MLS Regular Season | Match #21
New England Revolution vs. Orlando City SC
Saturday, July 13 | 7:30 p.m. ET
Gillette Stadium | Foxborough, Mass.
Watch: FREE on Apple TV
English Talent: Chris Wittyngham (play-by-play), Lori Lindsey (analyst)
Spanish Talent: Diego Pessolano (play-by-play), Daniel Chapela (analyst)
Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub and SiriusXM FC Channel 157 (English), 1260 AM Nossa Radio (Portuguese)
English Talent: Brad Feldman (play-by-play), Charlie Davies (analyst)
CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
12th in Eastern Conference (7-12-1, 22 pts.)
Last Result | 2-0 loss at Seattle Sounders FC
Injuries and fatigue caught up with the New England Revolution last Saturday night, with the team falling 2-0 on the road against Seattle Sounders FC. The Revs still boast a record of five wins in their last seven matches, though, and a week of rest should have them ready to get back up and running at home against Orlando.
A tight Eastern Conference means that the Revolution still sit only two points outside of playoff contention, with the crucial 9th-place spot currently occupied by Toronto FC (7-13-3, 24 pts.) and Orlando sitting only three points above that. Head coach Caleb Porter has stressed in recent weeks the importance of getting results against teams around the Revs in the East, and from that perspective this weekend’s matchup with Orlando will be one of the team’s biggest of the season.
Orlando City SC
7th in Eastern Conference (7-9-6, 27 pts.)
Last Result | 5-0 win vs. D.C. United
An up-and-down campaign for Orlando City SC might be starting to build some momentum, as the Lions only have one loss in their last five games (3-1-1). It must be said, though, that those three wins – against Toronto, Chicago Fire FC and D.C. United – were not over teams in particularly strong form, while the lone loss did come against stiffer opposition in the form of New York City FC.
Most recently, Orlando put five past a 10-man D.C. side on a night dedicated to honoring Lions legend Kaká, shutting out United and seeing five different players notch goals. Orlando head coach Oscar Pareja said after the blowout win that he thinks his team “look[s] much more like ourselves,” leaving the Revs with the task of seeking to disrupt this sense of identity that’s coalescing for Orlando at a crucial time in the season.
KEY PLAYERS
Revolution defender Brandon Bye
Last Saturday’s game in Seattle marked Brandon Bye’s first start in 11 months after undergoing ACL surgery, and at a time when a number of key players are out with injuries of their own, Bye could hardly be returning to fitness at a better time. He said ahead of the Seattle match that he felt good physically and was excited to be back on the field helping the team fight for wins.
Bye notched two goals and two assists across 19 matches in last year’s campaign before suffering his knee injury, and if the advanced positioning of fellow outside back DeJuan Jones is any indicator, Bye might similarly be seen getting into dangerous areas and helping the attack within Porter’s system as the season progresses. His presence will also be important on defense, as the Revs have not yet won a league game by more than one goal this season and have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five games.
Orlando forward Facundo Torres
The talisman for the Lions would have to be Uruguayan forward Facundo Torres, who leads Orlando City in goal involvements this season with 11 (6g/5a). A lot of that output has come in recent matches, with Torres recording at least one goal contribution in four of Orlando’s last five matches, and multiple goal contributions in three of those four.
Against the Revolution, Torres has only notched one goal in three total appearances, when his team triumphed over the Revs in Florida last October. That win broke the Revolution’s four-year unbeaten streak against the Lions, and containing Torres this weekend will be crucial to protecting New England’s unblemished all-time home record against Orlando (6-0-2).
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Revolution head coach Caleb Porter on how the team is feeling ahead of Orlando and another three-game week:
“I think the biggest thing we need is rest. We’re fit, it’s midseason. I’m not worried about the physical side. You saw even in our third game in a week, we actually looked very fit. Even at 1-0, we were pushing to get the win. I think in the end, probably that final third and our lack of ability to find a goal had something to do with the fatigue in the end. We fell short, but these guys are fit. I need to get them recovered and reset mentally, physically, and then throw ourselves into Orlando. I know we have three in a week, but we’re not focused on the other two games, we’re focused on Orlando.”
Porter on building on the team’s recent run of form:
“We’ve won five out of the last seven, so that’s good. It’s good to always know and feel that and remember that. We’re in good form. I think we were one of the better teams in the league in June, in terms of points per game. So, that’s good. It means we’re trending up, but we can’t rely on that. We have to go on another streak. We’ve got three games until the Leagues Cup and a little bit of a break. So, we want to make sure we get as many points as we can before that break.”
Porter on continuing to secure positive results at Gillette Stadium:
“It’s really important. You have to take care of business at home. We didn’t do that early in the year, but we have done that a little bit more recently. The guys have gained confidence at home and this will be another tough game and a very important game. We have three games until, kind of, a break [for Leagues Cup]. This is our 21st game, so it is going to happen fast, but we want to get as many points as possible here before the break [in league play], and then that sets up the stretch run where we will have only 11 games to go. So, the next two home games before this break, we need to push really hard to take care of business.”
Porter on the team’s coming three-game week ahead of Leagues Cup:
“We’ll take it one at a time. We know we’ve got another week like last week where it is three games in a week, but we’ll focus on Orlando. We’ll have our eye on the next game at Philly, but we’re going to throw everything in this game like a cup final. We’re right there. We have a chance for the first time in a long time to be right around that playoff zone, depending on other results. So, I know that would feel really good for our guys to finally put themselves in a position where they can smell the playoffs, with some games in hand.”
Revolution midfielder Matt Polster on wearing the captain’s armband in Carles Gil’s absence:
“Yeah, first, it’s an honor to wear the armband. Obviously, we would prefer to have Carles back. I would, I’m sure everybody else would. But in the moment, I felt with or without the armband, I’ve always tried to lead the team, so it doesn’t really change much for me. But to generate some energy from the guys and get guys going for these big games is always important. So, I feel like I’ve been maybe a little more vocal than I have been, but nothing has really changed.”
Polster on the team finding their stride as Porter’s first season in charge progresses:
“[There are] always growing pains when you implement something new. Different expectations, standards, roles within a team can change. Then you have to adapt as players and play within that system and what the coaching staff want. As we’ve grown into the season, you can clearly see we’ve gotten better and better each game through possession, through creating chances. It doesn’t feel like, to me, [that we have] regressed at all, even with the previous result. I thought we played better than Seattle, we just, in certain moments, lacked a little conviction to break plays up or to score. That’s been the difference for us, but overall, I think we’ve always improved this season.”
Polster on the young players who have stepped up as key players have struggled with injuries:
“Yeah, when you look at your roster, you’re always going to need – to be successful in any team, in any league, you need the entire roster. That’s what it will always take. It’s difficult to play all these games, all the minutes. Of course, we would like Carles [Gil], Dylan [Borrero], Nacho [Gil], Tomás [Chancalay]. I would love those guys to be back, but that’s not the situation we’re in. So, we look to guys like Jack [Panayotou], Noel [Buck], Ez [Esmir Bajraktarević], to step up and I feel like they have. I thought Jack played great in his first – I’m not sure how many appearances he’s had this year, but he hasn’t played much – and for him to come into a game like Seattle late notice, Dylan gets hurt in warmups, and to be able to perform like that, I thought it was a great moment for him. I thought Ez has been great this whole year. He's picked his moments to do really well and I think Noel has been fantastic. So, it’s nice that we can rely on young players and that’s going to help us create success within this club.”
