FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution’s 2-1 win over the LA Galaxy on Sunday night secured three huge points for the Eastern Conference side, but it meant so much more. On the surface, sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena earned a victory in his Revolution coaching debut, the team got their first road win of the 2019 season, and lastly - and perhaps most importantly - it provided a massive confidence boost for both the collective team and several individual players.
“The second goal was fabulous,” Arena said as he reflected on Teal Bunbury’s game winner. "Cristian [Penilla] had a bunch of chances in the first half – it was good to see him convert one at the end of the half. The second half, for Teal to get a goal I think is going to be big for his confidence.”
Bunbury scored the winner off a clever pass from Carles Gil, marking his first goal of the 2019 campaign. Last season, Bunbury was the Revs' leading goal scorer for the majority of the season, finishing with 11 total, just behind Penilla, who ended with 12.
Unexpectedly, a dry spell hit for Bunbury through the first 15 games of this season. However, sometimes you need to strike while the iron is hot, and Bunbury’s goal in LA may be just what he needed to heat things up offensively.
“I’ve always had confidence and I think my teammates have kept my spirits up and given me confidence, (and) my family,” Bunbury said about pressing through the dry period. “I go out and train my hardest. I come into games and try to work my tail off. Obviously, I’m not going to score every game, but to get a goal tonight, it does mean a lot.
“It helped us win the game, so I’m grateful for that, but it’s all about the hard work that the guys put it in, and all the credit to all of the guys.”
The Revs put in hard work all night, and Bunbury's teammates were excited for the veteran striker to lift a weight off his shoulders and potentially open the floodgates for future goals this year.
“One thing [Bruce] said is, 'You know where the goal is. The goal is behind the defenders. You just have to go that way, attack it, be aggressive,'" said defender Andrew Farrell. "I think that was a big thing, telling the guys up top to be aggressive and don’t have fear to go at a guy 1-v-1.
“Penilla was our MVP last year and he’s a guy that I hate going against, so I always tell him to keep on going at guys – and Diego (Fagundez) and Teal finally getting his goal - I’m so proud of him for sticking with it. It’s been tough for him but so happy for that. It was a team effort. Everyone put a in a good shift.”
Bunbury may have even had an extra boost from the stands with a special family member in attendance
The Minnesota native’s sister, actress Kylie Bunbury, made sure to be cheering her brother on and assuring him that he can do anything on the field.
“I had my sister and her fiancé, and a bunch of her friends that live out here,” said Bunbury about the support he had watching at the game in Los Angeles. “My sister’s support is unwavering and she even made me an awesome playlist before this game. She told me I was going to score, so it really meant a lot.”
The Revs will now head into the Concacaf Gold Cup break with three-and-a-half weeks off from league play, but this break will give Bunbury and the team plenty of time to increase their confidence further as they settle into the Bruce Arena era.
