NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION vs. MINNESOTA UNITED FC
Gillette Stadium | Foxborough, Massachusetts
03.25.17 | MLS Week #4 | MLS Game #4
1:00 p.m. CT (My29, MNUFC Radio on myTalk 107.1)
2017 Records:
MIN: 0-2-1; 0-1-1 on the road
NE: 0-2-0; 0-0-0 at home
After earning the team’s first MLS point this past weekend in a 2-2 draw against the Colorado Rapids that found them rallying together a man down, Minnesota United heads to New England to face the Revolution this Saturday, March 25 at 1:00 p.m. CT. The forecast for Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., is 52° with afternoon showers and the match will be broadcast locally on My29 and MNUFC Radio on myTalk 107.1 with Callum Williams, Kyndra de St Aubin and Jamie Watson.
The Loons bounced back from a tough first two matches to the season last week with a gritty performance in Colorado. Although they conceded early, they drew level on a penalty kick goal by Kevin Molino in the 50th minute, then pulled ahead in the 58th minute on a header by Christian Ramirez, only to concede again a minute later. When Justin Davis was given a red card in the 70th minute, MNUFC adjusted and held off a tough Rapids team on the road, earning the draw.
“They took a lot of satisfaction out of the hard work that they put in,” said Head Coach Adrian Heath at practice this week. “And they got something back — got a reward for what they put in at the weekend.
“I thought we defended the penalty area a lot better than we've done in the previous two games,” Heath continued. “I said before the game, when you concede the goals that we did, everybody automatically points at the back four and the goalkeeper. But I was a little bit concerned as well with the protection in front of that back four and the goalkeeper. I thought we did that better at the weekend. Still got a long way to go, but there were some positives in both ends of the field, I felt.”
Looking ahead to New England, Minnesota United faces a team that’s deep on the attack. So far, one of the areas of greatest concern for MNUFC has been giving up early goals — against both Portland and Colorado, they gave up a goal in the first 30 minutes and against Atlanta, they gave up three. The Revs will do their best to overwhelm MNUFC early with multiple threats at multiple positions.
“I think they've got three or four of the best attacking players in the league,” said Heath. “Kei Kamara at 6'4" or 6'5" has an incredible leap on him, great in the air. Juan Agudelo has got a bit of pace and strength and technical ability. Lee Nguyen, [Diego] Fagundez, Kelyn Rowe, you name it, they've got an abundance of strikers. They've got really good attacking pieces and we know we're going to have to defend really well for a 90-minute period.”
With four players called up for international duty (Rasmus Schuller, Francisco Calvo, Johan Venegas and Kevin Molino), plus injuries and Davis’ suspension, Minnesota will need to lean on some new faces to get the job done. Heath, however, sees it as an opportunity for those players and for a team that’s still getting to know itself.
“It gives the guys who've been out of the team an opportunity to show you in an MLS game what they can do,” he said. “There's three or four of them who've been really disappointed that they were left out at the weekend. And quite rightly so. I don't expect anything to else. This is another opportunity for them. One door shuts, another door opens for people and all I know is every time that you play, you have an opportunity to impress. As we're still getting to know everybody within this group, it's just another opportunity.”
Following the match in New England, Minnesota will come back home for their second match at TCF Bank Stadium, facing Real Salt Lake on Saturday, April 1 at 7:00 p.m. Both single match and season tickets are available at MNUFC.COM or by calling 763.4SOCCER, and the game will be broadcast on My29 and MNUFC Radio on 1500 ESPN.
INJURY REPORT
Minnesota United
OUT: M — Bernardo Anor (L Lower Leg Injury)
OUT: GK — John Alvbage (L Knee Injury)
OUT: GK — Patrick McLain (Concussion)
OUT: D — Joe Greenspan (Concussion)
New England Revolution
OUT: GK — Brad Knighton (Concussion)
QUESTIONABLE: M — Zachary Herivaux (Right Ankle Sprain)
DISCIPLINARY REPORT
Minnesota United
SUSPENDED: D — Justin Davis (red card)
New England Revolution
none
INTERNATIONAL DUTY
Minnesota United
Rasmus Schuller (Finland)
Francisco Calvo (Costa Rica)
Johan Venegas (Costa Rica)
Kevin Molino (Trinidad and Tobago)
New England Revolution
none
FIRST TOUCHES
- Teal Bunbury is a Prior Lake, Minn., native and a product of the Shattuck-St. Mary’s academy.
- Cody Cropper is native of Maple Grove, Minn.
- Femi Hollinger-Janzen was selected by Minnesota in the 2016 MLS Expansion Draft. He was traded back to New England for goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth.
- Shuttleworth played for the Revs from 2009 through 2016, leading them to the MLS Cup Final in 2014.
- Kei Kamara and Mohammed Saeid were teammates on Columbus Crew SC in 2014 and 2015.
- Minnesota Assistant Coach Mark Watson played for the Revs during the 1996 MLS season.
- New England is one of two teams a game behind the rest of MLS. Extreme conditions lead to the postponement of its Week #2 match against Orlando City.
- Minnesota’s had four players called up to international duty this week. Johan Venegas and Francisco Calvo were called up by Costa Rica for a pair of FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. Kevin Molino will be representing Trinidad and Tobago in qualifying as well. Rasmus Schuller will join Finland for one qualifying match and an international friendly.
- Kevin Molino is two for two from the penalty spot this season for Minnesota.
- Both of Christian Ramirez’s goals have come during the run of play. His goal against the Rapids gave Minnesota its first lead in MLS history.
- Last week in Dallas, New England only took one shot after the first 27 minutes of the match.
- The Revs have appeared in five MLS Cup Finals, but have not yet won a title. They won the U.S. Open Cup in 2007 and the now-defunct North American SuperLiga in 2008.
