ESPN

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Just 12 days after the tragic events at the Boston Marathon critically injured his father-in-law, New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis had some good news to share.

"His latest [condition] is that he's been taken off critical and he's moved down to serious condition," Reis said. "He's doing well. He doesn't have a breathing tube in so he's starting to talk and communicate, but we have a long, long road to recovery."

John Odom was injured in the first of two explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15. Reis was originally with Odom but estimated that about two minutes before the first bomb went off, he and his son moved closer to the finish line to watch his wife, Nicole, complete the race.

Nicole Reis was running the Boston Marathon for the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation.

Odom's wound went from the outside of his left leg through his left leg and into his right leg, according to Reis. Odom has had some infections in his body but they have been treated with antibiotics.

The upgrade in condition is especially welcome, as Odom could have just as easily gone the other way, according to Reis.

Odom has had "eight or nine" surgeries, including one on Saturday, Reis said.

"The last surgery, just today, the doctor went in there and saw that were wasn't any more tissue problems so they're very happy about that moving forward," Reis said.

After seeing where the explosion was, Reis knew it was around the area his wife's parents were standing. He secured his son with his brother-in-law before heading toward his relatives. He found his mother-in-law, Karen, crouched over her husband, with a pair of pants -- originally meant for Nicole when she finished -- wrapped around his leg. Matt used his belt and wrapped it around Odom's leg like a tourniquet and took off his jacket to apply pressure to the wound.

Reis estimated that it took about 20 minutes from when the blast happened to the time Odom arrived at the hospital.

The goalkeeper said that soccer has been on the backburner since the Marathon and said that his family hasn't considered the suspects' motives.

"Any reason is not a good enough reason for us," Reis said. "We were there in support of my wife and in support of an event that's amazing here in this city."

Matt Reis is 1-0-1 this season for the Revolution and has yet to allow a goal in two shutout performances entering Saturday night's game against the Union.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Matt Reis rarely struggles to find the right words in front of an audience.

As the Revolution's longest-tenured player, the veteran goalkeeper often takes a light-hearted approach when talking to fans and media alike, infusing his witty sense of humor whenever possible.

But on Wednesday, it was an entirely different story.

Less than 48 hours after his father-in-law, John Odom, was critically injured in the Boston Marathon bombings, a somber and serious Reis spoke candidly about the situation with the local media.

"He's still in critical condition," Reis said of his father-in-law. "He was alert this morning, but he's been through three surgeries now in the last 40 hours or so. He hasn't really stabilized yet, and we're still hoping, but he is progressing a little bit. We're still not sure if he's out of the woods yet. We still don't know if he's going to make it so that's definitely the hardest (part)."

Marathon Monday was supposed to be a joyous event for Reis and his wife, Nicole, who was running it for the first time. She was part of a team of runners that was participating in the historic race on behalf of the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation.

It was a seasonably cool day in Boston -- a picture-perfect spring day by most standards. At around 2:45 p.m., Reis and five other family members were getting ready to take pictures of Nicole, who was about to complete her first Boston Marathon. They were stationed about 50 yards in front of the finish line.

But at the last moment, most of the group decided to move closer to the finish line, to get a better vantage point. Reis, with his 6-year-old son Jacob sitting on his shoulders, joined them. John Odom stayed behind.

A minute later, an explosion rocked the crowd of onlookers. And Reis' father-in-law was right near it.

"It was like a cannon going off," Reis said. "At first, I thought that it was part of the race, but it wasn't. Looking back to where it'd gone off, you could tell that's right where we were."

But instead of running away, Reis sprinted toward the danger.

"It was all a complete reaction," Reis said. "I handed (Jacob) off to my brother- in-law. I knew that (the blast) was right back where we (just) were, so I wanted to try and get back in there and help."

A rush of first responders converged upon the scene as well, and helped the wounded to safety. One of them was Odom, who was brought to a nearby hospital.

Since news spread that Reis' father-in-law was among the injured, the Revolution goalkeeper has received thousands of well-wishes and words of comfort from teammates, fans and the national soccer community.

He's thankful for all the support, and he acknowledged that his teammates have helped him begin the healing process. Although he didn't participate in Wednesday's training session, just being able to watch his teammates practice must have felt like a welcome distraction.

"You miss them and you miss being around the guys," Reis said as his teammates scrimmaged out on the practice field. "I just wanted to let them know that all the love and the prayers and the special thoughts that they've been sending to me haven't gone unnoticed."

The coming days and weeks will be a struggle for Reis and the rest of his family. There will be more hospital visits, more time to reflect on what happened, why it happened, and how it could've happened to someone so close to him.

"We're trying to do the best we can," Reis said. "We've just been through a roller coaster of emotions. We've been happy and sad and angry and pretty much everything (else). We're trying to be strong for each other, strong for John and (we're) trying to give him as much as he needs help to fight this."

The words aren't easy for Reis right now. They may not be for a while.

"It's amazing how things change just in an instant," Reis said. "It has been chaotic."

Ninth place wasn’t the finish Jay Heaps envisioned when he took over the Revolution’s head coaching reins last autumn. No question.

But the 2012 season wasn’t a complete bust. Not only did the Revolution improve in the goals scored (39), goals allowed (44) and home record (7-4-6), but they nearly doubled their win total (9) from 2011.

Yes, the Revolution regained a considerable measure of respectability as a result. But, there’s still
plenty more to accomplish before the club becomes a contender again.

With that idea in mind, we’ll be looking at each position and examining which areas need to be addressed during the winter.

In the first of a four-part series, we’ll take a look at the team’s goalkeepers: Tim Murray, Matt Reis and Bobby Shuttleworth.

Overview: For the first time in nearly a decade, the Revolution found themselves with a bona fide goalkeeper controversy on their hands in 2012.

The season started with Reis as the firm starter, and he certainly played like one in the first half of the season. Through 16 games, the veteran keeper posted three shutouts and stopped 50 shots, bringing the club within two games of.500. But after a pair of shaky performances at Toronto (June 23) and vs. Seattle (June 30), Heaps decided to make a change.

Enter Shuttleworth. Even though the fourth-year keeper only saw action when injuries forced Reis to the sidelines, Heaps believed that it was time to give Shuttleworth a shot, regardless of Reis’ health. On July 8, the 25-year-old keeper stepped in and made three saves en route to a 2-0 win, while Reis watched from the bench. However, Reis was handed back the starting job two games later, and news only got worse for Shuttleworth, who suffered a sprained left knee in late July.

Then, for the final five games, Heaps went back to Shuttleworth, who closed out the season with back-to-back shutouts and finished 2012 with a 0.71 GAA -- more than half of Reis’ 1.44 GAA.

Meanwhile, third-string keeper Tim Murray was once again limited to reserve league action. He went 0-2-1 with a 2.33 GAA in three appearances. Even though he was elevated to second-string keeper in the wake of Shuttleworth’s mid-season injury, he has yet to make his first-team debut.

Outlook: After serving as the backup for three years, Shuttleworth asserted himself in 2012 and showed why he’s capable of taking over between the sticks.

Prior to the season, Shuttleworth seemed especially hesitant inside his box, and failed to provide much of a vocal presence. But in 2012, he made a considerable leap forward -- one large enough to give his head coach the confidence to hand him the reins, even with a healthy Reis at his disposal.

While that’s good for Shuttleworth, it may also spell the end of the road for Reis as a member of the Revolution. In an ideal world, Heaps would retain both keepers and allow Shuttleworth more seasoning with Reis serving as a safety net. But with the club unlikely to offer Reis an extension, it doesn’t look promising that both will be back in 2013. Meanwhile, Murray may be back given his price tag, and could compete for the second-string spot next season. Then again, it’s entirely possible that the front office may search for a veteran keeper to help Shuttleworth along in his development.

Bottom line: It may be too early to say who’ll start between the sticks in 2013, but all signs point to Shuttleworth. Granted, Reis remains one of the league’s best keepers. However, the mid-summer trade of Shalrie Joseph has shown that Heaps isn’t afraid to part ways with a proven veteran. That said, chances are that Reis walks during the offseason, while Murray stays to compete for the second-string spot should the team bring in another candidate during the offseason.

On Friday night, the Revolution (3-6-4, 13 pts.) will seek a way to snap their three-game losing streak against a New York Red Bulls (4-2-7, 19 pts.) squad that has gone winless in its last six league matches.

The nationally-televised tilt will be the first of the season between the long-time I-95 rivals. Last season, the teams split their two-game series, with each club securing a home win in the process. On May 29, 2010, the Revs captured a 3-2 win at Gillette Stadium, while New York avenged the loss months later when they claimed a 2-0 win on October 21, 2010 at Red Bull Arena.

Coming into Red Bull Arena, the Revs will attempt to bounce back from their 1-0 loss to FC Dallas last weekend in Frisco, Texas. In a game that saw the Revs midfield melt in the oppressive 97 degree Texas heat, Dallas dictated the game from start to finish and peppered the New England net with seven shots on frame. Matt Reis made a pair of spectacular saves to keep it close, but with few offensive threats on the other end of the field, the Revs walked off the Pizza Hut Pitch without points for the third consecutive game.

Meanwhile, the talent-rich Red Bulls, a preseason favorite to win the MLS Cup, have stumbled badly in recent weeks after starting the season with a 4-1-2 record, thanks in large part to injuries, national team call-ups, and an anemic attack. In last week’s matchup against Columbus, it appeared that New York’s first victory in over a month had arrived as final minutes fell off the clock. But, rookie Crew defender Rich Balchan netted the equalizer in stoppage time to steal a road point for the Crew in the 1-1 draw at Red Bull Arena.

Although the second-place Red Bulls are four spots and six points clear of the Revs in the Eastern Conference standings, the MLS originals are very much alike at the moment. Both teams are win-starved and struggling and both will be eyeing tomorrow’s match as a chance to turn around their respective seasons.

In order for the Revs steal points from their vulnerable foe and stake their first road victory of the season on Friday night, they’ll have to do the following:

Forget the 4-5-1 formation. It’s proven to be a failure, through and through. Rajko Lekic has been lacking service since he signed with the Revs, and it’s clear that he needs a strike partner to find more opportunities in the box, especially with midfielder Benny Feilhaber nursing a sprained ankle. Whether it’s Zack Schilawski, Kheli Dube, or Alan Koger, the Danish striker needs another teammate up top to threaten opposing defenses, as evidenced by the club’s last six lethargic performances.

Keep an eye on Thierry Henry. With Dane Richards, Dwayne DeRosario, and Juan Agudelo out of action due to CONCACAF Gold Cup commitments, it’s obvious that the Revs will have to pay particular attention to Henry, one of the league’s best playmakers. In recent weeks, the former Arsenal and Barcelona star has started to gel with striker Luke Rodgers up top. Rest assured that if the Revs defense snoozes for a second, Henry will seize the opportunity and make them pay dearly.

Test Greg Sutton. On paper, the Revs win the goalkeeper battle so long as Reis remains between the sticks. The Revs are capable of pitching a shutout against the erratic Red Bulls, but one point does them little good going forward. Without having to deal with defenders Tim Ream and Rafa Marquez, both of whom were called up for Gold Cup duty, New England must find ways to pierce the Red Bulls backline and test the veteran keeper, who’s been liable to let through his fair share of garbage goals this season.

On paper, it appears the Revs have the Red Bulls right where they want them: depleted and reeling in the wake of a hard-luck home draw. But, the Revs have obvious woes of their own as they’ve struggled to score all season. If New England has any hopes of taking three points on national television, they’ll have to dust the cobwebs off the attack and score some goals.

Brian O'Connell is covering the Revolution for ESPNBoston.com. He is the co-founder of New England Soccer Today (www.nesoccertoday.com), which covers professional soccer within New England. He can be reached at BOConnell21@aol.com.

Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis underwent successful surgery on his right ankle today, the team said in a news release.

Reis, 35, had cartilage smoothed and one bone spur removed during the procedure. Reis’ expected rehabilitation time is approximately three months.

Reis appeared in 14 games this season after missing the first 12 matches of the year following offseason shoulder and knee surgeries. He made his first MLS appearance of the year on June 27 against the Chicago Fire and started all but two MLS matches since that time. On the season, Reis compiled a 4-7-3 record with a 1.79 goals against average and three shutouts.

The 13-year MLS veteran is the keeper of almost every Revolution goaltending record, including games played in goal (188), games started in goal (187), minutes played in goal (16,842), goals against average (1.29), wins (75), saves (757), shutouts (50) and save percentage (.729).

The Revs close their 2010 home schedule Saturday at 8 p.m. against the Kansas City Wizards.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The Revolution’s disastrous visit to Rio Tinto Stadium in Utah last year was something the group would rather forget. But, try as you might, a 6-0 shellacking is not something that’s easily swept into the dust bin of history.

So the struggling team (3-8-2, 11 points), which has been held scoreless in seven league matches, should be able to summon ample motivation when they travel to Real Salt Lake Friday night. They’ll need it. RSL is currently riding a 6-0-2 unbeaten streak en route to amassing 24 points on the season.

Goalkeeper Matt Reis, who last week played his first league game of the season, making three saves in a 1-0 loss to Chicago, said he hopes his team will play with a bit of vengeance in mind.

“I hope so,’’ he said. “I hope it’s still fresh in people’s minds. You only get to go to these places once [yearly] now and we should have it in the back of our minds that let’s not go there and get embarrassed again and show them it’s not going to be that easy.

“They are a great team and they are a team that really likes to keep the ball and possess the ball, and if we give it away it’s going to be a very long night for us,’’ he said. “They are just going to pass it around us. At that altitude, too, it’s always difficult to play if you are not used to it. I think we are going to try and build off the little bit that we got off Chicago and go from there.’’

Reis, who was not in goal last year when the team dropped that infamous contest, said he felt fine after playing his first game last week following a seven-month layoff due to rotator cuff and knee surgeries.

“Just a little tired,’’ he said. “I think the heat had something to do with it. It was my first 90 minutes in seven months, but here I am. I thought it was alright. I would have at least liked to have gotten some points out of it, but letting the goal in was obviously the turning point in the game. I saw it clear but with these new balls they just dance so much so it is hard just going with one hand because they are dancing all around.”

Coach Steve Nicol, who acknowledged the Revs have several players coming in next week on tryouts, said the team is facing an all-too-familiar dilemma: an inability to score goals.

“Obviously they are the home team and they are going to be coming at us, but we have to start strong and then try and get ourselves forward,’’ he said. “We need to try and make some chances and hopefully try and take them. We haven’t been taking chances. I don’t think it’s a great secret. The chances we make we are not taking them. So we need to start taking them.’’

Last week’s game-winner for Chicago, the contest’s only goal, came as the Revolution seemed to fall asleep momentarily on the field allowing Marco Pappa’s 30-yard bomb.

“When you have a problem converting chances you can’t afford to give up a goal,’’ said Nicol. “It was a great strike. The pace on the ball was fantastic. Pappa shouldn’t have been out of position so easily to have the time to do that. That’s more annoying than anything else. Had we been torn apart by silky soccer playing through us and all that kind of stuff, sometimes you just give the opposition a clap. But when you give up a goal that is totally avoidable, then when you struggle to score on the other side, it makes it difficult.’’

Nicol said that RSL has some qualities that the Revs have to be aware of. “They got some pace and they try to get their fullbacks forward and obviously they’ve got an advantage on where they play. You just have to combat it and try and come out and do your own thing.’’

Reis said he would be happy if the Revolution again find space to play, as in last week’s game. He said he just hopes the team can do more with what they get.

“Chicago really let us play so that was something new for us,’’ he said. “We did create chances but we are having our struggles in front of the goal. When you are not scoring goals it makes things more difficult and when you think about it a lot it makes things even more difficult. The big key for everything is just keeping the ball, possessing the ball and making good decisions when we have it, and if we can do that we definitely have good enough players to win games.’’

The returning goalkeeper, the Revolution’s full-time starter since the 2004 season, mentioned that he and the team are going to have to make a quick readjustment to his return in goal.

“Yeah, there is always going to be [a readjustment period] but at this time we can’t really give ourselves five games to get it right,’’ he said. “But, it was like Stevie said, it was something that could have been and should have been avoided. A guy cutting into the middle to get that open and get his head up to take a look at goal. Those are the mistakes we are doing right now and those are the ones that are shooting ourselves in the foot. But, for the most part, it has been ourselves that are hurting our chances of winning rather than being the other team.’’

FOXBORO, Mass. -- Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis’ 2010 debut Sunday night failed to provide the positive jolt the crestfallen team was hoping for, as the hosts fell 1-0 to the Chicago Fire before 12,306 at Gillette Stadium.

But the veteran goalkeeper was hardly to blame. The Revolution were held scoreless for the seventh time this season and the goals drought appears to be taking a heavy toll on the team, leaving exasperated coach Steve Nicol to admit the team will work diligently during the month-long transfer window beginning July 15 to search for a goal scorer that could soothe their woes.

“It’s kind of the old story,’’ said Nicol. “The effort, the endeavor and the spirit, you can’t fault that. But in the final third, we just don’t have the quality. Tonight it just stared you in the face, whether it’s the final ball or the final finish.

"We had some chances. Zak [Schilawski’s] header, he probably should have finished. Sainey [Nyassi] scuffed the ball wide from the middle of the goal. Kheli [Dube] had a chance as well with the ball in the box. Taking chances like that changes the game. Again, you can’t fault the effort. It’s just the quality at the end of it is not there.’’

Bad news rained down on the Revolution last week when the team revealed that striker Taylor Twellman’s comeback from concussion and spinal injuries once again was aborted. Twellman has scored 101 MLS goals but played in only two games last season and has not played at all in 2010.

Edgaras Jankauskas (adductor strain), who could provide some of that missing ingredient at forward, has only played 147 minutes spread out over four games and did not feature in last night’s game. The team then is relying on rookies and complementary players to fill the void of frontline strikers, and they're are not capable of delivering what the team needs.

“Our problems are pretty obvious,’’ Nicol said. “We are not as good as we should be in the final third. That’s the bottom line. We have a transfer window coming and we’re doing all that we can to try and change that.’’

So shorthanded was the team that Nicol placed midfielder Shalrie Joseph at forward for the final 10 minutes hoping the 6-foot-3-inch player could get onto a cross or loose ball in the penalty area.

“Obviously we wanted to try and play football and play through them and around them and all that,’’ said Nicol. “But when you are getting into the last 10 minutes of the game and we’re desperate, we are hoping that Shalrie can get on the end of something. I’m sure if you ask their back four, they are not going to want to see Shalrie going up against them. But again, whether it’s Shalrie or anybody else, we need to get them better service into the box to allow them to get on the end of it.’’

The loss dropped the hosts to 3-8-2 (11 points) on the season while the Fire improved to 4-3-5 (17 points).

Reis’ return was marred by a 30th-minute bomb off the left foot of Marco Pappa from about 30 yards out dead center of the park that accounted for the game’s only goal. The goal was aided by bad marking and miscommunication among the field players that allowed Pappa the time and space to take his shot.

“Absolutely, he had no chance at the goal,’’ Nicol said of Reis. “The goal was a classic case of what some of our problems are at the moment. It’s so avoidable. All it takes is a bit of communication to pass a man on and the guy doesn’t get three days to line it up and bury it. It’s a great finish. Matt has no chance. But it’s so avoidable.’’

Joseph said there were at least three mistakes borne of a lack of communication on the goal.

“Pat [Phelan] should have passed him on to Chris [Tierney],’’ Joseph said. “I should have stayed on my feet and don’t dive in and [Emmanuel] Osei should have stepped up. These are mental mistakes that all three of us made, but overall I should have just stayed on my feet instead of diving in. So it’s my fault that we didn’t get the three points. We should have at least gotten a point tonight.’’

Injuries and bad luck continue to hound the Revolution. Veteran playmaker Steve Ralston, who returned to the team several weeks ago, dislocated his elbow in his return match in a friendly against Brazilian team Cruzeiro and is out indefinitely. With Reis back in the lineup, the Revolution should be able to begin stabilizing the defensive end of their game. Without a goal scorer, however, the road is going to continue to be a bumpy one.