FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution are heading west in search of a jumpstart.
After taking just two points from a pair of home games last week – moving their record to 1-0-4 at Gillette Stadium this season – the Revs return to the road on Sunday afternoon, when they’ll visit the LA Galaxy at StubHub Center. Coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Dropped points at home have stung the Revs through the early part of the season, but they’re looking at this weekend’s trip to the West Coast as an opportunity to give themselves an emotional boost.
“You want to get three points at home, everyone knows that,” said Scott Caldwell. “Having not done that, we’ve dug ourselves a bit of a hole, but we know that. We know that we can learn from our mistakes and that’s what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to look forward and put those (home draws) behind us and really look forward to these upcoming games.”
For years the Galaxy have been one of the most formidable home teams in Major League Soccer, going 38-5-12 at StubHub Center since the start of the 2013 season, including 3-0-1 this year.
The Revs will need to be wary of the Galaxy’s plethora of attacking weapons – they lead the league with 18 goals scored despite having played only eight games – but New England won’t change their entire approach to suit their opponent, particularly with points at a premium following a frustrating start.
“I think our mindset stays the same,” said Diego Fagundez. “From day one, we’ve been going into every game knowing that it’s going to be a battle, and we know that we have to try to get three points.
“We know that it’s frustrating seeing all those ties, but this game, we can turn it all around.”
A positive result in LA would give the Revs a much-needed boost ahead of a critical stretch of home games, as they’ll return to Foxborough for three straight against the Chicago Fire, FC Dallas and Seattle Sounders FC after this weekend’s trip.
In order to obtain that positive result, New England will need a cohesive effort on both sides of the ball, particularly with injuries potentially limiting Jay Heaps’ options against the Galaxy.
“We’ve got to get 11 guys defending, 11 guys in the attack, all clicking on all cylinders,” said Caldwell. “We’ve got to focus on that and if we can do that well together, we’ll be okay. But we need to do that.”
