(updated 1:33 p.m. ET with information from New York Red Bulls)
I just talked to New England Revolution director of communications Lizz Summers, who reports that the club made it out of the Boston area this morning before the city lockdown and is nearly to its hotel in New Jersey.
The Revs play in Harrison, N.J., on Saturday, facing the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena.
The team was scheduled to leave this morning from Gillette Stadium in suburban Boston, so that activity was unaffected by the ongoing city “shelter in place” request from law enforcement authorities (related, obviously, to the developing manhunt around the Boston bombings.)
Around half of the Revolution players live in Boston proper; Summers, still on the team bus, said they were out of the city before the transportation and city shutdown that has left the Boston streets virtually deserted (pictured, courtesy NBC News).
We don’t know if Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis is with the team; as a routine, the Revolution does not release its travel squad. Reis father-in-law, John Odom, suffered significant injuries during Monday’s pair of explosions at the Boston Marathon.
The team was schedule to train down to the New York area, but the transportation stop meant the players and staff simply remained on the bus for the 3-4 hour drive (depending on traffic, could be even longer) down into New Jersey.
The Red Bulls announced Friday afternoon that they will honor Boston and this week’s tragedy with a moment of reflection prior to the teams’ 7 p.m. kickoff inside Red Bull Arena.