Shake-up has Earthquakes rolling

FOXBOROUGH -The Revolution may have faced the San Jose Earthquakes once already this season, but tonight they may feel like they are playing a different team.

On May 17, the Revolution defeated the Earthquakes, 2-0, for the first time since 2000. The Earthquakes would eventually struggle with an eight-game winless streak that ended two weeks ago.

Since then, the Earthquakes are riding a five-game unbeaten streak into tonight's match at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., after acquiring several new players, including midfielder Francisco Lima and forwards Arturo Alvarez, Darren Huckerby, and Scott Sealy. With the additions, Revolution midfielder Steve Ralston said he expects San Jose to be more aggressive.

"They're a lot more confident now than they were when we played them earlier," Ralston said. "They've got a couple of new faces that are making a big difference on their team."

But even with the additions, San Jose is struggling to score. The Earthquakes are the only MLS team averaging less than a goal a game. Huckerby has two goals in his three games with San Jose - tied with two other players for second most on the team.

The Revolution will be looking to get back into a winning frame of mind after losing back-to-back games to the Chicago Fire and D.C. United. Many of the Revolution's starters did not make the trip to Washington for the US Open Cup semifinal Tuesday. Revolution coach Steve Nicol said the break was the best chance for a few players to get a day off.

"Our schedule is so crazy," said Ralston, who did not make the trip to Washington. "It's impossible for us to play every single game and a lot of guys are just physically exhausted. It just kind of made sense to get a little bit of a rest. It just happened to be the only time that we could really do it was when we had the [United] game."

This season, tournaments have ballooned the Revolution's schedule. In addition to three US Open Cup games, the Revolution played five games in winning the SuperLiga title. And on Aug. 26, the CONCACAF Champions League play begins.

"In my entire career, this is the most games on the schedule and all of this is new to us," Ralston said.

The Revolution could face more challenges. They will be without rookie forward Kheli Dube for at least six weeks because of a groin strain. The Revolution are awaiting the results of an MRI to determine the extent of the injury Dube suffered a couple of weeks ago.

Dube made his MLS debut and scored his first goal against San Jose in May. Forward Kenny Mansally is listed as doubtful for tonight's match because of an ankle sprain.

With Taylor Twellman working his way back into the lineup, the loss of Dube may be easier for the Revolution to handle.

After tonight's match, the Revolution will welcome back defender Michael Parkhurst, who has been with the US Olympic team since the end of July. The US was eliminated by Nigeria, 2-1, Wednesday. Parkhurst is expected to be back with the team for Wednesday's match against D.C. United at Gillette Stadium.

While Parkhurst has been away, Jeff Larentowicz has dropped back to fill the spot and said he is looking forward to Parkhurst's return.

"It'll be good to have Mike back at this point," Larentowicz said. "We got through SuperLiga without him, and I think we proved a lot, but league games are different. He is a quiet leader back there."

Yesterday, the Revolution announced they received allocation money from Toronto FC to drop from No. 2 to No. 13 in the 2008 allocation table. The Revolution were in position for the deal after trading up with the Columbus Crew Aug. 5 in exchange for forward Pat Noonan.

Monique Walker can be reached at mwalker@globe.com