BRADENTON, Fla. – While last week’s abbreviated intrasquad scrimmage offered the New England Revolution an opportunity to put some of their early preseason work to the test in a simulated game environment, Tuesday afternoon’s match against Austin FC presented the Revs with their first chance to square off against an actual opponent in 2025.

It was a largely successful exercise for the Revs, who used two different groups in each of the 35-minute halves and claimed a 1-0 win courtesy of a goal from Maine native Wyatt Omsberg, who finished off a cross from Carles Gil after a cleverly worked short corner.

Results are rarely the focus in preseason – particularly just eight days into training – but head coach Caleb Porter and his players noted the importance of making a habit out of winning, even in these early stages of development.

“We’re gaining chemistry every day, we’re gaining fitness every day, we’re gaining quality every day, and we’re also building confidence, and we’re building a winning mentality,” said Porter. “We want to be a better defensive team, we want to be a more competitive team, and we want to be a winning team, and I thought we saw those things today.

“Really liked our work rate, how competitive we were, how disciplined we were, and I thought we were really tough to break down. That gives us a very strong foundation to build from.”

Clean sheet pleases Porter after recent focus on defensive principles

There were plenty of positive takeaways from the totality of Tuesday’s 70-minute performance, but Porter was particularly pleased with his side’s defensive resolve. Goalkeepers Aljaž Ivačič and Donovan Parisian were rarely troubled as the Revs were solid from front to back, center back Brayan Ceballos particularly sharp less than one week after arriving in camp.

“We worked on the defensive side for the last several days (in training),” Porter said. “I thought from that standpoint, we were excellent today.

“Last year at times we would have 10 or nine players defending, and a lot of – at times – guys taking breaks. That was a real initiative in the players that we added, is we’re going to be an honest team, and we’re going to be a competitive team. Yeah, we’re going to attack and of course we want to score goals, but also as a base starting point, every game, home and away, we want clean sheets and we want to be competitive. If you start from that type of foundation, you’re in every game.”

“It’s important for the confidence of the group, so we get used to it,” said Ivačič. “It starts in training. If you win in training, it’s going to translate into the games. It’s important. Every day is important.”

Attacking combinations clicking as chemistry builds

It’s often said that sharpness in the final third takes the longest to develop in preseason, but there were signs that it’s coming together for the Revolution’s new-look attack on Tuesday afternoon. Leo Campana – who Porter has said has the potential to be one of the best strikers in MLS – has been building relationships on and off the field with several of his new teammates, including the likes of Carles Gil and Luca Langoni.

Campana twice came close to scoring in his 35-minute shift, turning tightly at the top of the box to force a strong save from Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver, and narrowly missing the far post on another effort from the right side of the box.

“It’s completely a new team, so these kinds of games will help everyone to have that connection on the pitch,” said Campana. “It’s our first game out of six that we’ll have in preseason, so yeah, it’s really good to create this connection with other players.

“But the most important is to win, and that’s what we did today.”

Porter tests different systems, personnel combos for “tactical flexibility”

No matter the situation or the opponent, key elements of the Revolution’s game model won’t change from week to week. But that doesn’t mean that Porter wants his side to play exactly the same way regardless of circumstance.

An element of unpredictability can be critical, and that’s why Porter has used the first two weeks of preseason to build in different setups, formations, and personnel combinations both on the training ground and in match settings.

“What we wanted to install is an identity and a philosophy of how we want to play on both sides of the ball, but also tactical flexibility in our systems and our structures that we use, so we’re not predictable,” said Porter. “We played a slightly different system today than we did in the intrasquad, and some different personnel changes.

“We want the players to be able to adapt, whether that’s game to game, whether that’s in game, whether that’s with our attacking shape, to our defensive shape, those structures, how they change and rotate and become fluid. I really like the players, the way they’re working and the way that they’re becoming a tactically flexible team.”

Revs to battle St. Louis CITY SC before brief break

Preseason continues for the Revs with training sessions on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, before they’ll return to game action against St. Louis CITY SC on Saturday afternoon.

A brief four-day break will follow, before the Revs reconvene to continue their preparations in Sarasota, Florida, for an additional two weeks.