July 4, 1996 – LA Galaxy 0:1 Revolution at Rose Bowl (Att.: 62,703)

The New England Revolution won their first Independence Day match as former University of Vermont star Jim St. Andre had a spectacular performance in goal and the Revolution held off the Galaxy after Alexi Lalas’ 80^th-minute red card, following an altercation with a ball boy. John Kerr’s sliding finish just ahead of former Williams College defender Dan Calichman made the difference.

If team nicknames related to Independence Day, the Revolution might have established a stronger connection to the Federal holiday. Instead, the Revolution have mostly been the away team on the anniversary of the events of July 4, 1776. The Revolution have played twice at home (2-0-0) and have a 3W-7L-4D away record on Independence Day. Taylor Twellman (3 goals) is the team’s all-time leading scorer – the Revolution have been outscored, 27-24, on the Fourth of July

Scheduling games on the Fourth usually attracts significant crowds, partly because of fireworks displays (the Colorado Rapids’ largest attendances regularly coincided with Fourth celebrations and a concert involving Los Tigres Del Norte). Of the 16 Revolution games played on this day, only four were attended by less than 20,000: 2000 visit to Miami (6,239), 2002 home match versus Columbus (10,903), 2011 at Real Salt Lake (16,139) and 2015 visit to FC Dallas (19,140).

TODAY IN NEW ENGLAND SOCCER HISTORY