2008 New England Revolution season

New England Revolution
2008 season
Owner	Robert Kraft
Head coach	Steve Nicol
MLS	Conference: 3rd; Overall: 5th
MLS Cup Playoffs	Conference Semifinals
U.S. Open Cup	Semifinals
Superliga	Champions
Champions League	Preliminary round
Top goalscorer	League: Ralston (8); All: Ralston (9)
Average home league attendance	17,580 (regular season); 5,221 (playoffs)
Home colors	Away colors
	← 2007 2009 →

The 2008 New England Revolution season was the thirteenth season of the team's existence. The regular season began on March 29, 2008, with a 3–0 win over the Houston Dynamo and ended on November 6 with a 3–0 playoff loss to the Chicago Fire.

Background

After losing a third straight MLS Cup final in 2007, the Revs began the 2008 season with high hopes. For the first time in team history, New England participated in four different competitions during the regular season. Their 2007 U.S. Open Cup had qualified them for the preliminary round of the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League, and their top-four finish qualified them for the 2008 North American SuperLiga. The Revs also played matches in the 2008 Open Cup and the 2008 regular season.

Review

The club started the season well, reaching their July league-fixture recess at the top of the overall MLS table. This early-season success continued in the 2008 SuperLiga, which the club won on August 5, 2008, by beating their 2-time MLS Cup rival the Houston Dynamo on penalties.^[2] Injuries, fatigue, and fixture congestion eventually caught up with the Revs, however, and the team performed poorly after returning to MLS league play. In an effort to spell his regular starters, coach Steve Nicol started mostly reserves in an Open Cup semifinal against D.C. United. The Revs lost the match, and Nicol was widely criticized for the decision. The Revolution also crashed out of the CONCACAF Champions League, losing to regional minnows Joe Public FC of Trinidad and Tobago 6-1 on aggregate, including an embarrassing 4-0 defeat at Gillette Stadium.

Mostly on the strength of their hot start, the Revolution managed to make the playoffs. They were unable to advance, however, as they drew 0–0 at home and lost 3–0 away to the Chicago Fire.^[3]

Match results

Win Tie Loss

Friendlies

On March 6, the Revolution played a match against CF Atlante in Playa del Carmen.^[4]

March 6, 2008	CF Atlante	v	New England Revolution	Playa del Carmen
		^[4]

March 16, 2008	New England Revolution	v	C.D. Marathón
		Report

MLS regular season

March 29, 2008 1	New England Revolution	3–0	Houston Dynamo	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
7:30 PM EDT	Ralston 15' Cristman 32' Nyassi 92+'	(report)	Mulrooney 58'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 11,116 Referee: Michael Kennedy

April 3, 2008 2	Chicago Fire	4–0	New England Revolution	Chicago, Illinois, United States
7:00 PM CDT	Barrett 4' 50' Mapp 17' Frankowski 22' 39' Blanco 37' Gutierrez 89'	(report)	Larentowicz 7' Joseph 7'	Stadium: Toyota Park Attendance: 15,553 Referee: Baldomero Toledo

April 09, 2008 3	Kansas City Wizards	1–3	New England Revolution	Kansas City, Missouri United States
7:00 PM CDT		(report)		Stadium: CommunityAmerica Ballpark Attendance: 8,096 Referee: Terry Vaughn

April 12, 2010 4	New England Revolution	0–1	Colorado Rapids	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
7:30 PM EDT	Amaechi Igwe 18'	Report	Kosuke Kimura 39' Facundo Erpen 67' Nick LaBrocca 68' Terry Cooke 79' Colin Clark 90+4'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Referee: Mark Geiger

April 19, 2008 5	New York Red Bulls	1–1	New England Revolution	East Rutherford, New Jersey United States
7:30 PM EDT	Siniša Ubiparipović 9' Jozy Altidore 30' Kevin Goldthwaite 49'	Report	Mauricio Castro 48' Jeff Larentowicz 56' Amaechi Igwe 90+2'	Stadium: Giants Stadium Attendance: 12,047

April 24, 2008 6	FC Dallas	0–1	New England Revolution	Frisco, Texas, United States
7:30 PM CDT	Arturo Álvarez 85'	Report	Wells Thompson 59' Khano Smith 72' 90'	Stadium: Pizza Hut Park Attendance: 10,453 Referee: Alex Prus

May 3, 2008 7	New England Revolution	0–3	Chicago Fire	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
7:30 PM EDT		Report	Chris Rolfe 29' John Thorrington 50' Stephen King 77'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 10,858 Referee: Jair Marrufo

May 11, 2008 8	Chivas USA	1–2	New England Revolution	Carson, California, United States
12:00 PM PDT	Jesse Marsch 19' Atiba Harris 75' Daniel Paladini 76' Justin Braun 90+3'	Report	Abdoulie Mansally 18' Jeff Larentowicz 30' Taylor Twellman 59'	Stadium: Home Depot Center Attendance: 10,927 Referee: Mark Geiger

May 17, 2008 9	New England Revolution	2–0	San Jose Earthquakes	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
7:30 PM EDT	Kheli Dube 6' Jay Heaps 36' Jeff Larentowicz 72'	Report	Eric Denton 55' Ramiro Corrales 82' Ryan Johnson 90+3'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 13,004 Referee: Terry Vaughn

May 24, 2008 10	Columbus Crew	0–1	New England Revolution	Columbus, Ohio, United States
7:30 PM EDT	Frankie Hejduk 42' Ezra Hendrickson 90' Chad Marshall 90+2'	Report	Sainey Nyassi 48' Kheli Dube 90'	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 15,621 Referee: Richard Heron

May 29, 2008 11	New England Revolution	2–2	D.C. United	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
7:30 PM EDT	Wells Thompson 25' Adam Cristman 59' Kheli Dube 72' Sainey Nyassi 78'	Report	Luciano Emilio 15' Santino Quaranta 34' Fred Da Silva 53' Gonzalo Martínez 75'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 8,159 Referee: Abbey Okulaja

June 6, 2008 12	New England Revolution	2–1	FC Dallas	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
6:30 PM EDT	Adam Cristman 5' Steve Ralston 22' Kheli Dube 48' Jay Heaps 70'	Report	Drew Moor 21' Duilio Davino 21' Guerreiro Andre Rocha 24' Bobby Rhine 51' Arturo Álvarez 90'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 54,045^[5] Referee: Michael Kennedy

June 12, 2008 13	Houston Dynamo	0–2	New England Revolution	Houston, Texas, United States
8:00 PM CDT	Ricardo Clark 72' Geoff Cameron 74'		Steve Ralston 8' Kheli Dube 35' Jeff Larentowicz 81'	Stadium: Robertson Stadium Attendance: 14,655 Referee: Mark Geiger

June 18, 2008 14	New England Revolution	1–1	New York Red Bulls	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
7:30 PM EDT	Sainey Nyassi 55' Jeff Larentowicz 57' Steve Ralston 79'	Report	Siniša Ubiparipović 30' Seth Stammler 37' 53'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 10,596 Referee: Joe Caroccio

June 21, 2008 15	Real Salt Lake	2–1	New England Revolution	Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
7:30 PM MDT	Jay Heaps 11' (o.g.) 20' Tino Nuñez 60' Kyle Beckerman 76'	Report	Adam Cristman 8' Steve Ralston 66'	Stadium: Rice-Eccles Stadium Attendance: 11,965 Referee: Kevin Stott

June 28, 2008 16	New England Revolution	2–1	Toronto FC	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
7:30 PM EDT	Steve Ralston 12' 52' Jeff Larentowicz 90+3'	Report	Laurent Robert 45+2' Maurice Edu 77' 78' Tyrone Marshall 85'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 15,863 Referee: Tim Weyland

July 4, 2008 17	Los Angeles Galaxy	1–2	New England Revolution	Carson, California, United States
PDT	David Beckham 66' Álvaro Pires 81'	Report	Adam Cristman 33' 37'	Stadium: Home Depot Center Attendance: 27,000 Referee: Jorge Gonzalez

August 9, 2008 18	New England Revolution	1–2	Chicago Fire	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
7:30 PM EDT	Taylor Twellman 3' Shalrie Joseph 58' 74' Sainey Nyassi 69' Matt Reis 86' Steve Ralston 87'	Report	Gonzalo Segares 64' 81' Marco Pappa 77' Wilman Conde 86'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 19,240 Referee: Kevin Scott

August 16, 2008 19	San Jose Earthquakes	4–0	New England Revolution	San Jose, California, United States
7:00 PM EDT	Ronnie O'Brien 11' 79' 87' Eric Denton 35' Nick Garcia 39' Ryan Johnson 71' Scott Sealy 76'	Report	Chris Tierney 16' Khano Smith 70'	Stadium: Buck Shaw Stadium Attendance: 9,859 Referee: Shane Moody

August 20, 2008 20	New England Revolution	2–1	D.C. United	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
7:30 PM EDT	Taylor Twellman 24' Jeff Larentowicz 49' Sainey Nyassi 70'	Report	Clyde Simms 21' Marc Burch 64' Jaime Moreno 69' 85'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 14,964 Referee: Abbey Okulaja

August 23, 2008 21	Toronto FC	1–1	New England Revolution	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
7:30 PM	Chad Barrett 66'	Report	Taylor Twellman 35'	Stadium: BMO Field Attendance: 20,461 Referee: Michael Kennedy

August 30, 2008 22	New England Revolution	2–2	Los Angeles Galaxy	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
7:30 PM EDT	Wells Thompson 14' Taylor Twellman 22' Shalrie Joseph 71' Jay Heaps 90+1'	Report	Eddie Lewis 14' Landon Donovan 34' 55' Greg Vanney 63'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 39,256 Referee: Tim Weyland

September 6, 2008 23	Columbus Crew	4–0	New England Revolution	Columbus, Ohio, United States
7:30 PM EDT	Guillermo Barros Schelotto 40' Andy Iro 45+1' Jason Garey 67' 83' 90'	Report	Chris Albright 23' Shalrie Joseph 50' Amaechi Igwe 59'	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 16,918 Referee: Mark Geiger

September 11, 2008 24	New England Revolution	4–0	Chivas USA	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
7:00 PM EDT	Chris Albright 28' Steve Ralston 20' 90+3' Taylor Twellman 53' Jeff Larentowicz 83' Khano Smith 90+1'	Report	Ante Razov 43' Francisco Mendoza 79'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 7,606 Referee: Jair Marrufo

September 20, 2008 25	Colorado Rapids	1–1	New England Revolution	Commerce City, Colorado, United States
7:00 PM CDT	Colin Clark 4' 56' Cory Gibbs 5' Mehdi Ballouchy 49'	Report	Abdoulie Mansally 50'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 12,223 Referee: Michael Kennedy

September 27, 2008 26	New England Revolution	0–1	Columbus Crew	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
7:30 PM EDT	Shalrie Joseph 90+4'	Report	Frankie Hejduk 6' 65' Chad Marshall 35' Will Hesmer 90+2'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 15,035 Referee: Terry Vaughn

October 4, 2008 27	New England Revolution	2–2	Real Salt Lake	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
7:30 PM EDT	Sainey Nyassi 9' Khano Smith 18' Steve Ralston 77' Taylor Twellman 79' Jay Heaps 90+2'	Report	Javier Morales 13' 16' Ian Joy 22' Andy Williams 73' 90+1'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 18,893 Referee: Baldomero Toledo

October 11, 2008 28	Kansas City Wizards	1–0	New England Revolution	Kansas City, Kansas, United States
7:00 PM CDT	Jimmy Conrad 61' Abe Thompson 72'	Report	Gabriel Badilla 69'	Stadium: CommunityAmerica Ballpark Attendance: 9,488 Referee: Alex Pruss

October 16, 2008 29	D.C. United	2–1	New England Revolution	Washington, D.C., United States
8:00 PM EDT	Santino Quaranta 28' Francis Doe 63' 80' Fred 90+2'	Report	Mauricio Castro 59' Jeff Larentowicz 56' Chris Albright 82' Sainey Nyassi 88'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 16,672 Referee: Tim Weyland

October 25, 2008 30	New England Revolution	3–1	Kansas City Wizards	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
7:30 PM EDT	Gabriel Badilla 26' Khano Smith 42' Shalrie Joseph 43' Jeff Larentowicz 90'	Report	Claudio Lopez 28' Davy Arnaud 53' Michael Parkhurst 88' (o.g)	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 16,764 Referee: Kevin Scott

Open Cup

July 1, 2008 Third round	New England Revolution	3–0	Richmond Kickers	New Britain, Connecticut, United States
7:00 PM EDT	Brill 46' Germanese 63' Twellman 67'	(report)		Stadium: Veteran's Memorial Stadium Attendance: 3,950 Referee: Tony Russo

July 8, 2008 Quarterfinals	New England Revolution	1–1 (5-3 p)	Crystal Palace Baltimore	New Britain, Connecticut, United States
7:00 PM EDT	Mansally 6' Igwe 33' Hilgenbrinck 59'	(report)	Lader 20' Teixeira 78' Harkin 109' Flores 119'	Stadium: Veteran's Memorial Stadium Attendance: 2,590 Referee: Hilario Grajeda
	Penalties
	Hilgenbrinck Dube Tierney Igwe Castro		Harada Harkin Mbuta Teixeira

August 12, 2008 Semifinals	D.C. United	3–1	New England Revolution	Washington, D.C., United States
7:30 PM EDT	Emilio 4' 81' Quaranta 48' McTavish 50'	(report)	Germanese 34' Igwe 38' Thompson 71'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 6,797 Referee: Jorge Gonzalez

SuperLiga

July 14, 2008 Group B	New England Revolution	1–0	Santos Laguna	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
8:00 PM EDT	Dube 70'	(report)	Rodriguez 40'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 10,118 Referee: Enrico Wijngaarde

July 16, 2008 Group B	New England Revolution	1–0	Pachuca	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
8:00 PM EDT	Smith 96+' (pen.)	(report)		Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 9,614 Referee: Walter Quesada

July 20, 2008 Group B	Chivas USA	1–1	New England Revolution	Fullerton, California, United States
5:00 PM PDT	Razov 59'	(report)	Joseph 78'	Stadium: Titan Stadium Attendance: 4,738 Referee: Abiodun Okulaja

July 30, 2008 Semifinal	New England Revolution	1–0	Puebla	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
8:00 PM EDT	Joseph 30' Heaps 90+'	(report)	Rey 85' Zamora 90+' Vilar 90+' Muñoz 90+' Venegas 90+'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 8,302 Referee: Carlos Batres

August 5, 2008 Final	New England Revolution	2–2 (6–5 p)	Houston Dynamo	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
8:00 EDT	Ralston 41' Joseph 82', 102'	Report	Davis 14' Jaqua 18' Kamara 98'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 9,242 Referee: Howard Webb
	Penalties
	Ralston Reis Joseph Twellman Smith Larentowicz Tierney Albright		Waibel Wondolowski De Rosario Ching Clark Barrett Kamara Ashe

Champions League

August 26, 2008 Preliminary round	Joe Public	2–1	New England Revolution	Macoya, Trinidad and Tobago
9:00 EDT	Richardson 50' Gay 70'		Castro 76' (pen.)	Stadium: Marvin Lee Stadium Attendance: 2,100 Referee: Courtney Campbell

September 2, 2008 Preliminary round	New England Revolution	0–4	Joe Public	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
8:00 EDT			Richardson 17' 45' 81' Nelson 48'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Steven Depiero

Playoffs

October 30, 2008 Conference Semifinals	New England Revolution	0–0	Chicago Fire	Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
8:00 PM EDT		Report		Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 5,221 Referee: Alex Prus

November 6, 2008 Conference Semifinals	Chicago Fire	3–0	New England Revolution	Bridgeview, Illinois, United States
7:45 PM CDT	Thorrington 36' Rolfe 47+' Conde 49' Busch 62' Segares 74'	(report)	Albright 83' Igwe 47' Joseph 53'	Stadium: Toyota Park Attendance: 17,312 Referee: Jair Marrufo

Standings

Conference

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Columbus Crew	30	17	7	6	50	36	+14	57	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	Chicago Fire	30	13	10	7	44	33	+11	46
3	New England Revolution	30	12	11	7	40	43	−3	43
4	Kansas City Wizards	30	11	10	9	37	39	−2	42
5	New York Red Bulls	30	10	11	9	42	48	−6	39
6	D.C. United	30	11	15	4	43	51	−8	37
7	Toronto FC	30	9	13	8	34	43	−9	35

Source: MLS

Overall

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Columbus Crew (C, S)	30	17	7	6	50	36	+14	57	CONCACAF Champions League
2	Houston Dynamo	30	13	5	12	45	32	+13	51	CONCACAF Champions League
3	Chicago Fire	30	13	10	7	44	33	+11	46	North American SuperLiga
4	Chivas USA	30	12	11	7	40	41	−1	43
5	New England Revolution	30	12	11	7	40	43	−3	43
6	Kansas City Wizards	30	11	10	9	37	39	−2	42
7	Real Salt Lake	30	10	10	10	40	39	+1	40
8	New York Red Bulls	30	10	11	9	42	48	−6	39	CONCACAF Champions League
9	Colorado Rapids	30	11	14	5	44	45	−1	38
10	D.C. United	30	11	15	4	43	51	−8	37	CONCACAF Champions League
11	FC Dallas	30	8	10	12	45	41	+4	36
12	Toronto FC	30	9	13	8	34	43	−9	35	CONCACAF Champions League^[a]
13	LA Galaxy	30	8	13	9	55	62	−7	33
14	San Jose Earthquakes	30	8	13	9	32	38	−6	33

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (S) Supporters' Shield
Notes:

^ As winners of the 2009 Canadian Championship

Notes

^ "2008 Full Season Stats". Major League Soccer. Retrieved September 5, 2010. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ McCarthy, Kyle (August 6, 2008). "Revs Capture SuperLiga 2008 Crown". Archived from the original on November 29, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
^ "Fire 3, Revolution 0". New England Revolution. November 6, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ ^a ^b "New England Beats Atlante 1-0 in Superliga". Journal Tribune. Foxborough. July 31, 2008. p. 16. Archived from the original on January 7, 2024.
^ "NE Revolution 2, FC Dallas 1". Retrieved May 12, 2024.

External Links

2008 Schedule

[table_note_res_CAN0.629891698542-6] As winners of the 2009 Canadian Championship

[1] "2008 Full Season Stats". Major League Soccer. Retrieved September 5, 2010. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[2] McCarthy, Kyle (August 6, 2008). "Revs Capture SuperLiga 2008 Crown". Archived from the original on November 29, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2010.

[3] "Fire 3, Revolution 0". New England Revolution. November 6, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}

[Journal_Tribune_Atlante-4] "New England Beats Atlante 1-0 in Superliga". Journal Tribune. Foxborough. July 31, 2008. p. 16. Archived from the original on January 7, 2024.

[5] "NE Revolution 2, FC Dallas 1". Retrieved May 12, 2024.

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