It took the Revolution (3-3-4, 13 pts.) three tries to get its third win of the season after beating Vancouver last week. They hope it won’t take as long to secure win number four when they face the hard-luck San Jose Earthquakes (2-4-3, 9pts.) on Saturday night at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.
The game will start at 10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on Comcast SportsNet New England. The game will also be broadcast on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
In addition to padding their point total, the Revs are also seeking to do something they haven’t yet done this season: win on the road.
In their four games away from Gillette Stadium, the Revs have gone 0-2-2, and have been blanked in the previous two. Suffice to say, the Revolution will need to score some goals on Saturday night if they intend to turn around their road woes.
Here are some other notable facts as the Revs embark on their third and final regular season trip to the Golden State in 2011:
-- Between the pair of MLS originals, San Jose owns the advantage with a 17-11-5 all-time record against the Revs.
-- Not surprisingly, the ‘Quakes have proven to be the dominant team at home, against as they hold an 8-5-3 all-time record when the Revs come to visit.
-- However, the Revs have claimed some measure of success against San Jose, who re-entered the league in 2008 after a two-year hiatus. Since San Jose’s return, the Revs have shut them out once in each of the last three seasons.
-- In their last encounter, back on May 15, 2010, the teams walked away with a 0-0 draw as former Revolution ‘keeper Preston Burpo claimed his second clean sheet of the 2010 season.
-- Despite their recent success against the ‘Quakes, the Revs haven’t won in California in over two years. Incidentally, their last win in the Golden State came against the ‘Quakes at Buck Shaw Stadium back on March 21, 2009.
-- Revs center back Ryan Cochrane, who played for San Jose in 2004 and 2005, has never played against his former club.
-- The Revs will seek to extend their current 212-minute shutout streak – which includes back-to-back shut outs against Colorado and Vancouver - against the ‘Quakes, who’ve been shut out three times this season.
The Revolution’s May 17th Injury Report lists the following players’ availability for the San Jose match:
Questionable: Didier Domi (L quadriceps strain), Rajko Lekic (L knee contusion)
Out: Ousmane Dabo (R adductor strain), Marko Perovic (L knee sprain)
Brian O'Connell is covering the Revolution for ESPNBoston.com. He is the co-founder of New England Soccer Today (www.nesoccertoday.com), which covers professional soccer within New England. He can be reached at BOConnell21@aol.com.