FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution’s 2025 preseason campaign finished with a win, as they closed out five weeks of training with a 2-0 triumph over Hartford Athletic on Saturday afternoon. The match was played at Gillette Stadium following four weeks of preseason training at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and leaves the Revolution with a 4-1-1 preseason record before the start of regular season games.
With 14 new players joining the Revolution roster this offseason, Saturday was the first opportunity for many players to log some minutes on their home pitch ahead of the season’s start.
“I really liked a lot of the football for four weeks in, a new group,” said head coach Caleb Porter. “I think we had six new starters out there. To see some of the football and the little interplay between the front guys show up, I’m really pleased with that.”
Set piece analyst Marc Ortí Esteban already paying dividends
With goals from newcomers Leo Campana and Maxi Urruti, the updated Revolution attack continues to show signs of promise. Porter has spoken about building depth across the attack this season, but the club has also added depth to their coaching staff – bringing on set piece analyst Marc Ortí Esteban from English Premier League club Brentford FC to strengthen the threat of New England’s dead-ball opportunities.
“In most leagues in the world, 30 percent or 25-35 percent of the goals scored are on set pieces. We weren’t really good last year on that, and we thought it was important to bring in a guy that could run those,” explained Porter. “Look around the world, a lot of the top clubs in the world have set piece coaches. It’s not something in MLS that many clubs have. I decided with the opening on my staff to go after a set piece guy, and we were able to get a guy from Brentford FC. They’re known as a breeding ground of set piece coaches.”
After putting heavy focus on set pieces in training the past few weeks, the results are already revealing themselves as Campana's header came from a Jackson Yueill corner kick, and Urruti's goal came from a direct free kick placed perfectly into the upper corner. Urruti noted that they had practiced free kicks from that exact position in training the day before.
“We have a good coach in this area. We can score on set pieces this year,” said Urruti.
Urruti embraces potential super sub role
In his first time playing at Gillette Stadium in a Revolution jersey, Urruti immediately showed what he's capable of producing. Replacing fellow forward Campana in the 83rd minute, it took Urruti little time to make an impact, finishing off a pinpoint free kick just four minutes later.
“I come here to support the team in any way I can,” said the veteran attacker. “I get along with Leo very well. It’s a healthy competition that we have. When he scored the goal today, I was very happy for him. He’s a hard worker and we’re all rooting for him. We’re here to help the team. It’s a nice challenge for me, to come here and help this team accomplish something nice for the fans.”
Revs shift focus toward season opener in Nashville
With preseason matches now behind them, the Revs prepare to take on their first opponent of the 2025 regular season. The team will travel to Tennessee on Saturday, February 22 to take on Nashville SC (8:30 pm ET).
“We feel like we have a group that there should not be a ton of mystery on who is starting,” said Porter ahead of Saturday’s match. “I want to be mindful of the rhythm of the team and the chemistry, so I tried to not tinker too much this preseason. I just set it and let them go and pretty much played, for the most part, the same guys every preseason game.”
Last year, New England and Nashville played twice in the regular season, with the Revolution coming out on top in both meetings. With a completely revamped squad, it’s difficult to compare to last year’s results, as it's largely a new team. As Porter puts it, this group is starting to form a brotherhood and those connections are what will be most important as the team starts to play games that really mean something.
