FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – In a season of change, challenge and the chase for silverware, one man has remained a constant for the New England Revolution: defender Dave Romney.

A January arrival from Nashville SC, the center back has earned quiet praise in his debut campaign as one of the club’s most underrated recruits, having played every minute of MLS and Leagues Cup action – a feat all the more impressive as a first-time father of newborn twins.

Tallying the most starts and minutes of any outfield player leaguewide since the start of 2020, Romney is gaining a reputation as the Revolution’s ‘Rock’, ‘Mr. Reliable’ and ‘Ironman’, though the 30-year-old much prefers to shy away from the acclaim. Content to stay out of the limelight, he instead channels his focus on his family, honing his craft, and adhering to the routine that has served him so effectively over the years, in order to stay at the top of his game.

“It's a position where consistency and reliability is valuable,” he reflected. “I'm just having to do that as best I can and hopefully, I can continue to because it's not easy.

“I'm not amazing at anything; I think I’m just really solid at a lot of things. I don't know what my best quality would be – probably my availability! They say the best ‘ability’ is ‘availability …’ Some of it’s genetics, some of it’s luck, but a lot of it is just preparation off the field at home.

“I go home, I pop in my recovery boots, take a nap … I try to make sure I get as much sleep as possible – even with two newborn twins right now! It’s a lot of foam rolling, stretching, stuff on the side to keep my body as fresh as possible. Like I said, luck is also involved but hopefully, it keeps going.

“It's pretty important for the position as a center back or as a defender to be as consistent and reliable as possible because it's a tough position. You can be amazing for 90 minutes and make one mistake and everyone's blaming you, whereas it's the opposite of a forward – you can be terrible the whole game and then you just have one touch, and you score a goal, and you're the hero.

“I don't really think about it too much, I just don't overthink it. I just keep going one day at a time, one game at a time (as cliché as it sounds). It's all you really can do with twins. It's tough, honestly. I'm hitting a tough point right now. I would say it's expensive, as well – just trying to get night nurses, and people to help out … I’m doing everything possible to make sure I'm still here for my teammates because I don't want to jeopardize my teammates’ season by me wanting to be cheap and not paying for help at the house.

“I’m just trying to tackle each day: get as much sleep as possible, get as much rest as possible, and then just show up every day.”

A stalwart in an ever-changing backline this year, Romney’s experience has proven crucial in helping to steady the ship, especially in the midst of a difficult period for the Revs both on and off the pitch.

With injuries, suspensions and international duty, defensive rotation has been a frequent occurrence throughout the campaign, resulting in multiple combinations of partnerships, and the responsibility has fallen upon Romney’s shoulders to provide a calming influence – a role he thrives upon as a leader in the squad.

“I would say I definitely lead more by example,” he added. “I'm not talking a bunch in the locker room – I’m definitely talking a lot on the field, organizing, but I would say most of my leadership is just talking to somebody after a play or something like that.

“I’m never really the ‘hoorah’ guy, or motivational speaker type. I wish I was, but that's not me – I don't really want to force it and it come off not genuine. I’d probably only speak up if I was very angry at something or something like that, but it hasn't really happened too often.

“On the pitch, experience means you've been in situations before, you're maybe not as nervous. A lot of times when maybe a younger player has to think through a scenario of what to do, it's just kind of second nature for us. The second something happens, we're automatically tuned in, organizing guys around us – ‘I need exactly this from you’ – or feeling out the game: ‘Hey, maybe we're not going to play short for the next five minutes. We need to do this.’

“It’s having that experience and leadership to organize the guys around you, and then just being in charge of yourself and making the right decisions. When games are getting in the 80^th, 90th minute and the other team is in your box a lot, it's nerve-racking. Those experienced players matter, making the right decisions. Literally every second in the game, we have to constantly make decisions, so if you have an experienced player making the right decisions more often, then it's vastly important.

“Another thing that is hugely experienced is our depth – we've had such a rotating backline throughout the year and every time, it's been somebody coming in who's got tons of MLS games, and it's comforting for me knowing that anyone who's played next to me has been extremely solid, experienced, and it's been a seamless transition for whoever stepped in, honestly.”

In recent weeks, one of those players who has stepped into the defensive breach is veteran Omar González.

The 2011 MLS Defender of the Year and three-time MLS Cup winner is very familiar with Romney. The pair lined up alongside each other for Romney's first MLS start as center back with the LA Galaxy in 2015, and González cannot speak highly enough of his teammate.

“What’s impressed me the most about Dave is just how on an even keel he is,” the 34-year-old said. “That’s what’s given him the ability to play every single game, every single minute, no matter what’s going on.

“He’s a first-time father, everything’s new and it’s crazy. Whatever state comes, he’s unfazed, he’s ready for the next game. You know what you’re going to get. That’s what I’ve been most impressed about – he’s just solid, he’s been great every game and he brings it every single game. No matter the situation, no matter the weather, he’s game.

“I’ve seen a lot of improvement in Romney throughout my time – away from the league, watching him from afar, seeing him go to Nashville and being ‘Mr. Reliable’ there, too. Wherever he goes, he’s Mr. Reliable, playing the most minutes. That just goes to show who he is as a professional – just being super committed to his craft, focusing on what he can do to make himself available, which is not easy.

“We see a ton of talented guys sidelined because of injury. Like he said, sometimes that’s genetic, sometimes it’s luck but a lot of it has to do with preparation. I’d like to say that I’m the same way. He hit the nail on the head when he said he’s just leading by example, doing his job. When the moment comes, he’s speaking to people on the side – he’s never laying into anyone but he’s holding people accountable, and I think he does that in a really good way, which helps everyone.

“He’s been a good leader during the tumultuous period recently – for the whole seven, eight weeks, he was consistent as hell, leading with his own wisdom. I’ll tell you, it makes it easier having great players next to you – that’s what has made it even easier for myself [stepping in].

“It’s funny. Throughout my career, [as a defender] there are times where you’re not even in the media – and that’s a good day. No-one even thinks about you, and that means you did your job – you did everything, you were in good positions; you put out fires, so nothing happened. This whole year, Dave has been doing his job, and doing it very well.”

Romney echoes the sentiments, especially regarding the development of his game to become one of the league’s most consistent performers.

However, the center back also asserted the significance of teamwork, honesty and positive relationships as key traits of a strong defensive backline and ultimately, a team’s chances of victory.

“My first start at center back was with Omar against [CF] Montréal in 2015,” he explained. “I got a shutout and I was excited.

“Communication between our two positions is definitely the most important line of communication on the field. It's a position where you're going to make mistakes and goals are going to happen because of you, and so having an open dialogue, having a good relationship, and not bickering at each other is definitely very helpful for the morale of the backline, and the team in general.

“We’ve both grown a lot since then. For me personally, I think I’ve grown more mentally, and confidence-wise in being more sure of my abilities. That first year in the league, you’re trying to prove yourself to everyone, and even yourself – ‘Hey, am I good enough? Can I stay here?’

“That was my life in L.A. – I’d get a start here, then I wouldn’t play for two months, then I’d start ... It’s nice when you get a run because those first two or three games, you’re still building up your fitness, and by the time you get that third and fourth game, you’re starting to feel a rhythm again, you get that confidence back. Every time Omar has come in, he’s played really well, because those first couple of games are really tough.

“Once you have one or two seasons under your belt, and you realize the quality you have. You have that confidence and belief really sets in, where you’re like: ‘Okay, I deserve to be here. I belong here and now it’s time to excel, and take my game to the next level,’ so I guess that’s how I’ve improved.”

With New England’s place in the 2023 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs secured, the Revolution are now readying themselves for the battle for homefield advantage, as the only team in the league to remain undefeated on their own turf this term.

Both Romney and Gonzalez assert the squad are desperate to put their recent struggles behind them and reward the efforts of an excellent on-field campaign with trophy glory.

“You don't have a lot of seasons where you're in a team and you really feel deep down in your gut: ‘Hey, we actually can win the whole thing,’ and this is one of those teams where we know we are talented enough,” Romney stated.

“The vibes are good. We definitely had a rough patch of uncertainty – not knowing what was going on; a lot of unknowns – so it's nice to just have clarity on the whole situation in regards to the outcome of it. Everyone's trying to put it behind us because we have five games left, and we've worked so hard for 29 games thus far, and it'd be s^^^^y to just throw it all down the drain because of the situation we're in. All of us are just focused on getting results and going as far in the playoffs as possible.

“Anything can happen in MLS Cup Playoffs and it's just crazy how important getting homefield advantage is, so we're just trying to finish out the last five games with how tight the East is for that second place spot – just doing everything we can to give ourselves the best chance possible to host playoff games for as long as possible.

“You never know what happens in front of us – if [FC] Cincinnati has to play [Inter] Miami or something, and that's it, that's a very tough out at this time. If all the things go our way, we could be hosting an Eastern Conference Final. We’ve got a long way to go and a lot of improving to do for us to be even start talking about that, but that's the goal.

“When you have a good team, you want to do everything you can to actually make something of it.”

González agreed: “I think the last thing Dave said was perfect – you’ve got to take advantage of being on a good team because that doesn't happen all the time. I've played on teams that have won championships, I’ve played on teams that finished last – this is a good team, and we want to keep it going.

“The thing that we can do within our control – the only thing that we can control – is ourselves: our attitude, how we show up; not worrying about the noise around us, and just focusing on what we can do to be the best versions of ourselves on any given day, and to keep the good vibes amongst the team. We hit a little point where we had to look in the mirror and say: ‘Things are getting a little bit hairy,’ and we had to say: ‘Hey, that's not who we are. Let's get back to who we are,’ and we keep moving.

“For me, personally, I’m just trying to enjoy every second I can. I'm in the latter stage of my career; I'm not done yet – hopefully, I have a couple more years left but people have to want you. My goal is just to keep on being a strong presence among this team, being available in whatever capacity the coaches want me – whether that's starting, or whether that's cheering my teammates on from the bench, which I did for the majority part of the season.

“Even with experience, s^^t doesn't always bounce your way like we saw in the past few games. The experience comes as we move on to the next game, we learn from the mistakes. It could happen once or twice, but it doesn't happen three times – you saw that it happened against Austin [FC], it happened in Minnesota, but we held on in Chicago, so now we're moving in the right direction.

“That experience matters off the field to keep guys moving in the right direction, to keep the good vibes going, to know that you can never be too high or too low, and just to keep everything consistent, to keep the training going because that's where everything matters: you play the way you train.

“The experienced guys on this group have really brought it every single day this year, and that's what's made the first team play so well. I was on the other side for most of the year and I've been pushing the second team to get these guys ready, so that's where my experience came through.

“Now, we're in a point in the season where we’ve put ourselves in a good position and now it's just time to close up. Everyone has seen a good side for these 29 games, and there's still a long way to go. We feel we’re a good team, and I'm enjoying the hell out of it. It's been a great year and it has the potential to be an even better year, so we're gunning for that.”