TUCSON, Ariz. – Asked if he believes he’s rounding into form after scoring two more goals in Wednesday night’s 3-3 draw with Real Salt Lake, Charlie Davies responded with a question of his own.
“What do you think?”
Davies can afford to be a bit cheeky at the moment as his brace in the Desert Diamond Cup opener upped his total to four goals in three preseason appearances. That easily puts him atop the New England Revolution’s 2016 preseason goal-scoring charts, just as he was in the 2015 regular season.
Against RSL it took Davies a matter of seconds to make an impact after entering at the start of the second half. Beating the offside trap, Davies raced onto a long ball, calmly rounded goalkeeper Nick Rimando and saw his goal-bound effort blocked by the arm of defender Aaron Maund.
Maund was sent off and Davies converted the penalty.
Although the Revs proceeded to concede three times with the man advantage, Davies came to New England’s rescue in the late stages, latching onto an RSL miscue and burying a low shot past Rimando.
“I’ve worked all these years to finally get to a point where I feel confident with my body,” Davies said. “We have a great team and they get me the ball in great positions to score, so I have to make the most of it.
“I finally feel that I’m able to do that consistently now. I just have to work to continue to get better.”
Perhaps most promising about Davies’ preseason goal-scoring exploits is the variety in which he’s finding the back of the net. He scored a poacher’s goal against the San Jose Earthquakes, reacting quickest to a loose ball in the box. He buried a header from a Chris Tierney free kick against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
And on Wednesday, he converted a penalty kick and finished off a one-v-one scenario with Rimando.
Davies is bullish in his belief that his rich vein of form this preseason is a preview of what’s to come once the regular season kicks off on March 6 at BBVA Compass Stadium.
“These goals don’t count statistically, but mentally and for the confidence (they’re important),” said Davies. “I’ve said all along, this is going to be a big season for me. I truly believe that.
“And you have to have that confidence for it to happen.”
