FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The final month of the 2016 regular season kicks off on Saturday night when the New England Revolution host Sporting Kansas City in their penultimate home game at Gillette Stadium.
Sporting KC (12-12-7, 43 pts.) will be the last Western Conference opponent of the regular season for the Revs (9-13-9, 36 pts.), and this will be the only encounter of the year between the sides. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m., with local coverage in English on CSN and 98.5 The Sports Hub, and in Portuguese on WMVX 1570 AM.
On Saturday night the Revs will be doing their part to help Kick Childhood Cancer with a series of initiatives around Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Fans are asked to do their part, as well, by donating items for The Confetti Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides birthday party kits for children who spend their birthdays in the hospital.
PUT YOUR #SCARVESUP TO HELP KICK CHILDHOOD CANCER
Fans are encouraged to bring paper plates (9” round or square), paper cups (9 oz.), paper napkins (luncheon size), baker’s twine, stickers, crayons (8-pack), wooden spoons and wooden forks for donation. All donations can be made at Gillette Stadium gates.
Current Form: Revs looking to keep pace in Eastern Conference playoff race
Last weekend’s loss to Columbus Crew SC – combined with other results around MLS – dropped the Revs below the red line in the Eastern Conference, and they’ll enter the weekend four points back of D.C. United for the final playoff spot in the East.
But there are still nine points on the table, and two of New England’s remaining three games are at home, where the Revs have won their last two games by a combined score of a 5-1. They’ll be looking to continue that form on Saturday night, and put visiting Sporting KC under pressure from the opening whistle.
“We want to keep the ball and have a better control of the game than we did this past weekend,” said Chris Tierney. “Usually at home we’re good at being on top in possession and keeping the ball, and making the other team defend. We’ll try to get back to that.”
Sporting KC are unbeaten in three (1-0-2) and Peter Vermes’ side is coming off a massive road win last weekend in San Jose, where SKC snapped a 12-game road winless run with a 2-1 victory.
While Sporting KC currently occupy the fifth playoff spot in the West, they’re only two points ahead of the seventh-place Portland Timbers, making Saturday night’s showdown critical for their postseason hopes, as well.
“They’re a very difficult team to play against,” Tierney said. “They’re physical, they’re in your face, they press you hard. You really have to be at your best soccer-wise against these guys, because if it turns into a fight, there are a lot of scenarios that they win in those kinds of rough games.
“We have to play the game between the ears this weekend.”
Past Meetings: Revs hoping to continue recent home success against Sporting KC
These two sides haven’t met since May of last year, when SKC rolled to a 4-2 win at Children’s Mercy Park. Juan Agudelo opened the scoring that night and Scott Caldwell closed it, but the hosts scored four straight in between to snap a three-game losing streak against the Revolution.
The Revs have, however, won their last three encounters with Sporting KC at Gillette Stadium, including a pair of regular-season victories in 2014 and a 2013 playoff match.
Injury Report: Rowe hoping to play a part on Saturday after being hospitalized last week
The same day he was named MLS Player of the Week following his two-goal, one-assist performance in Montreal, Kelyn Rowe found himself hospitalized and battling an infection in his small intestine.
READ: Rowe back in training, taking recovery “day-by-day” after three-night hospital stay
Rowe was released from Massachusetts General Hospital last Friday and given a clean bill of health, and he returned to training with the Revolution on Tuesday morning after missing last weekend’s trip to Columbus.
Although he admits that he’s “still trying to recover a little bit,” Rowe has made it his goal to be available for Saturday night’s clash with Sporting Kansas City, and if he is, he’d offer the Revs a significant boost.
“He always gives you a chance of pulling something out of nowhere,” Tierney said of Rowe. “I think Kelyn, one thing he does do as well that doesn’t get as much credit is his work rate. He’s always a guy who’s buzzing around, covering tons of ground and putting opposing teams under pressure.
“Hopefully he can continue to progress and it would be great to have him available this weekend.”
While Rowe hopes to be available, the injured trio of Jose Goncalves (ankle), Gershon Koffie (ankle) and Je-Vaughn Watson (groin) are all question marks after missing last weekend’s meeting with Crew SC.
Final Thoughts: Revs expecting “a battle” with both teams’ playoff lives on the line
“It’s going to be a battle, there’s no question about that,” Tierney said of Saturday night’s showdown. “They’re at a spot in a very tight Western Conference where they need points, as well, so I don’t think they’re going to be happy to come here and lose a game.
“We’re expecting a fight, but our mentality all year has been that if we match a team’s fight, then we think our quality will come through in the end, especially when we play on our field. We’re going to have to do that. We’re going to have to match them physically in order to play.”
