CHARLOTTE, N.C. – As the New England Revolution arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday morning, their focus was on one thing: bouncing back.
The Revs could center their attention on their most recent result – a gutting loss in the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Quarterfinals at Pumas, giving up their three-goal advantage from the first leg in Foxborough, and ultimately falling 4-3 in a penalty shootout.
New England could also dwell on how it’s a second straight disappointing result, as they let a two-goal lead slip away and conceded three straight late goals to Real Salt Lake in a heavy snowstorm in Foxborough.
However, this team only focuses on what they can control in the present and that is their next result.
New England looks forward to their next opportunity to showcase their resiliency, and that task comes at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday in their inaugural match at Charlotte FC.
“The next challenge now becomes how do we deal with a little bit of adversity?” said assistant coach Dave van den Bergh. “Are we going to let this define us? And let me give you the answer – no, it doesn't.
“It shouldn't and so we're here to prove that we're still the Revs of last season as far as that goes and yeah, challenges, but challenges are there to be overcome, so hopefully we can do just that.”
A battle at the league’s newest expansion team, who had an electric atmosphere in their inaugural home game with a record of 74,479 fans in attendance two weeks prior, is a challenge New England is eager to use to showcase the true character of their squad.
“Obviously, you look back on the last couple results, you know, and we’re a little bit frustrated and disappointed with that,” said Matt Polster. “But this team is extremely motivated and excited to have a game against Charlotte tomorrow.
“I think that’s the best feeling, you know, when you have a disappointing result, you’re able to bounce back quickly and that’s what we’re going to try to do against Charlotte.”
The Revs flew from Mexico City to Charlotte early morning on Thursday directly after their Wednesday night battle at Pumas and had the rest of the day to sleep, relax and recover.
“We [got] into market pretty quickly, and then it was pretty quickly where the players realize we've got another opportunity to make this right, to avenge ourselves and the results, and so the mood is pretty good,” said van den Bergh.
“It's – I don't know how else to put it – but combative and ready to go for another game.”
Saturday’s match against Charlotte FC will be the squad’s fifth game in only a 15-day span, and New England is aiming to end it on a high note.
“The boys will be fine,” said Polster. “We just need to come with the right attitude and mindset, push this game and make them frustrated as much as possible, and annoy them as much as possible, and we’ll find our moments to capitalize and find a way to get three points.”
With the Revs looking to bounce back (2-2-1 in all competitions) and Charlotte searching for their first point(s) and win (0-3-0) of their MLS existence, this clash will feature two teams who are extremely hungry for the taste of victory.
The Revs will kick off in their first-ever match against Charlotte FC on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET at Bank of America Stadium, with television coverage on TV38, myRITV, and CoziTV.
