FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution officially opens its 2013 preparations this week as the team commences preseason training with entrance physicals on Thursday, January 17, at Gillette Stadium.

Under second-year coach Jay Heaps, the Revs will train several days in Foxborough this weekend, before departing on Monday, Jan. 21, for a 10-day training trip in Casa Grande, Ariz.

Also this week, the Revolution will draft several players in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft in Indianapolis. The Revs currently hold four selections – including the fourth overall pick – in Thursday’s draft, which begins at 12 p.m. ET. The entirety of the draft will be streamed globally online on ESPN3, ESPNFC, MLSSoccer.com, YouTube and revolutionsoccer.net.

TEAM’S TOP TWEETS

TEAM NOTES

2013 MLS SuperDraft on Thursday

The Revolution currently holds four selections in Thursday’s 2013 MLS SuperDraft – in Indianapolis, Ind. – including the fourth overall choice in the first round … the Revs also hold three second-round picks: their own (the 23rd overall pick), the 21st overall pick from Chivas USA (from an Aug. 1 trade for Shalrie Joseph) and the 36th overall pick from D.C. United (from a Feb. 18, 2011 trade for the rights to Fred) … a complete MLS draft list can be found HERE.

SuperDraft goes global Thursday

Thursday’s 2013 MLS SuperDraft – which begins at 12 p.m. ET – will be streamed online globally on ESPN3, ESPNFC, MLSSoccer.com and YouTube, as well as revolutionsoccer.net … the first overall selection will be aired live on ESPN’s SportsCenter at noon ET, followed by an immediate first-ever global streaming of the remaining selections … more information, including how to watch the Revolution’s selections, is availableHERE.

Supplemental Draft on Tuesday, Jan. 22

On Tuesday, Jan. 22, MLS will conduct the annual Supplemental Draft at 2 p.m. via conference call … the will be four rounds of picks, with New England holding four selections – the fourth pick in each round: picks No. 4, No. 23, No. 42 and No. 61 overall … teams can select players from the pool of draft-eligible players who were not selected in Thursday’s SuperDraft in Indianapolis.

2013 Preseason plans

The Revolution will open its 2013 training camp this Thursday, Jan. 17, at Gillette Stadium … the team’s five-and-a-half week camp will include two extended trips to Arizona, and six games against MLS teams … a complete schedule can be found HERE.

First Kick Plans on sale Tuesday

The Revolution’s popular First Kick Plans will go on sale to the public this tomorrow – Tuesday, Jan. 15 – and include tickets to the highly-anticipated 2013 home opener on Saturday, March 23 against Sporting Kansas City … fans have a choice of four- or six-game First Kick Plans and both plans include a limited-edition Revolution long-sleeve t-shirt … four-game plans start at $90 for lower-bowl seating, while six-game plans start at $111 … first Kick Plans are also now available in the supporters-only section of Gillette Stadium – The Fort – and are $86 for a four-game plan and $105 for a six-game plan.

Bengtson called in to Honduras National Team

Forward Jerry Bengtson has been called in to the Honduras national team camp ahead of its Copa Centroamericana matches and its 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifier against the United States … Copa Centroamericana will serve as Honduras’ qualification pathway to the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the team will play up to four matches, beginning with El Salvador on January 18 and Panama on January 22 in San Jose, Costa Rica … Bengtson will remain with Honduras following Copa Centroamericana for the team’s World Cup Qualifier against the United States on Wednesday, Feb. 6, at Estadio Olimpico in San Pedro Sula, Honduras … he will join the Revs immediately following that match before the team heads to Tucson.

Heaps Prepares for Round Two

Jay Heaps now begins his second season as head coach of the Revolution after improving upon the team’s 2011 win (5) and point (28) totals in his first campaign at the helm … Heaps earned his first career win on March 24, 2012, against Portland in the Revs’ home opener and guided the team to a 7-4-6 record in Foxborough … the Revs secured two wins on the road in 2012, doubling the 2011 win total away from home (1).

Who’s returning

Eighteen (18) players return from the 2012 squad, including veteran goalkeepers Matt Reis and Bobby Shuttleworth … six players who were primarily defenders return: Kevin Alston, Darrius Barnes, Stephen McCarthy, Tyler Polak, A.J. Soares and Chris Tierney … six midfielders return: Ryan Guy, Lee Nguyen, Sainey Nyassi, Kelyn Rowe, Clyde Simms and Juan Toja … four forwards also return: Jerry Bengtson, Diego Fagundez, Dimitry Imbongo and Saer Sene.

Who’s not back

Eight (8) players are no longer with the club following the conclusion of the 2012 season … Benny Feilhaber, who’s option was not picked up, was traded to Sporting KC for allocation money and Sporting KC’s natural first-round pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft and its natural second-round pick in the 2015 SuperDraft … Blake Brettschneider, Flo Lechner, Alec Purdie and Michael Roach were waived at the conclusion of the season … the club declined to exercise the contract options on Fernando Cardenas, Feilhaber, Blair Gavin and Tim Murray.… Gavin and Murray were available to other teams in the Re-Entry Process, but were not selected.

New faces now, more on the way

Ahead of the 2013 season, the Revolution have already added four players – including a league-high three signings from outside the league – to their roster … with the signings of French midfielder Kalifa Cisse, Welsh midfielder Andy Dorman and Portuguese defender Jose Goncalves – as well as Homegrown midfielder Scott Caldwell (Braintree, Mass.) – the Revs had brought in more talent from outside the league than any other team in MLS to date … as of today, the Revs’ roster stands at 22 players with seven of the team’s international roster spots used.

2013 MLS schedule released

Major League Soccer released the 2013 schedule last Wednesday … following a bye in Week 1, the Revs will open the 2013 slate at Chicago on March 9, in a game that will be televised nationally by NBC Sports Network … the Revs will open their 17-game home slate at Gillette Stadium against Sporting Kansas City – a change of opponent from a previous announcement – on March 23 … five of the team’s first eight matches will be played away from home, with the team drawing a pair of bye weeks in the first six weeks of the year (Week 1, Week 6) … additionally, between April 27 and June 8, six of the team’s eight games will be played at Gillette Stadium … a complete schedule can be found HERE.

March 16 kickoff at Philly set

The Revolution will kick off against Philadelphia on Saturday, March 16, at PPL Park at 5 p.m., as part of MLS’ “Rivalry Week” … the match was originally announced with a TBA kickoff time.

Jersey number updates

Four new Revolution signings have been issued numbers, while two members of the 2012 squad have changed numbers:

• Scott Caldwell will wear #6
• Kalifa Cisse will wear #4
• Andy Dorman will wear #12
• Jose Goncalves will wear #23
• Stephen McCarthy has switched from #26 to #15 in honor of his late friend, and former Columbus Crew player, Kirk Urso … more insight from McCarthy on the sentimental number change is available HERE.
• Bobby Shuttleworth has switched from #34 to #22

Desert Diamond Cup tickets on sale

Tickets for the 2013 FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup are on sale … for the second year in a row, the Revs will participate in the February tournament to wrap up their preseason training … the New York Red Bulls and Real Salt Lake – both teams competed in the 2012 tournament – and Seattle Sounders FC will also join the Revs in Tucson for the tournament … the round-robin group games will be played on Wednesday, Feb. 13, Saturday, Feb. 16 and Wednesday, Feb. 20, before the championship (which will be televised by NBC Sports Network) and consolation games are played on Saturday, Feb. 23 … tickets are available for purchase by clicking HERE.

2013 season tickets

2013 season tickets are now on sale … a special video including a list of pricing, all the benefits of becoming a season-ticket holder, and more, can be found HERE … the Revs finished the 2012 home schedule on a five-game unbeaten streak (2-0-3) and averaged 24,949 fans in its last home two games of the season.

YOUTH UPDATE
Spring schedule

All three of the Revolution’s youth teams will resume play on Saturday, March 2, at Gillette Stadium. The U18s and U16s will take on FC Westchester, while the U14s are scheduled to play Oakwood SC … regular training begins back up this week, with sessions scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

Season to-date records

Amid their winter hiatus, the Under-18s are 8-2-0 (24 pts.) overall and rank second in the Northeast Division of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s East Conference based on points per game … the Under-16s hold a 4-2-4 record (16 pts.) and are currently in fourth place in the Division … the Under-14s enter the break at 4-2-0 (12 pts.), which is good for sixth in U.S. Club Soccer’s Northeast Pre-Academy League.