The 2005 New England Revolution season was the tenth season for the New England Revolution both as a club and in Major League Soccer (MLS). The club reached the playoffs after finishing first in the Eastern Conference (MLS). The club also reached the MLS Cup final, where they lost to the LA Galaxy. Additionally, they club participated in the U.S. Open Cup, where they were eliminated in the round of 16.
Overview
The Revolution's 2005 season would go down as the team's best in history through their first ten years of MLS play. The team set a club-record for wins (17) and also points (59).
Despite the pre-season retirement of club legend Joe-Max Moore, the team stormed out of the gate, starting the season with an 11 game unbeaten run, at that point the longest in the club's history.
For the second year in a row, a Revolution player would win rookie of the year, with 5th-overall Superdraft selection Michael Parkhurst taking the honors.
Several other Revolution players would win awards as well in 2005. Netting 17 goals, Taylor Twellman won the league's first-ever golden boot. He additionally won MLS Player of the week 3 times, was named player of the month for September, and was named MLS Best XI alongside Clint Dempsey and Shalrie Joseph. Six Revolution players were named to the MLS all-star game, the highest number in the club's history: Clint Dempsey, Shalrie Joseph, Pat Noonan, Michael Parkhurst, Matt Reis, Taylor Twellman. Reis was additionally a finalist for goalkeeper of the year. Twellman was also named MLS all-star game MVP.
In August, the Revolution opened play in the 2005 U.S. Open Cup, entering the competition in the fourth round against Chicago Fire FC at Lusitano Stadium in Ludlow, Massachusetts. The Revolution would lose the match 3-2 after extra time. The match, described as "suspenseful," featured red cards issued to Jay Heaps and Jesse Marsch in extra time. August also featured the first-ever match-up between the Revolution and expansion side Real Salt Lake, a match the Revolution went on to win 4-1.
The Revolution finished the regular season atop the Eastern Conference and were thus drawn against the 4th-seeded MetroStars In Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2005 MLS Cup Playoffs. The two-leg tie would go down as one of the greatest comebacks in MLS post-season history. After dropping the first match of the series 1-0, the Revolution would fall into a 59th-minute 0-2 aggregate hole in the home second leg, when Youri Djorkaeff scored on a break-away counter attack after Parkhurst misread a bounce on the snowy pitch. Behind goals from Jose Cancela and Pat Noonan in the 68th and 73rd minutes, the Revolution came back to tie the fixture on aggregate. They would ultimately win the match when substitute Khano Smith was able to win a foot race to a long-ball forward from Avery John, beat his defender, and curl a left-footed shot past MetroStars keeper Tony Meola.
On November 6, 2005, the Revolution faced off against Chicago Fire FC at Gillette Stadium in the Eastern Conference Finfal. It was the Revolution's fourth-consecutive Eastern Conference Championship in a row. In front of a crowd of 18,118, a 4th-minute goal from Clint Dempsey would prove enough to send the Revolution to their 2nd-ever appearance in the MLS Cup final. The match ended somewhat controversially, when an apparent stoppage time equalizer (90+2) from Gonzalo Segares was subsequently ruled offsides. The resulting protests to the match officials would see Andy Herron sent off, and a brawl between the teams erupted soon after the final whistle. The match served to kick off a rivalry between the two teams, as they would go on to meet in five consecutive MLS post seasons.
The 2005 season for the Revolution culminated in a matchup with the LA Galaxy in the 2005 MLS Cup on November 13, 2005 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The game was a rematch of the 2002 MLS Cup final, however the Revolution entered the 2005 final as favorites. The Galaxy had the upper hand for most of the match, with the Revolution defense struggling to contend with the speed of Landon Donovan, who saw his shot cleared off the line by Parkhurst in the 79th minute. The match ultimately entered extra time, and, unfortunately for the Revolution, the game's only goal came from Guillermo Ramírez in minute 105 + 2, giving the Galaxy their second title.
Squad
First team squad
The New England Revolution's active roster as of October 30, 2005.
Transfers In
New England Revolution – 2005 Transfers In Name Nationality Position Date Method Fee Prior Club Reference Michael Parkhurst DF January 14, 2005 2005 MLS SuperDraft N/A Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer James Riley DF January 14, 2005 Superdraft N/A Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer Tony Lochhead DF January 14, 2005 Superdraft N/A UC Santa Barbara Doug Warren GK January 20, 2005 Trade N/A D.C. United Jamie Holmes FW February 2, 2005 2005 MLS Supplemental Draft N/A Birmingham Southern College Ryan Latham FW February 2, 2005 Supplemental Draft N/A Southern Methodist University Easton Wilson MF February 2, 2005 Supplemental Draft N/A UConn Huskies men's soccer Jeff Larentowicz DF February 2, 2005 Supplemental Draft N/A Brown Bears men's soccer Cássio MF February 18, 2005 Undisclosed N/A Club Olimpia Connally Edozien FW March 30, 2005 Undisclosed N/A Cincinnati Excite Gilberto Flores MF July 9, 2005 Waiver Claim N/A MetroStars Daniel Hernandez MF August 5, 2005 Undisclosed N/A Club Necaxa Ricardo Phillips MF September 9, 2005 Loan N/A Tauro F.C.
Transfers Out
New England Revolution – 2005 Transfers Out Name Nationality Position Date Method Fee Next Club Reference Joe-Max Moore FW January 27, 2005 Retirement N/A N/A Félix Brillant FW June 28, 2005 Waived N/A Virginia Beach Mariners Cássio MF June 28, 2005 Waived N/A Ceará Sporting Club Kyle Singer GK September 15, 2005 Waived N/A N/A Connally Edozien FW November 16, 2005Waived N/A Rochester Raging Rhinos Gilberto Flores MF November 16, 2005Waived N/A N/A Jamie Holmes FW November 16, 2005Waived N/A Wilmington Hammerheads FC Ricardo Phillips MF November 16, 2005Waived N/A San Francisco F.C. Marcos Romaniero MF November 16, 2005Waived N/A N/A Luke Vercollone MF November 16, 2005Waived N/A Charleston Battery Easton Wilson DF November 16, 2005Waived N/A N/A
Squad Statistics Adapted from FBref on May 12, 2024. Player Nationality Position Age MP Starts Min 90s Gls Ast G+A G-PK PK PKatt Yellow Cards Red Cards Gls Ast G+A G-PK G+A-PK Michael Parkhurst DF 21 32 32 2,880 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jay Heaps DF, MF 28 31 31 2,790 31 1 4 5 1 0 0 7 0 0.03 0.13 0.16 0.03 0.16 Shalrie Joseph DF, MF 26 31 31 2,788 31 6 5 11 4 2 2 8 0 0.19 0.16 0.36 0.13 0.29 Matt Reis GK 29 31 31 2,784 30.9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Clint Dempsey FW, MF 21 26 26 2,319 25.8 10 5 15 10 0 0 7 0 0.39 0.19 0.58 0.39 0.58 Taylor Twellman FW 24 25 25 2,226 24.7 17 3 20 17 0 0 1 0 0.69 0.12 0.81 0.69 0.81 Marshall Leonard DF 24 27 25 1,923 21.4 1 2 3 1 0 0 5 0 0.05 0.09 0.14 0.05 0.14 Joe Franchino DF, MF 28 24 23 2,011 22.3 0 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0.09 0.09 0 0.09 José Cancela MF 28 25 22 1,643 18.3 2 2 4 2 0 0 0 0 0.11 0.11 0.22 0.11 0.22 Steve Ralston MF 30 21 21 1,857 20.6 1 3 4 1 0 0 1 0 0.05 0.15 0.19 0.05 0.19 Pat Noonan FW 24 21 21 1,843 20.5 8 5 13 8 0 0 4 0 0.39 0.24 0.63 0.39 0.63 Andy Dorman MF 22 30 19 1,960 21.8 2 4 6 2 0 0 4 0 0.09 0.18 0.28 0.09 0.28 Avery John DF 29 14 13 1,167 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 James Riley DF 22 23 12 1,294 14.4 1 3 4 1 0 0 3 0 0.07 0.21 0.28 0.07 0.28 Khano Smith FW, MF 23 23 8 928 10.3 3 1 4 3 0 0 4 0 0.29 0.1 0.39 0.29 0.39 Daniel Hernández DF, MF 28 7 7 557 6.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 Cássio Oliveira DF, MF 25 3 2 112 1.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Connally Edozien FW 26 9 1 220 2.4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ryan Latham FW 22 6 1 157 1.7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Doug Warren GK 23 2 1 96 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Luke Vercollone MF 22 3 0 38 0.4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ricardo Phillips FW, MF 30 4 0 34 0.4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jamie Holmes FW 21 1 0 20 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jeff Larentowicz DF, MF 21 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Annual Leaders
Adapted from 2024 Media Guide (pgs. 326–330)
New England Revolution – 2005 Statistical Leaders Category Name Figure Games played Michael Parkhurst 32 Games Started Michael Parkhurst 32 Goals Taylor Twellman 17 Assists Clint Dempsey 9 Minutes played Michael Parkhusrt 2,880 Shots Taylor Twellman 82 Shots on Target Taylor Twellman 51 Fouls Committed Shalrie Joseph 51 Fouls Suffered Clint Dempsey 71 Cautions Shalrie Joseph 8
Coaches, Management, and Staff
New England Revolution – 2005 Coaches and Staff Title Name Nationality Reference Investor / Operator Robert Kraft Investor / Operator Jonathan Kraft Director of Soccer Mike Burns General Manager Craig Tornberg President, Kraft Soccer Sunil Gulati Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Lou Imbriano Head Coach Steve Nicol Assistant Coach Paul Mariner Assistant Coach David Vanole
Standings
Eastern Conference
Overall standings
Results
Regular season
Attendances are adapted from 2024 New England Revolution Media Guide (pgs. 263–264)
MLS Cup Playoffs
2005 U.S. Open Cup
Honors
League Awards and Honors
New England Revolution – 2005 League Awards Award Name(s)Most Valuable Player Taylor Twellman (winner)MLS Golden Boot Taylor Twellman (17g, 7a)MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Matt Reis (finalist)MLS Coach of the Year Steve Nicol (Finalist)MLS Rookie of the Year Michael ParkhurstMLS "Best XI" Selections Clint Dempsey, Shalrie Joseph, Taylor TwellmanMLS Player of the Month Clint Dempsey (April), Taylor Twellman (September)MLS Player of the Week Clint Dempsey (Week 4), Pat Noonan (Week 13), Taylor Twellman (Week 16, Week 22, Week 24)MLS Allstar Selections Clint Dempsey, Shalrie Joseph, Pat Noonan, Michael Parkhurst, Matt Reis, Taylor TwellmanMLS Allstar Game MVP Taylor TwellmanMLS Goal of the Week Clint Dempsey (Week 5 vs. CHI), Taylor Twellman (Week 1 vs. SJ), Taylor Twellman (Week 24 vs. CLB)MLS Goal of the Year 2005 Clint Dempsey (Finalist)
Club Awards and Honors
New England Revolution – 2005 Team Awards Award Name(s)Revolution Most Valuable Player Shalrie JosephRevolution Defender of the Year Michael ParkhurstRevolution Humanitarian of the Year Matt ReisRevolution Golden Boot Taylor Twellman (16g, 7a)
References