Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com
The Jay Heaps coaching era in New England is officially underway.
Heaps was introduced as New England Revolution head coach at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday, taking over for the ousted Steve Nicol.
Heaps retired from playing for the Revolution in 2009 and was most recently a color analyst for the team's television broadcasts. Despite not having any prior coaching experience, he emerged from a list of candidates to replace the longest-tenured coach of a single team in league history. He'll be the second-youngest coach in MLS next to D.C. United's Ben Olsen.
"As we went through a comprehensive search and spoke with candidates with a variety of backgrounds and experiences, Jay stood out with his vision for the team, his desire to move the club into the future and for his positive attitude about impacting change," Revolution president Brian Bilello said in a statement on Tuesday. "Coupled with everything we already knew about him personally and his competitive traits we've always admired and respected, he emerged as our clear favorite and number one choice as our next head coach."
Video of Heaps' press conference and other notes from around the league are after the jump:
KELLER WINS SAVE OF THE YEAR
Kasey Keller has secured another postseason accolade.
After earning MLS Best XI and Goalkeeper of the Year honors, Keller won the league's Save of the Year award for the second straight season for his effort against San Jose in his final regular-season home game.
Keller came up with four stops on a single sequence to rob the Earthquakes and win the majority of voting fans' admiration (41 percent). He beat out two stops by Portland goalkeeper Troy Perkins and a save by New York Red Bulls midfielder Teemu Tainio to win the honor.
CHIVAS GM TALKS RELOCATION
Chivas USA is on the hunt for a new home and its own stadium, and general manager Jose Domene addressed the issue in an interview with MLSSoccer.com.
When asked about talks that have been had with representatives from Pomona and Santa Ana, Domene said: "We're still looking. We haven't signed anything with any city. We're happy at the Home Depot Center, where they treat us very well, but at the end of the day, it makes sense for us to have our own stadium. We're going to move to some place that makes sense for the club and Chivas USA. We're still searching and looking. We have had conversations with those cities, but not just those two."
CREW WRAP UP BEST RESERVE RECORD
There's no playoffs to crown an official champion of the MLS Reserve League, but the Columbus Crew finished the reserve season with the best record after topping D.C. United on Tuesday.
Columbus took advantage of an early Austin da Luz red card to hand D.C. a 3-1 defeat. Joseph Ngwenya gave United a lead after the club was reduced to 10 men, but non-roster player Walter Chevez, Emilio Renteria and Bernardo Anor strung together unanswered goals to account for the scoreline.
At 9-1-0, Columbus finished atop the East Division and was two points better than the West Division champion Seattle Sounders (8-1-1, 25 points) and five points clear of the Central/Mountain Division champion Chicago Fire (7-2-1, 22 points).
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How do you think Heaps will fare as head coach? Think Keller was a deserving winner? What city do you think would make a good home for Chivas USA? Do you think the Reserve League served a good purpose in its first year since being reinstated?
Share your thoughts below.
