2003 New England Revolution season

New England Revolution
2003 season
OwnerRobert Kraft (The Kraft Group)
Head coachSteve Nicol
StadiumGillette Stadium
Foxborough, Massachusetts
MLSConference: 2nd
Overall: 3rd
MLS Cup PlayoffsSemifinals
U.S. Open CupQuarterfinals
Champions CupRound of 16
Top goalscorerLeague: Pat Noonan (15g)
All: Pat Noonan (15g)
Highest home attendance33,652 (July 12 v. MetroStars)
Lowest home attendance8,594 (September 28 v. Columbus Crew
Average home league attendance14,641
Biggest win5–1 (August 30 v. Chicago Fire)
Biggest defeat4–1 (June 14 v. Colorado Rapids)

The 2003 New England Revolution season was the eighth season for the New England Revolution both as a club and in Major League Soccer (MLS). The club reached the playoffs after finishing second in the Eastern conference. The club was eliminated in the final of the 2002 MLS Cup. Additionally, they participated in the CONCACAF Champions Cup for the first time in their history, where they were eliminated in the round of 16 against Liga Deportiva Alajuelense. Additionally, they reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup.[1]

First team squad

Based on squad statistics retrieved from 2024 New England Revolution Media Guide (pg. 275)[2]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
20 FW  USA Taylor Twellman
11 FW  USA Pat Noonan
5 MF  USA Brian Kamler
9 FW  USA Joe-Max Moore
14 MF  USA Steve Ralston
13 MF/FW  USA Chris Brown
7 MF  URU José Cancela
6 DF  USA Jay Heaps
8 DF  USA Joe Franchino
13 FW  JAM Wolde Harris
21 MF  GRN Shalrie Joseph
33 FW  ARG Dario Fabbro
2 MF  USA Leo Cullen
No. Pos. Nation Player
7 MF  USA Daniel Hernández
10 MF  ARG Jorge Gabriel Vázquez
27 FW  USA Chris Bagley
24 GK  USA Adin Brown
12 DF  MLI Daouda Kanté
4 FW  MLI Ibrahim Kante
22 DF  USA Marshall Leonard
18 DF  USA Carlos Llamosa
16 MF  USA Jason Moore
3 DF  USA Rusty Pierce
1 GK  USA Matt Reis
6 GK  USA Kyle Singer
19 DF  USA Nick Downing
23 MF  USA Tony Frias

Transfers

Adapted from New England Revolution ClubHistory_Stats _Records.pdf [3]

Transfers In

New England Revolution – 2003 Transfers In
Date Name Fee Position Previous Club
January 3, 2003 Piotr Nowak Trade [1] MF Chicago Fire
January 17, 2003 Matt Reis Trade [2] GK LA Galaxy
January 17, 2003 Pat Noonan 2003 MLS SuperDraft FW Mid-Michigan Bucks
January 17, 2003 Dimelon Westfield 2003 MLS SuperDraft FW Young Harris Mountain Lions
January 17, 2003 Kyle Singer 2003 MLS SuperDraft GK Boston College Eagles men's soccer
January 28, 2003 Joe-Max Moore ??? FW Everton F.C.
April 11, 2003 Jason Moore Trade [3] MF Chicago Fire FC
May 21, 2003 Ibrahim Kante Signed to "Developmental Contract" FW ???
June 9, 2003 Jorge Vázquez Undisclosed MF Club Atlético Atlanta
July 23, 2003 José Cancela Signed as a "Discovery Player" MF Deportivo Saprissa
August 21, 2003 Darío Fabbro Trade [4] FW Kansas City Wizards
August 21, 2003 Chris Brown Trade [5] FW Kansas City Wizards
October 10, 2003 Chris Bagley Signed as a "Developmental Player" FW Charleston Battery

Transfers Out

New England Revolution – 2003 Transfers Out
Date Name Fee Position Destination Club
January 17, 2003 Álex Pineda Chacón Traded[6] MF LA Galaxy
January 22, 2003 Braeden Cloutier Waived MF Cleveland Force
February 10, 2003 Peter Nowak Retired [7] MF N/A
April 16, 2003 Nick Downing Loan DF Portland Timbers
April 16, 2003 Winston Griffiths Waived MF Portmore United F.C.
July 7, 2003 Daniel Hernandez Transfer (Undisclosed) MF Club Necaxa
August 8, 2003 Diego Serna Trade [8] FW LA Galaxy
August 21, 2003 Wolde Harris Trade[9] FW Kansas City Wizards
August 21, 2003 Jorge Vazquez Trade[10] MF Kansas City Wizards
November 25, 2003 Nick Downing Waived DF Charleston Battery
November 25, 2003 Tony Frias Waived MF ???
November 25, 2003 Ibrahim Kante Waived FW Baltimore Blast
1.^ On January 17, 2003, the Revolution acquired Matt Reis from the LA Galaxy in exchange for the rights to Alex Pineda Chacon and a second-round pick in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft. Additionally, the Revolution traded a fifth-round pick in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft to the MetroStars in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft.
2.^ On January 17, 2003, the Revolution acquired Matt Reis from the LA Galaxy in exchange for the rights to Alex Pineda Chacon and a second-round pick in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft.
3.^ On April 11, 2003, the Revolution acquired Jason Moore's rights from the Chicago Fire in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft.
4.^ On August 21, 2003, The Revolution acquired Dario Fabbro and Chris Brown from the Kansas city Wizards in exchange for Wolde Harris, Jorge Vazquez, and a conditional SuperDraft pick.
5.^ The Revolution received an "undisclosed" 2004 MLS SuperDraft pick as compensation for Nowak's retirement.
6^ On August 8, 2003, the Revolution traded Diego Serna to the LA Galaxy for two conditional MLS SuperDraft picks.

Honors

Adapted from 2024 New England Revolution Media Guide (pg. 326-328)[1]

New England Revolution – 2003 League Awards and Honors
Award Recipient(s) Winner / FInalist
MLS Rookie of the Year Pat Noonan Finalist
MLS Fair Play Award New England Revolution (Team) Winner
MLS Player of the Month Pat Noonan (October) Winner
MLS Player of the Week
  • Taylor Twellman (Week 7)
  • Brian Kamler (Week 8)
  • Chris Brown (Week 22)
  • Pat Noonan (Week 24, Week 30)
Winners
MLS All-Stars Taylor Twellman Winner
MLS Play of the Year Adin Brown Finalist
MLS Goal of the Year Joe Franchino Finalist
New England Revolution – 2003 Team Awards and Honors
Award Recipient(s) Winner / FInalist
Revolution Most Valuable Player Taylor Twellman Winner
Revolution Defender of the Year Adin Brown Winner
Revolution Scoring Champion Taylor Twellman (34 pts.; 15G, 4A) Winner
Revolution Humanitarian of the Year Brian Kamler Winner

Statistical Leaders

Adapted from 2024 New England Revolution Media Guide (pg. 329)[1]

New England Revolution – 2003 Statistical Leaders
Category Recipient(s) Figure
Games Played (4-way tie - Kamler, Heaps, Joseph, Noonan) 28
Games Started Jay Heaps, Brian Kamler 28
Minutes Played Jay Heaps 2,579
Goals Taylor Twellman 15
Assists (4-way tie - Noonan, Max-Moore, Cancela, Ralston) 7
Shots Taylor Twellman 90
Shots on Goal Taylor Twellman 47
Fouls Committed Shalrie Joseph 62

Competitions

Major League Soccer

Standings

Eastern Conference

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Chicago Fire 30 15 7 8 53 43 +10 53 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 New England Revolution 30 12 9 9 55 47 +8 45
3 MetroStars 30 11 10 9 40 40 0 42
4 D.C. United 30 10 11 9 38 36 +2 39
5 Columbus Crew 30 10 12 8 44 44 0 38
Source: MLS
Overall table
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Chicago Fire (S) 30 15 7 8 53 43 +10 53 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
2 San Jose Earthquakes (C) 30 14 7 9 45 35 +10 51
3 New England Revolution 30 12 9 9 55 47 +8 45
4 Kansas City Wizards 30 11 10 9 48 44 +4 42
5 MetroStars 30 11 10 9 40 40 0 42
6 Colorado Rapids 30 11 12 7 40 45 −5 40
7 D.C. United 30 10 11 9 38 36 +2 39
8 Columbus Crew 30 10 12 8 44 44 0 38
9 Los Angeles Galaxy 30 9 12 9 35 35 0 36
10 Dallas Burn 30 6 19 5 35 64 −29 23
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

2003 CONCACAF Champions' Cup

March 23, 2003 Round of 16 - Leg 1 New England Revolution 0–4 Liga Deportiva Alajuelense Alajuela, Costa Rica
Match Report[4]
Stadium: Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto
Note: The Revolution were the "home" team in this match; despite clearly not being at home.

Regular season

April 26, 2003 3 Dallas Burn 2–1
New England Revolution Southlake, Texas
Report Stadium: Dragon Stadium
Attendance: 8,543
Referee: Kevin Terry
July 23, 2003 17 Columbus Crew 1–1
(a.e.t.)
New England Revolution Columbus, Ohio
  • Jeff Matteo 33'
Report Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium
Attendance: 14,632
Referee: Brian Hall
July 27, 2003 18 New England Revolution 2–4
D.C. United Foxborough, Massachusetts
Report Stadium: Gillette Stadium
Attendance: 30,912
Referee: Marcel Yonan
Note: This match was part of a double-header ChampionsWorld Series match featuring FC Barcelona and Juventus FC.[7]
August 23, 2003 21 LA Galaxy 2–1
(a.e.t.)
New England Revolution Carson, California
Report Stadium: The Home Depot Center
Attendance: 20,377
Referee: Michael Kennedy
August 30, 2003 22 New England Revolution 5–1
Chicago Fire Foxborough, Massachusetts
Report Stadium: Gillette Stadium
Attendance: 10,846
Referee: Kevin Stott
September 13, 2003 24 MetroStars 1–2
New England Revolution East Rutherford, New Jersey
Report
Stadium: Giants Stadium
Attendance: 14,742
Referee: Abbey Okulaja
September 28, 2003 26 New England Revolution 3–2
(a.e.t.)
Columbus Crew Foxborough, Massachusetts
Report
Stadium: Gillette Stadium
Attendance: 8,594
Referee: Terry Vaughn
October 25, 2003 30 New England Revolution 5–2
MetroStars Foxborough, Massachusetts
Report
Stadium: Gillette Stadium
Attendance: 12,492
Referee: Brian Hall

MLS Cup playoffs

November 1, 2003 (Conference Semifinals), Leg 1 of 2 MetroStars 0–2
New England Revolution East Rutherford, New Jersey
18:00 EST Report Stadium: Giants Stadium
Attendance: 10,211
Referee: Terry Vaughn
November 9, 2003 (Conference Semifinals), Leg 2 of 2 New England Revolution 1–1

(3–1 agg.)
MetroStars Foxborough, Massachusetts
16:00 EST Report
Stadium: Gillette Stadium
Attendance: 14,823
Referee: Ali Saheli
Note: NE Revolution won on aggregate score over two legs
November 14, 2003 Eastern Conference Final Chicago Fire 1–0
New England Revolution Chicago, Illinois
Report Stadium: Soldier Field
Attendance: 14,610
Referee: Terry Vaughn

U.S. Open Cup

August 6, 2003 Fourth Round Rochester Raging Rhinos (A-League) 1–2 New England Revolution (MLS) Ludlow, Massachusetts
(Report)
Stadium: Lusitano Stadium
Attendance: --
Referee: Gus St. Silva (USA)
August 27, 2003 New England Revolution (MLS) 1–2 (a.e.t.) MetroStars (MLS) Piscataway, New Jersey
(Report)
Stadium: Yurcak Field
Attendance: 3,853
Referee: Roni Canales (USA)

References

  1. ^ a b c 2024 Media Guide. New England Revolution. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  2. ^ "2024 Media Guide" (PDF). Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  3. ^ "ClubHistory_Stats _Records.pdf" (PDF). newengland-mp7static.mlsdigital.net. August 31, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  4. ^ "New England (USA) vs. LD Alajuelense (CRC)" (PDF). Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  5. ^ Jones, Grahame L. (March 27, 2003). "Two From MLS Are Eliminated". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  6. ^ "March 26, 2003 – Alajuelense 1:3 Revolution; 1st CONCACAF Champions Cup win". Frank Dell'Apa. March 26, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  7. ^ "Game Recaps". July 27, 2003. Archived from the original on August 4, 2004. Retrieved April 23, 2025.