Bob
Bradley said. "It was very important for Eddie to get some goals. He
started out with a little bit of pressure on him and this was a good
lift to his confidence. It was good to get a shutout, and that is
something we need to keep doing."
With a number of regulars back from international duty, MetroStars
coach Bob Bradley made three changes to the team that recorded a
last-minute against the Galaxy four days earlier. Jonny Walker came
back into goal for Zach Wells, while Eddie Pope returned to central
defense for Kenny Arena. Amado Guevara also came back from national
team responsibilities, replacing Pablo Brenes.
Heres Bradleys team (4-4-2): Jonny Walker - Chris Leitch, Jeff
Parke, Eddie Pope, Tim Regan - Amado Guevara, Gilberto Flores,
Ricardo Clark, Eddie Gaven (Sergio Galvan Rey 79) - Mike Magee
(Pablo Brenes 72), John Wolyniec (Cornell Glen 58).
Gaven had just one goal a year ago in his rookie season, when he
became one of the youngest players ever to score in MLS history, his
golden goal defeating D.C. United at RFK Stadium. "I definitely
hadn't scored one like that," Gaven said. "Maybe when I was real
young but definitely not recently. ... It's been awhile since I
scored a goal in this league. I think I was thinking about it a
little too much. It definitely feels good to get this out of the way
and just go out and play."
"The main thing we've done in the last two games is unleash Eddie
Gaven," Bradley said. "He's got some real attacking talent. He's
very deceptive with the ball in terms of running at people. In tight
situations, he can still get away from defenders and make plays.
Those are qualities you don't see that often. When you see that kind
of ability, age doesn't matter."