1996 New England Revolution season

New England Revolution
1996 season
Owner	Robert Kraft (The Kraft Group)
Head coach	Frank Stapleton
Stadium	Foxboro Stadium; Foxborough, Massachusetts
MLS	Conference: 5th; Overall: 9th
MLS Cup Playoffs	Did not qualify
U.S. Open Cup	Did not enter
CONCACAF Champions' Cup	Did not qualify
Top goalscorer	League: Joe-Max Moore (11); All: Joe-Max Moore (11)
Highest home attendance	38,633 (Sep 21 vs. Columbus Crew)
Lowest home attendance	11,009 (Sep 12 vs. Tampa Bay Mutiny)
Average home league attendance	19,025
Biggest win	2 goals:; 6 times
Biggest defeat	5 goals:; SJ 6 – 1 NE (Aug. 11)
	1997 →

The 1996 New England Revolution season was the inaugural season for the New England Revolution both as a club and in Major League Soccer (MLS). The team finished last out of five teams in the Eastern Conference, missing the MLS Cup Playoffs. Following the team's last game of the season, head coach Frank Stapleton resigned on September 26, 1996. He was replaced by Thomas Rongen on November 5, 1996.^[1]

Revolution forward Joe-Max Moore was named MLS Player of the Week for Week 18, and Alexi Lalas and Wélton were both named All-Stars for the 1996 MLS All-Star Game.^[2]

Pre-season

Initial player allocations

As part of Major League Soccer's first season, teams were each allocated four marquee players before the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft. On October 17, 1995, MLS allocated defender Alexi Lalas and defender Mike Burns to the Revolution.^[1] Lalas was a United States national team regular who had played in the 1992 Summer Olympics^[3] and 1994 FIFA World Cup^[4] and was under contract with Padova in Italy's Serie A, while Burns had played alongside Lalas for the United States in the 1992 Olympics^[3] and was playing for Viborg FF in Denmark's Superliga at the time.

On February 5, 1996, MLS allocated American goalkeeper Jim St. Andre of the A-League's New York Centaurs and Italian forward Giuseppe Galderisi, Lalas' teammate at Padova, to the Revolution.^[1]

First head coach

On January 4, 1996, the team named Frank Stapleton the first head coach of the New England Revolution.^[1] Stapleton was an Irish international who had played for Arsenal, Manchester United, Ajax, Blackburn Rovers, and Bradford City among others.^[5]

Draft results

Inaugural player draft

On February 6 and 7, 1996, New England selected 16 players in the Inaugural Player Draft.^[1]

New England Revolution – 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft
Round	Overall	Name	Position	Previous Club
1	5	Iain Fraser	D	Sacramento Knights
2	15	Peter Woodring	M	Hawaii Tsunami
3	25	Bojan Vučković	F	Tampa Bay Terror
4	35	Marquis White	F	Club Destroyers
5	45	Ted Chronopoulos	D	Panionios
6	55	Yari Allnutt	F	Irapuato
7	65	Rob Ukrop	F	Richmond Kickers
8	75	Darren Sawatzky	M	Oregon Surge
9	85	Tom Lips	D	New York Fever
10	95	Richard Weiszmann	D	North Bay Breakers
11	105	John DeBrito	M	New York Fever
12	115	Jim Adams	GK	Cleveland Crunch
13	125	Geoff Aunger	M	Vancouver 86ers
14	135	Antonio Superbia	M	Jersey Dragons
15	145	Derk Droze	F	San Marcos
16	155	Jorge Olamendi	M	Los Angeles Salsa

College draft

On March 4, 1996, the Revolution selected Paul Keegan, Imad Baba, and Paulo Dos Santos in the College Draft.^[1]

New England Revolution – 1996 MLS College Draft
Round	Overall	Name	Position	Previous Club
1	6	Paul Keegan	F	Boston College Eagles
2	16	Imad Baba	M	Clemson Tigers
3	26	Paulo Dos Santos	M	Rhode Island Rams

Supplemental draft

Following the College Draft, the Revolution selected Beto Naveda, Wélton, and Zak Ibsen in the Supplemental Draft.^[1]

New England Revolution – 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft
Round	Overall	Name	Position	Previous Club
1	6	Beto Naveda	M	Boca Juniors
2	16	Wélton	F	America (RJ)
3	26	Zak Ibsen	D	Tampa Bay Terror

Competitions

Major League Soccer

Conference standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	SOW	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Tampa Bay Mutiny	32	19	1	12	66	51	+15	58	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	D.C. United	32	15	1	16	62	56	+6	46
3	NY/NJ MetroStars	32	12	3	17	45	47	−2	39
4	Columbus Crew	32	11	4	17	59	60	−1	37
5	New England Revolution	32	9	6	17	43	56	−13	33

Source: MLS

Overall standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	SOW	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Tampa Bay Mutiny (S)	32	19	1	12	66	51	+15	58
2	Los Angeles Galaxy	32	15	4	13	59	49	+10	49	CONCACAF Champions' Cup
3	D.C. United (C)	32	15	1	16	62	56	+6	46	CONCACAF Champions' Cup
4	Dallas Burn	32	12	5	15	50	48	+2	41
5	Kansas City Wiz	32	12	5	15	61	63	−2	41
6	NY/NJ MetroStars	32	12	3	17	45	47	−2	39
7	San Jose Clash	32	12	3	17	50	50	0	39
8	Columbus Crew	32	11	4	17	59	60	−1	37
9	New England Revolution	32	9	6	17	43	56	−13	33
10	Colorado Rapids	32	9	2	21	44	59	−15	29

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

April 13, 1996 1	Tampa Bay Mutiny	3–2	New England Revolution	Tampa, Florida
	Lassiter 25' (Pittman) McKinley 53' (Vásquez) Pittman 65' (Valderrama)	Report^[6]^[7]	Ukrop 20' (Lalas, Wélton), 71' (Woodring) St. Andre 89'	Stadium: Houlihan's Stadium Attendance: 26,473

April 20, 1996 2	New York/New Jersey MetroStars	0–1	New England Revolution	East Rutherford, New Jersey
		Report^[6]	Caricola 87' (o.g.)	Stadium: Giants Stadium Attendance: 46,826

April 27, 1996 3	New England Revolution	1–1 (SO) (3–2 p)	D.C. United	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Aunger 78' (pen.)	Report^[6]^[8]	Díaz Arce 69' (Kelderman, Williams)	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 32,864

May 4, 1996 4	New England Revolution	1–2	San Jose Clash	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Aunger 86' (pen.)	Report^[6]	Wynalda 23' (Iroha) Bravo 70' (Mella, Dayak)	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 16,334

May 11, 1996 5	Columbus Crew	3–2	New England Revolution	Columbus, Ohio
	McBride 48' (pen.), 89' (Clark) Marino 87'	Report^[6]	Wélton 18' (Keegan) Naveda 34' (Keegan, Ukrop)	Stadium: Ohio Stadium Attendance: 24,750

May 19, 1996 6	New England Revolution	2–0	New York/New Jersey MetroStars	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Naveda 9' Keegan 18' (Wélton)	Report^[6]		Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 20,131

May 25, 1996 7	New England Revolution	2–2 (SO) (1–0 p)	Colorado Rapids	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Naveda 47' Aunger 68' (pen.)	Report^[6]^[8]	Wegerle 76' (Sharpe, Bartlett) Harbor 88' (C. Henderson)	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 14,323

June 1, 1996 8	Kansas City Wiz	2–1	New England Revolution	Kansas City, Missouri
	Ekeme 30' Preki 80' (Uderitz) Johnston 89' (Preki)	Report^[6]^[9]	Naveda 10' Keegan 19' (Naveda, Wélton), 88' Aunger 74'	Stadium: Arrowhead Stadium Attendance: 17,808

June 6, 1996 9	New England Revolution	2–2 (SO) (2–3 p)	Los Angeles Galaxy	Foxborough, Massachusetts
7:30 PM EDT^[10]	Naveda 72' (Wélton) Burns 78'	Report^[6]^[8]	Jones 39' Semioli 86'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 20,236

June 15, 1996 10	New England Revolution	1–1 (SO) (2–1 p)	Kansas City Wiz	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Keegan 50' (Sawatzky)	Report^[6]^[8]^[11]	Preki 75'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 21,407 Referee: Paul Tamberino

June 23, 1996 11	New England Revolution	1–4	Dallas Burn	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Keegan 27' (Aunger)	Report^[6]	Lozzano 1' (Soñora) Farrer 48' Santel 60' (Álvarez) Haynes 89' (Soñora)	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 17,066

June 27, 1996 12	New England Revolution	1–1 (SO) (1–2 p)	Columbus Crew	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Wélton 77' (Sawatzky, Aunger)	Report^[6]^[8]	Marino 20' (Caligiuri)	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 15,209

June 30, 1996 13	D.C. United	3–1	New England Revolution	Washington, D.C.
	Rammel 1' Díaz Arce 46' (Harkes) Harkes 89'	Report^[6]	Naveda 38' (St. Andre)	Stadium: Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Attendance: 19,355

July 4, 1996 14	Los Angeles Galaxy	0–1	New England Revolution	Pasadena, California
		Report^[6]	Kerr Jr. 24' (Sawatzky, Wélton)	Stadium: Rose Bowl Attendance: 62,703

July 6, 1996 15	San Jose Clash	1–1 (SO) (3–4 p)	New England Revolution	San Jose, California
	Wynalda 60' (Doyle, Iroha)	Report^[6]^[8]	Kerr Jr. 66' (Woodring)	Stadium: Spartan Stadium Attendance: 18,813

July 11, 1996 16	Columbus Crew	1–1 (SO) (0–3 p)	New England Revolution	Columbus, Ohio
	Caligiuri 25'	Report^[6]^[8]	Chronopoulos 78' (Woodring)	Stadium: Ohio Stadium Attendance: 13,751

July 20, 1996 17	New England Revolution	2–0	D.C. United	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Sawatzky 54' (Kerr Jr.), 77' (Keegan)	Report^[6]		Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 18,347

July 24, 1996 18	Colorado Rapids	2–0	New England Revolution	Denver, Colorado
	Benedetti 59' (Harbor) Bartlett 73' (C. Henderson)	Report^[6]		Stadium: Mile High Stadium Attendance: 6,236

July 27, 1996 19	Kansas City Wiz	4–2	New England Revolution	Kansas City, Missouri
	Takawira 12' (Preki, Sorber), 35' (Sorber, Preki) Chung 44' (Klopas) Preki 49' (Takawira)	Report^[6]	Woodring 15' (Wélton) Sawatzky 41'	Stadium: Arrowhead Stadium Attendance: 11,555

July 31, 1996 20	New England Revolution	2–0	San Jose Clash	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Moore 48' (Naveda), 67' (Naveda, DeBrito)	Report^[6]		Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 12,871

August 3, 1996 21	New England Revolution	1–1 (SO) (3–2 p)	New York/New Jersey MetroStars	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Moore 42' (DeBrito, Naveda)	Report^[6]^[8]	Donadoni 54'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 20,162

August 8, 1996 22	Los Angeles Galaxy	1–0	New England Revolution	Pasadena, California
12:00 AM EDT^[10]	Hurtado 80' (Jones)	Report^[6]		Stadium: Rose Bowl Attendance: 10,251

August 11, 1996 23	San Jose Clash	6–1	New England Revolution	San Jose, California
	Dayak 31' (Doyle), 70' (Wynalda, Doyle) Espinoza 48' (Rodas), 84' (Wynalda) Doyle 62' (Lewis) Rodas 81'	Report^[6]	Moore 8' (Naveda, Wylie)	Stadium: Spartan Stadium Attendance: 12,099

August 14, 1996 24	New York/New Jersey MetroStars	4–0	New England Revolution	East Rutherford, New Jersey
	Wood 8' (Donadoni) Johnson 17', 73' (de Ávila) de Ávila 81' (Ramos)	Report^[6]		Stadium: Giants Stadium Attendance: 20,711

August 16, 1996 25	New England Revolution	2–0	Colorado Rapids	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Moore 28' (Naveda), 89' (Naveda)	Report^[6]		Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 14,103

August 21, 1996 26	New England Revolution	4–2	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Naveda 23' Lalas 44' (DeBrito, Wylie) Moore 79' (pen.) Wélton 88' (Burns)	Report^[6]	Galderisi 18' Vásquez 51'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 18,764

August 31, 1996 27	Tampa Bay Mutiny	3–1	New England Revolution	Tampa, Florida
	Lassiter 26' (Galderisi) Ralston 46' Hunjak 58' (Galderisi)	Report^[6]	Baba 73'	Stadium: Houlihan's Stadium Attendance: 8,128

September 4, 1996 28	New England Revolution	2–1	Dallas Burn	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Watson 35' (Sawatzky, Moore) Moore 78' (pen.)	Report^[6]	Eck 74' (Kreis, Elliott)	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 12,933

September 7, 1996 29	Dallas Burn	0–2	New England Revolution	Dallas, Texas
		Report^[6]	Sawatzky 19' (DeBrito, Baba) Baba 43' (Aunger, Fraser)	Stadium: Cotton Bowl Attendance: 18,582

September 12, 1996 30	New England Revolution	1–2	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Foxborough, Massachusetts
	Moore 61' (Baba, Sawatzky)	Report^[6]	Lassiter 25' (pen.) Vásquez 74'	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 11,009

September 17, 1996 31	D.C. United	3–2	New England Revolution	Washington, D.C.
	Pope 58' (Etcheverry) Díaz Arce 62' (Moreno), 89' (Moreno, Etcheverry)	Report^[6]	Moore 39' (pen.), 78'	Stadium: Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Attendance: 7,360

September 21, 1996 32	New England Revolution	0–1	Columbus Crew	Foxborough, Massachusetts
		Report^[6]	McBride 37' (Maisonneuve)	Stadium: Foxboro Stadium Attendance: 38,633

Honors

Team Most Valuable Player: Joe-Max Moore^[2]
Team Scoring Champion: Joe-Max Moore (23 pts, 11 G, 1 A)^[2]
Team Defender of the Year: Francis Okaroh^[2]
MLS All-Star Game Selections: Alexi Lalas, Wélton^[2]
MLS Player of the Week: Joe-Max Moore (Week 18)^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "2018 New England Revolution Media Guide – Coach and Player Registry" (PDF). New England Revolution. pp. 32–34. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "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.
^ ^a ^b "Olympic Football Tournament Barcelona 1992 – Teams – USA – Squad List". FIFA. Archived from the original on November 7, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
^ "1994 FIFA World Cup USA – Teams – USA – Players". FIFA. Archived from the original on June 1, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
^ "Home – Teams – Ireland – Frank Stapleton". National-Football-Teams. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af "2018 New England Revolution Media Guide – Year by Year History" (PDF). New England Revolution. pp. 153, 155–156. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
^ Carlisle, Jeff. Soccer's Most Wanted II: The Top 10 Book of More Glorious Goals, Superb Saves, and Fantastic Free-Kicks (1st ed.). Potomac Books, Inc. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-59797-193-5.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "USA 1996". RSSSF. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
^ "NE VS. KC 6/1/96". Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Schedule". Los Angeles Galaxy. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
^ "KC VS. NE 6/15/96". Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved June 13, 2018.

[coachandplayerregistry-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "2018 New England Revolution Media Guide – Coach and Player Registry" (PDF). New England Revolution. pp. 32–34. Retrieved June 5, 2018.

[statsandrecords-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "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.

[olympics-3] "Olympic Football Tournament Barcelona 1992 – Teams – USA – Squad List". FIFA. Archived from the original on November 7, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2018.

[4] "1994 FIFA World Cup USA – Teams – USA – Players". FIFA. Archived from the original on June 1, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018.

[5] "Home – Teams – Ireland – Frank Stapleton". National-Football-Teams. Retrieved June 5, 2018.

[MediaGuide-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af "2018 New England Revolution Media Guide – Year by Year History" (PDF). New England Revolution. pp. 153, 155–156. Retrieved June 1, 2018.

[7] Carlisle, Jeff. Soccer's Most Wanted II: The Top 10 Book of More Glorious Goals, Superb Saves, and Fantastic Free-Kicks (1st ed.). Potomac Books, Inc. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-59797-193-5.

[RSSSF_1996-8] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "USA 1996". RSSSF. Retrieved June 4, 2018.

[9] "NE VS. KC 6/1/96". Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved June 13, 2018.

[LA_Galaxy_Schedule-10] "Schedule". Los Angeles Galaxy. Retrieved June 4, 2018.

[11] "KC VS. NE 6/15/96". Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved June 13, 2018.

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v t e 1996 MLS season by team
College Draft Supplemental Draft First match All-Star Game Playoffs MLS Cup Transfers
Eastern	Columbus Crew D.C. United New England Revolution New York/New Jersey MetroStars Tampa Bay Mutiny
Western	Colorado Rapids Dallas Burn Kansas City Wiz Los Angeles Galaxy San Jose Clash