1997 New England Revolution season

New England Revolution
1997 season
Owner	Robert Kraft (The Kraft Group)
Head coach	Thomas Rongen
Stadium	Foxboro Stadium; Foxborough, Massachusetts
MLS	Conference: 4th; Overall: 8th
MLS Cup Playoffs	Conference Semifinals
U.S. Open Cup	Third Round
Highest home attendance	League/All: 57,407; (4/20 v. Tampa Bay Mutiny)
Lowest home attendance	League: 10,242; (6/01 v. Dallas Burn); All: 2,031; (7/31 v. Long Island Rough Riders, USOC)
Average home league attendance	21,298
Biggest win	League/All:; New England Revolution 4–2 Tampa Bay Mutiny (7/18)
Biggest defeat	League/All:; New England Revolution 5–1 San Jose Clash (8/3)
	← 1996 1998 →

The 1997 New England Revolution season was the second season for the New England Revolution both as a club and in Major League Soccer (MLS). Alongside the MLS Regular Season, the team made their debut in both the U.S. Open Cup and the MLS Cup Playoffs, although they failed to advance in either. The season began on March 29 with a 1–0 away win over the Dallas Burn, and concluded with a home shootout loss to D.C. United in the MLS Cup Playoffs on October 8. The 1997 season marked the first season with goalkeeper Walter Zenga, who would later be elevated to player-manager in the 1998 season after the departure of head coach Thomas Rongen.^[1]

Transfers

Transfers In

Date	Position	No.	Name	From	Fee/notes	Ref.
February 20	FW	11	Chiquinho Conde	Vitoria de Setubal	League Allocation	^[2]
March 4	GK	1	Walter Zenga	Calcio Padova	League Allocation	^[2]
March 6	DF	6	Leonardo Squadrone	Estudiantes de La Plata	League Allocation	^[2]
March 10	DF	25	Alejandro Farías	Boca Juniors	Discovery Player	^[2]
May 9	DF	3	Erik Imler	D.C. United	Claimed off Waivers	^[2]
June 5	FW	23	Rob Jachym	Columbus Crew	Signed	^[2]
June 5	DF	2	Brian Dunseth	Cal State Fullerton	Allocated from MLS Project-40	^[2]
July 10	MF	11	Evans Wise	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Trade for Bill Harte	^[3]
July 16	GK	26	Jeff Causey	D.C. United	Signed	^[3]
August 13	FW	33	Giuseppe Galderisi	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Trade for Chiquinho Conde and Sam George	^[3]
August 13	MF	7	Ivan McKinley	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Trade for Chiquinho Conde and Sam George	^[3]

Transfers Out

Date	Position	No.	Name	To	Fee/notes	Ref.
March 3	MF	6	Geoff Aunger		Waived	^[2]
March 3	MF	13	Mark Watson		Waived	^[2]
March 5	FW	-	J.T. Roberts		Waived	^[2]
March 10	FW	11	Wélton	LA Galaxy	Traded for the Galaxy's first-round pick in the 1998 MLS Supplemental Draft	^[2]
March 10	DF	3	Iain Fraser		Waived	^[2]
March 10	GK	32	Aidan Heaney		Waived	^[2]
March 10	GK	8	Peter Woodring		Waived	^[2]
March 17	MF	14	John DeBrito		Waived	^[2]
April 15	FW	24	Patrick Olalere		Waived	^[2]
May 7	FW	19	Steve Klein		Waived	^[2]
May 28	DF	9	Kevin Wylie		Waived	^[2]
June 24	DF	17	Greg Lalas		Waived	^[2]
July 10	DF	2	Bill Harte	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Traded in exchange for Evans Wise	^[3]
August 13	FW	22	Chiquinho Conde	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Traded in exchange for Giuseppe Galderisi and Ivan McKinley	^[3]
August 13	MF	14	Sam George	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Traded in exchange for Giuseppe Galderisi and Ivan McKinley	^[3]
November 6	DF	20	Francis Okaroh	Chicago Fire	Claimed in the 7th round of the 1997 MLS Expansion Draft	^[3]
November 13	MF	25	Alejandro Farías		Waived	^[3]
November 13	FW	33	Giuseppe Galderisi		Waived	^[3]
November 13	MF	3	Erik Imler		Waived	^[3]
November 13	FW	9	John Kerr Jr.		Waived	^[3]
November 13	MF	7	Darren Sawatzky		Waived	^[3]

Draft results

College draft

The Revolution traded their first-round pick to the Tampa Bay Mutiny in exchange for the singing of former Mutiny coach Thomas Rongen.^[4] In addition, the team acquired an additional third-round pick and a first-round selection (#3) in the 1997 MLS Supplemental Draft from the Dallas Burn in exchange for a first-round selection (#2) in the 1997 Supplemental Draft. ^[5]

On February 2, 1997, the Revolution selected Scott Coufal, Steve Klein, and J.T. Roberts in the College Draft. On March 6, 1997, the Revolution waived Roberts.^[6]

New England Revolution – 1997 MLS College Draft
Round	Overall	Name	Position	Previous Club
2	12	Scott Coufal	GK	Indiana University
3	22	Steve Klein	M	Bowling Green State University
3	26	J.T. Roberts	M	Northern Kentucky University

Supplemental draft

On February 2, 1997, the Revolution drafted Bill Harte, Patrick Olalere, and Sam George in the MLS Supplemental Draft.

New England Revolution – 1997 MLS Supplemental Draft
Round	Overall	Name	Position	Previous Club
1	3	Bill Harte	D	Loyola University, Baltimore Spirit
2	12	Patrick Olalere	F	Carson-Newman, California Jaguars
3	22	Sam George	M	UCLA, Anaheim Splash

Club

Team Management

Position	Staff
General Manager	Brian O'Donovan
Head Coach	Thomas Rongen

Source: [1]

Roster

All listed players made appearances in MLS regular season play.^[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
4	DF	USA	Mike Burns
5	DF	USA	Ted Chronopoulos
22	DF	USA	Alexi Lalas
20	DF	NGA	Francis Okaroh
10	DF	ARG	Beto Naveda
8	MF	USA	Imad Baba
25	DF	ARG	Alejandro Farías
6	DF	ARG	Leonardo Squadrone
1	GK	ITA	Walter Zenga
11	FW	MOZ	Chiquinho Conde
9	FW	USA	John Kerr Jr.
12	FW	USA	Joe-Max Moore
14	MF	USA	Sam George
3	DF	USA	Erik Imler
11	DF	TRI	Evans Wise
7	DF	RSA	Ivan McKinley


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
33	FW	ITA	Giuseppe Galderisi
26	GK	USA	Jeff Causey
7	FW	USA	Darren Sawatzky
18	FW	IRL	Paul Keegan
27	GK	USA	Scott Coufal
2	DF	USA	Bill Harte
2	DF	USA	Brian Dunseth
23	FW	USA	Rob Jachym
19	MF	USA	Steve Klein
9	DF	USA	Kevin Wylie
24	FW	NGA	Patrick Olalere
17	DF	USA	Greg Lalas

Non-competitive

Preseason

The Revolution played six pre-season matches and had a 3-2-1 record.

Matches

January 11 Friendly	New England Revolution	1–0	Raleigh Flyers
	Darren Sawatzky	Report

February 26^[a] Friendly	New England Revolution	0–2	Dallas Burn	Pensacola, Florida
		Report		Stadium: Pensacola Sports Complex

February 28 Friendly

New England Revolution

v

Colombus Crew

March 10 Friendly	New England Revolution	3–1	Kansas City Wizards	Bradenton, Florida
	Beto Naveda Darren Sawatzky	Report	Paul Wright

March 12 Friendly	New England Revolution	5–0	Daytona Beach Sandsharks
	Darren Sawatzky Patrick Olalere Steve Klein John DeBrito	Report

March 14 Friendly	Colorado Rapids	2–0	New England Revolution	Kissimmee, Florida
3pm		Report

Mid-season friendlies

Matches

July 23 Friendly	New England Revolution	0–1	Palmeiras	Foxborough, Massachusetts
		Report	Euller 71'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 19,623

Competitive

Major League Soccer

Conference standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	SOW	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	D.C. United	32	17	4	11	70	53	+17	55	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	Tampa Bay Mutiny	32	14	3	15	55	60	−5	45
3	Columbus Crew	32	12	3	17	42	41	+1	39
4	New England Revolution	32	11	4	17	40	53	−13	37
5	NY/NJ MetroStars	32	11	2	19	43	53	−10	35

Source: MLS

Overall standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	SOW	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	D.C. United (C, S)	32	17	4	11	70	53	+17	55	CONCACAF Champions' Cup
2	Kansas City Wizards	32	14	7	11	57	51	+6	49
3	Tampa Bay Mutiny	32	14	3	15	55	60	−5	45
4	Los Angeles Galaxy	32	14	2	16	55	44	+11	44
5	Dallas Burn	32	13	3	16	55	49	+6	42
6	Columbus Crew	32	12	3	17	42	41	+1	39
7	Colorado Rapids	32	12	2	18	50	59	−9	38	CONCACAF Champions' Cup
8	New England Revolution	32	11	4	17	40	53	−13	37
9	NY/NJ MetroStars	32	11	2	19	43	53	−10	35
10	San Jose Clash	32	9	3	20	55	59	−4	30

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

Matches

March 29 1	Dallas Burn	0–1	New England Revolution	Dallas
		Report	Dade 38' (o.g.)	Stadium: Cotton Bowl Attendance: 11,063 Referee: Raul Dominguez

April 6 2	Tampa Bay Mutiny	4–0	New England Revolution	Tampa
	Hejduk 26' Valderrama 44' Lassiter 62' Ralston 63'	Report		Stadium: Houlihan's Stadium Attendance: 10,143 Referee: Rich Grady

April 12 3	NY/NJ MetroStars	3–1	New England Revolution	East Rutherford
	Savarese 17', 55' Wood 82'	Report	George 16'	Stadium: Giants Stadium Attendance: 20,328 Referee: Paul Tamberino

April 20 4	New England Revolution	2–1	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Foxborough
	Naveda 27' Sawatzky 77'	Report	Batista 70'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 57,407 Referee: Brian Hall

April 26 5	New England Revolution	1–1 (SO) (2–1 p)	Colorado Rapids	Foxborough
	Moore 14'	Report	Vermes 90'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 12,219 Referee: Kevin Terry
	Penalties
	Okaroh Baba Sawatzky Naveda		Paz Trittschuh Balboa Vermes Bravo

May 3 6	New England Revolution	2–1	Kansas City Wizards	Foxborough
	Baba 1' Conde 70'	Report	Tinsley 83' Preki 85' (pen.)	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 15,075 Referee: Rich Grady

May 9 7	New England Revolution	0–2	Columbus Crew	Foxborough
		Report	Carrera 6' Salcedo 68'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 13,168 Referee: John Weselak

May 16 8	San Jose Clash	1–1 (0–3 p)	New England Revolution	San Jose
	Dayak 7'	Report	Baba 52'	Stadium: Spartan Stadium Attendance: 10,532 Referee: Ali Saheli
	Penalties
	Baicher Lozzano Urbányi		Moore Baba Imler

May 18 9	New England Revolution	0–0 (2–4 p)	D.C. United	Foxborough
		Report		Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 15,109 Referee: Ted Covaciu
	Penalties
	Moore Baba Imler Burns		Baicher Marsch Kelderman Etcheverry Iroha

May 24 10	Colorado Rapids	1–2	New England Revolution	Denver
	Harris 12'	Report	Dayak 36', 88'	Stadium: Mile High Stadium Attendance: 9,452 Referee: Tim Weyland

May 30 11	New England Revolution	3–1	NY/NJ MetroStars	Foxborough
	Naveda 57' (pen.), 71', 90'	Report	Savarese 31'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 15,849 Referee: Esse Baharmast

June 1 12	New England Revolution	3–1	Dallas Burn	Foxborough
	Conde 63' Imad Baba 65', 82'	Report	Ted Eck 41'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 10,242 Referee: Tim Weyland

June 8 13	New England Revolution	0–0 (2–1 p)	LA Galaxy	Foxborough
		Report		Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 16,218 Referee: Alberto Giordano
	Penalties
	Baba Burns Imler Naveda		Jones Armas Fraser Vanney Jara

June 14 14	New England Revolution	0–1	D.C. United	Foxborough
		Report	Sanneh 72'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 26,313 Referee: Raul Dominguez

June 22 15	New England Revolution	2–2 (2–1 p)	Dallas Burn	Foxborough
	Farías 29' Lalas 65'	Report	Álvarez 19' Kreis 27'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 15,819 Referee: Noel Kenny
	Penalties
	Baba Imler Naveda Okaroh		Santel Soehn Soñora Elliott Eck

July 4 16	LA Galaxy	2–0	New England Revolution	Pasadena
	Jones 79' Wélton 86'	Report		Stadium: Rose Bowl Attendance: 51,704 Referee: Ali Saheli

July 6 17	San Jose Clash	3–2	New England Revolution	San Jose
	Baicher 37' Dayak 45' Cerritos 72'	Report	Naveda 37' Lalas 59'	Stadium: Spartan Stadium Attendance: 11,753 Referee: John Weselak

July 12 18	New England Revolution	2–0	Kansas City Wizards	Foxborough
	Kerr Jr. 37' Wise 58' Farías 88'	Report	Johnston 88'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 21,817 Referee: Tim Weyland

July 18 19	New England Revolution	4–2	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Foxborough
	Baba 53' Chiquinho Conde 54', 57' Kerr Jr. 71'	Report	Lassiter 31' Vásquez 42'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 19,075 Referee: Paul Tamberino

July 20 20	Columbus Crew	1–0	New England Revolution	Columbus
	Warzycha 55'	Report		Stadium: Ohio Stadium Attendance: 14,248 Referee: Raul Dominguez

July 26 21	Kansas City Wizards	0–0 (4–3 p)	New England Revolution	Kansas City
		Report		Stadium: Arrowhead Stadium Attendance: 10,029
	Penalties
	Chung Wright Preki Klopas McKeon		Moore Wise Naveda Burns Okaroh

August 3 22	New England Revolution	1–5	San Jose Clash	Foxborough
	Baba 22'	Report	Lozzano 36', 68' Baicher 71', 90' Emenalo 84'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 22,673 Referee: Joshua Patlak

August 9 23	Colorado Rapids	3–0	New England Revolution	Denver
	Harris 7', 67' Patiño 29'	Report		Stadium: Mile High Stadium Attendance: 8,654

August 14 24	New England Revolution	1–1 (2–3 p)	LA Galaxy	Foxborough
	Chronopoulos 69' 82' McKinley 90'	Report	Wélton 9'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 21,886 Referee: Paul Tamberino
	Penalties
	Baba Okaroh Burns Wise Galderisi		Karapetyan Jones Machón Armas Vanney

August 14 25	Columbus Crew	2–1	New England Revolution	Columbus
	Wood 43' Elcock 87'	Report	McKinley 75'	Stadium: Ohio Stadium Attendance: 15,718 Referee: Marcel Yonan

August 27 26	D.C. United	3–2	New England Revolution	Washington, D.C.
	Etcheverry 39' Moreno 59' Díaz Arce 88'	Report	Baba 43' McKinley 51'	Stadium: Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Attendance: 9,675 Referee: Noel Kenny

August 30 27	Tampa Bay Mutiny	4–0	New England Revolution	Tampa
	Vásquez 39' Lassiter 64' Prampin 82' Vargas 87'	Report		Stadium: Houlihan's Stadium Attendance: 9,253 Referee: Esse Baharmast

September 9 28	NY/NJ MetroStars	3–1	New England Revolution	East Rutherford
	Semioli 40' Bartlett 45' Savarese 74'	Report	Naveda 29'	Stadium: Giants Stadium Attendance: 10,510 Referee: Noel Kenny

September 12 29	New England Revolution	1–0	Columbus Crew	Foxborough
	Naveda 3'	Report		Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 21,619 Referee: Ted Covaciu

September 16 30	D.C. United	2–2 (5–4 p)	New England Revolution	Washington, D.C.
	Keegan 32' (og) Harkes 87'	Report	Moore 12', 53'	Stadium: Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Attendance: 11,607 Referee: Toru Kamikawa
	Penalties
	Etcheverry Kelderman Moreno Maessner Díaz Arce Sanneh Harkes Mario Gori Llamosa Pope		Baba Imler Burns Wise Moore Klein Chronopoulos Farías Lalas Dunseth

September 20 31	New England Revolution	3–2	NY/NJ MetroStars	Foxborough
	Chronopoulos 22', 69' 67' 88' McKinley 49'	Report	de Ávila 21' Semioli 37'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 36,273 Referee: Arturo Angeles

September 25 31	Dallas Burn	1–2	New England Revolution	Dallas
	Elliott 31'	Report	Moore 58' (pen.) Keegan 88'	Stadium: Cotton Bowl Attendance: 6,897 Referee: Brian Hall

MLS Cup Playoffs

The Revolution qualified for their first ever MLS Cup Playoffs and faced off against reigning champions D.C. United in a best-of-three matches. The team failed to secure a win in either match. It would take until the MLS Cup Playoffs in 2000 before the Revolution would appear in a playoff match again, and until the MLS Cup Playoffs in 2002 before they would advance in a playoff match-up.

Matches

October 5 Game 1	D.C. United	4–1	New England Revolution	Washington, D.C.
	Wegerle 13', 56' Moreno 65', 76'		Burns 89'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 12,540 Referee: Tim Weyland

October 8 Game 2	New England Revolution	1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p)	D.C. United	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Okaroh 70' Moore 72'	Report	Williams 53'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 16,233 Referee: Rich Grady
	Penalties
	Moore Burns Chronopoulos Galderisi Naveda Keegan McKinley		Etcheverry Moreno Kelderman Agoos Iroha Harkes Llamosa

D.C. United win the series 2–0.

U.S. Open Cup

The Revolution made their U.S. Open Cup debut after declining to participate in the 1996 edition. They exited in the Third Round after a 4-3 loss in sudden death extra time, to the Long Island Rough Riders.

Matches

July 31 Third Round	New England Revolution	3–4 (asdet)	Long Island Rough Riders (A-League)	Foxborough, Massachusetts
6:00 PM	Kerr 9' Moore 59' Sawatzky 19'		Rinker 43' Rooney 74', 79' Mohammed 108'	Attendance: 2,031 Referee: Ruben Rodhas

Honors

Team Most Valuable Player: Walter Zenga^[9]
Team Scoring Champion: Alberto Naveda (20 pts, 7 G, 6 A)^[9]
Team Defender of the Year: Francis Okaroh^[9]
MLS All-Star Game Selections: Alexi Lalas, Ted Chronopoulos, Walter Zenga^[9]
MLS Goalkeeper of the Year: Walter Zenga (Finalist)^[9]
MLS Player of the Month: Walter Zenga (September)^[9]
MLS Player of the Week: Chiquinho Conde (Week 10), Alberto Naveda (Week 11)^[9]

Notes

^ The friendly match against Dallas was originally scheduled for February 25, but was postponsed. ^[8]

References

^ "It's One Way to Start a Revolution". Soccer America. August 30, 1998. Archived from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s "2023 Media Guide: Coach and Player Registry" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m "2023 Media Guide: Coach and Player Registry" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
^ "MLS: Mutiny trade Hattrup to Dallas". Soccer America. January 31, 1997. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
^ "MLS: 1997 Collegiate Draft Results (Feb. 2)". Soccer America. February 2, 1997. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
^ "March 6, 1997 Transactions". Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
^ "1997 New England Revolution Stats". Archived from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
^ https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-moore-injury-a-warning/143821996/
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "2018 New England Revolution Media Guide – Stats and Records" (PDF). pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018.

[9] The friendly match against Dallas was originally scheduled for February 25, but was postponsed. ^[8]

[Rongen_Departure-1] "It's One Way to Start a Revolution". Soccer America. August 30, 1998. Archived from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.

[Player_Registry#page=368-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s "2023 Media Guide: Coach and Player Registry" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.

[Player_Registry#page=369-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m "2023 Media Guide: Coach and Player Registry" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.

[Rongen-4] "MLS: Mutiny trade Hattrup to Dallas". Soccer America. January 31, 1997. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.

[Draft_Recap-5] "MLS: 1997 Collegiate Draft Results (Feb. 2)". Soccer America. February 2, 1997. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.

[6] "March 6, 1997 Transactions". Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2024.

[7] "1997 New England Revolution Stats". Archived from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.

[8] ttps://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-moore-injury-a-warning/143821996/

[statsandrecords-10] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "2018 New England Revolution Media Guide – Stats and Records" (PDF). pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018.

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