• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Toronto FC-Revolution Preview

Jul 31, 2009 - 5:54 PM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Toronto FC (7-7-5) at New England (6-5-5), 7:30 p.m. EDT

The New England Revolution have won back-to-back MLS games for just the second time all season. With five home games in their next six contests, the stage is set for them to continue their surge up the standings.

The next team they'll try to catch is Toronto FC, which has lost all of its visits to Gillette Stadium going into Saturday's key Eastern Conference matchup.

The Revs (6-5-5) didn't allow a goal in their last three league matches, winning the previous two. They defeated Houston 1-0 on the road last Saturday, pushing them two points ahead of Kansas City and into fifth place in the East.

With star striker Taylor Twellman sidelined, New England has compensated defensively with Matt Reis earning his third straight shutout last week. No opponent has scored in the last 352 minutes against the Revs, who strung together consecutive victories for the first time since May 30 and June 7.

"I think the best way to put it is whenever you see somebody lining a shot up or possibly going to get a shot off, is that the first thing that goes through your head is that he's going to save it anyway," coach Steve Nicol said of Reis, who made eight saves against the Dynamo. "That's a great place for us to be in. The fact that we think that, I'm sure he thinks the same. He just feels he can save anything that's thrown at him."

New England has been especially stingy at home this year, going 4-1-2 at Foxborough and outscoring opponents 11-5 in those games.

Toronto has been outscored 9-1 in its three games at Gillette Stadium, although the club earned its first-ever win over the Revs on May 23 with a 3-1 home victory.

A victory Saturday would pull the Revs into a fourth-place tie with Toronto (7-7-5) in the East, and New England has played at least two fewer games than each of the four teams it is chasing.

"I think it's a game which we can't lose, if I'm honest with you, just to keep that distance between us and to keep us up there," Toronto interim coach Chris Cummins said. ".... If we go there and we can get a point and we can build on top of that then I think that's important."

Cummins was unhappy with his team following a 3-2 loss to Columbus last Saturday that dropped Toronto to 2-4-2 on the road. The club allowed 19 goals in those eight games.

Toronto gave up the last two goals against the Crew in the final 15 minutes, allowing Columbus to overcome a late deficit.

"We have to rebound, simple as that," Cummins said. "... The same things keep happening. They didn't beat us, we threw the game away."

Midfielder Amado Guevara, who scored two goals against New England earlier this season, missed the team's CONCACAF Champions League match Wednesday with a rib injury. He is questionable for Saturday, while Toronto's Adrian Serioux could return from a knee injury.

Amadou Sanyang will be available for Toronto for the first time, as the Gambian midfielder turns 18 on Saturday.