8 Facts To Know Ahead Of Revolution-Red Bulls Eastern Conference Championship
BOSTON (CBS) -- The New England Revolution continue their quest for an MLS Cup Sunday afternoon in New York, when they kick off their two-game, aggregate goal Eastern Conference Championship against the Red Bulls.
While the rivalry has been quiet the last few years, the New England and New York MLS franchises have a history of meeting up in the postseason. Before their next showdown begins, here is all you need to know about the upcoming series:
Regular Season Series: The Red Bulls won both games against the Revs in the regular season, the only team New England did not record a win against in the Eastern Conference.
Postseason History: The Revs and New York franchise met in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2003, 2005 and 2007 with New England going 3-1-2 in those three series, advancing from each on aggregate goals.
The last time the clubs met in the playoffs -- the 2007 Eastern Conference Semifinals -- New England claimed a 1-0 win on aggregate thanks to a Taylor Twellman goal in the second leg of the series at Gillette Stadium.
High Scoring Revs: Of the 16 players who made an appearance for the Revs in their Conference Semifinals win over Columbus, nine of them tallied either a goal or an assist.
The Revs set an MLS Cup Playoff record in that series, scoring seven times. Prior to that series, no MLS team had ever scored more than five times in a two-leg, aggregate-goal playoff series.
MVLee's Career vs. New York/Playoffs: MLS MVP finalist Lee Nguyen led New England with 18 goals in the regular season and added two more in their series against the Columbus Crew. They were the first two postseason goals of his career.
Against New York, he has two goals in eight career matches. Nguyen did not score a goal in two regular season matchups against the Red Bulls this season, managing six shots between the two matches.
Nguyen On Upcoming Series vs. New York:
New York Missing A Key D-Man: The Red Bulls will be without a key defender as they try to slow down New England's powerful offensive attack. Starting left back Roy Miller is suspended for the series due to his numerous yellow cards and a red card in the second leg of the Conference Semifinal against the D.C. United.
So Miller won't be pestering any Revolution players on defense, or kicking any of them in the face.
Henry Doesn't Play On Turf: Thierry Henry scored 10 goals and dished off 14 assists for the Red Bulls during the regular season and has four more assists in the playoffs, but he may not suit up when the Red Bulls come to Gillette for the second leg of the series.
The 37-year-old Henry doesn't play on turf surfaces, largely because of his chronic Achilles tendon issues. Henry has skipped each of the New York's five games at Gillette Stadium since he signed with MLS in 2010.
Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke wouldn't comment on Henry's status for their game in Gillette on a conference call last week, so it's a situation we'll have to monitor next week.
Revs Winless At Red Bull Arena: New England is 0-5-1 all-time at Red Bull Arena since it opened in 2010.
A quick side note: When MLS debuted a New York franchise, it was only fitting that they would take on their foes to the East in their first home game in 1996. New England ended up winning the match 1-0 on an own-goal by Nicola Caricola of the MetroStars. The play was dubbed the "Curse of Caricola" by New York soccer fans.
Back In 2005: We'll single out the 2005 playoff series against New England and New York, because it was one of the more exciting series in the rivalry. New York led their Conference Semifinal series 2-0 on aggregate goals with 30 minutes remaining in the second leg, but the Revs' offense went on a scoring flurry and netted three goals en route to a 3-2 aggregate win.
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