Real Salt Lake hosts the New England Revolution on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium. Here are three things to know about the Revs.
An MLS Original
New England was one of the 10 original clubs in MLS when the league kicked off in 1996. A five-time MLS Cup finalist, New England is still looking for its first MLS Cup or Supporters’ Shield. However, the trophy case isn’t entirely bare. The Revs did win the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and the 2008 North American SuperLiga.
Coached by a Local Legend
New England is helmed by Jay Heaps, who spent nine seasons with the Revs as a player before announcing his retirement in 2009. His path to the head coaching role is a storied one. In college at Duke, he was a three-time finalist for the Herman Trophy, winning the award in his senior season. He also played for the Duke basketball team, reaching the championship game in his senior season. He started his MLS career with two seasons with the Miami Fusion before being traded to New England in exchange for current RSL broadcast analyst Brian Dunseth. In nine seasons with the Revs, he helped the club reach the MLS Cup final four times – in 2002 and 2005-2007. He was named Head Coach following the 2011 season and has posted a record of 59-60-36, reaching the playoffs each of the last three seasons.
Reclamation Projects
New England’s roster is made up of several players selected by the Revolution in the SuperDraft and a few others that had been signed from abroad. However, many of the players that make the biggest impacts can qualify as reclamation projects. Those include Juan Agudelo, Charlie Davies and Teal Bunbury, but also newly acquired forward Kei Kamara and 2014 MLS MVP finalist Lee Nguyen.
