MLS Standings 2012: Revolution Continue To Sink

The New England Revolution are not enjoying a banner season. In fact, the team has become perhaps the worst MLS club with a franchise record 10-game winless streak staring them in the face.

New England hasn't won a game since July 8 when it defeated the New York Red Bulls, 2-0, at Gillette Stadium. In the almost two months since, the Revolution has earned only three points in 10 matches courtesy of draws.

Here are the current playoff qualifiers in the MLS' Eastern Conference:

1. Sporting Kansas City 50 points
   
2. New York Red Bulls 46 points
   
3. Chicago Fire 44 points
   
4. Houston Dynamo 42 points
   
5. Columbus Crew 42 points

D.C. United and the Montreal Impact are both still fighting to earn a playoff berth, with the clubs only one and three points behind Columbus. However, D.C. has played one more contest while the Impact have played three more.

In the Western Conference, the San Jose Earthquakes have the most points of any team in the MLS with 53.

For a full look at the standings, please click here.

For more on the Revolution, please be sure to check out our blog The Bent Musket and SB Nation Boston for all the latest news and updates.

Revolution Vs. Union Final: New England Sloppy But Unscathed In 0-0 Draw

The New England Revolution have set a new club record against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night, as their 0-0 draw marks the tenth straight match without a win this season. The match was ugly, with Philadelphia owning most of the possession and, frankly, most of the game.

"It was good to get a shutout," said head coach Jay Heaps. "I thought Matt Reis had a good game. Unfortunately, I don't think we created enough chances to win the game."

The Revs certainly did not create enough chances; in the first half, they didn't even register a single shot. Philadelphia forced several saves out of Matt Reis during the half, including a reaction save in the 43rd minute off of Antoine Hoppenot. The best chance of the half, however, came on the ensuing corner, when Amobi Okugo headed a Freddy Adu corner onto the crossbar with Reis beaten.

Halftime brought out a slightly more lively Revolution side, but the Union almost took the lead immediately off the restart. Hoppenot charged in on goal with only Reis to beat, but the veteran keeper sprawled out and made a great leg save to deny the young forward his goal.

Several substitutions started to shake the cobwebs loose for the Revs, and they finally mustered their first shot on goal in the 60th minute. A free kick found the head of Stephen McCarthy unmarked in the box, but the big center-back's bad luck as a set piece threat continued as he headed wide.

Substitute Dimitry Imbongo inadvertently created the Revs best chance in the 85th minute when he blocked a Philadelphia clearance, sending it across the box to fellow sub Kelyn Rowe. Rowe, who Heaps said was brought on due to a lack of width, turned quickly and snapped a shot on frame, but Zac MacMath was equal to it and parried away. Imbongo nearly had a shock winner in the 90th minute when he turned and fired from distance, but his shot buzzed just over the bar.

"[Philadelphia was] just really good defensively," said striker Diego Fagundez. "I think the only thing that we probably should have done more was win the second balls. Jerry was doing a great job winning the first ball, and I think I should have just followed in behind and tried to get the second one."

A cursory look at the stats reveals that the shut out might be the only positive that can be drawn from this match. The Union dominated possession, finishing the match with 64.9%. New England attempted just 247 total passes with an abysmal 68% completion, while Philadelphia attempted 487 - including a whopping 325 in the first half - and were accurate to the tune of 84.6%. The visitors also out-shot the hosts 18-9.

As if things couldn't get worse, it was also announced right near kickoff that Revolution leading goalscorer Saer Sene will be out for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. Sene was subbed off after sustaining the injury against Chivas on Wednesday, and was originally listed out on with a knee sprain in Friday's injury report.

"It's a tough blow," said Heaps. "He's in 11-goal season form. It's an opportunity for others to step up, but it certainly is tough."

For more Revolution coverage, visit our team page and blog, The Bent Musket.

Revolution Vs. Union: New England And Philadelphia Bore Each Other Into 0-0 Halftime Standstill

The New England Revolution have never beaten the Philadelphia Union, and they were hoping that a good performance on Saturday night could reverse that trend. Come halftime, it would appear that the tactic of choice is to stupefy the Union through boredom in hopes of a gap forming in their defenses. The Revs have conceded 69.5% possession to the visitors and took an ugly 0-0 stalemate into the locker room at the interval.

New England didn't manage a single shot - not shot on goal, but shot - through the entire first half. The Union, for their part, didn't actually do much better, but they did manage to create a few dangerous chances on the ball. Matt Reis was called into action in the 23rd minute to catch a 25-yard curler from Massachusetts product Sheanon Williams.

The Revs created one or two dangerous moments or situations, but were never able to connect the final ball that could lead to a shooting chance. In the 43rd minute, the Union's Antoine Hoppenot ripped a laser from a tight angle on the left that Reis parried away. On the ensuing corner, Amobi Okugo nearly put the visitors ahead when he nodded Freddy Adu's corner at goal, but the Revs were bailed out by the crossbar.

There's no analysis to be had here; the Revs have to be better in every phase of the game in order to sneak a winner here. They've been lucky so far not to be punished by mistakes at both ends, and conventional wisdom would be that such luck will not hold. Also, they can't score if they don't take shots.

For more Revolution coverage, visit our team page and blog, The Bent Musket.

Revolution Vs. Union Lineups: Defensive Shuffle For New England, Valdes Starts For Philadelphia

Saturday night's match between the New England Revolution and the Philadelphia Union will be the third played by the Revs in just seven days. With yet another match in this grueling run to come on Wednesday, head coach Jay Heaps elected to make a couple of significant changes to his lineup both to accommodate injury and give some players a little rest.

Saer Sene is out with a knee injury, and as a result, Diego Fagundez makes a rare start up top, partnering Jerry Bengtson. It's just the second start for Fagundez in the whole of the 2012 campaign, with the teenage phenom seeing most of his time as a substitute.

In midfield, Fernando Cardenas comes in to replace Kelyn Rowe, while Benny Feilhaber will start in the middle alongside Clyde Simms. Both Guy and Rowe are on the bench.

Defense is where the majority of the changes have been made. Chris Tierney and A.J. Soares were both left off the matchday 18, replaced with Florian Lechner and Darrius Barnes. From this point, it looks as though Lechner will start on the left with Barnes in the middle.

Also notable, Tyler Polak and Michael Roach have made a rare appearance on the bench.

For the Union, despite strong reports to the contrary, captain Carlos Valdes is in the starting lineup. This will make breaking down the Philly defense much harder for the New England attack.

Lineups

Revolution: Matt Reis; Lechner, Barnes, Stephen McCarthy, Kevin Alston; Cardenas, Feilhaber, Simms, Lee Nguyen; Bengtson, Fagundez

Bench: Murray, Brettschneider, Guy, Imbongo, Polak, Roach, Rowe

Union: MacMath; Williams, Okugo, Valdes; Lahoud, M. Farfan, Carroll, G. Farfan; Cruz, Hoppenot, Adu

Bench: Konopka, Daniel, Gaddis, Gomez, Martinez, McInerney, Torres

Revolution Vs. Union: New England Welcomes Philadelphia For Third Match In Seven Days

The New England Revolution will look to stop the bleeding and earn their first win in ten tries against the Philadelphia Union at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night. Leading scorer Saer Sene is out with a knee injury. (TV/Radio: CSN/98.5)