FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The countdown to Nashville has begun in New England. With preseason preparations in the rearview, the Revolution are now gearing up to take on their first opponent of the 2025 regular season this Saturday night at GEODIS Park (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).

“We’re hungry, ambitious. I think it’s a new team who really wants to do well this year, so it’s really important to do well at the beginning of the season,” said midfielder Jackson Yueill, who arrived in Foxborough this offseason after eight years in San Jose. “The guys are eager to play. Everyone loves soccer and loves to be out there. The games are what matter, and everyone is eager to do well this year.”

There is renewed energy on the training ground – players locked in on earning three points to start the season, and pregame excitement starting to build, as every game from now on has real stakes. “This week is going to be a bit more special,” is how striker Leo Campana described it. “It’s going to be a bit more anxiety, more in a good way obviously,more nervous, but also a good feeling that we're going to do really good in Nashville.”

With butterflies starting to flutter in stomachs, you’d think those anxious feelings would be muted for some of the more seasoned players and staff on the pitch, but head coach Caleb Porter explained, it’s quite the opposite. “Definitely, maybe even more as you go through the years,” said Porter when asked if he still gets that fluttery feeling before the start of a new season. “You don’t take it for granted how fortunate you are to be in the position you are as a head coach in the league and I feel blessed. I’m loving every minute of it.”

While the team did well in preseason, earning a 4-1-1 record, the slate is now clean and the mentality has shifted toward something real – from building a foundation, to securing results. For the Revs, preseason was mostly about forming connections and developing chemistry as a squad with 14 new signings. For Porter, looking back to early January when the team first touched down in Florida to now, the bonds built are stronger than he could have imagined this soon into the season.

“I really liked the way they played in the last game,” said Porter. “The identity, for me, was really clear and that’s nice to see only four weeks in. What we want to be is four weeks in, and look like we’ve been together four months, and we’re starting to see that.”

Connections and confidence go hand-in-hand for the team, explained Campana. “The culture we’re creating, the friendships inside and outside the pitch, it’s important,” he said. “We’re going to Nashville really confident and with the mentality of getting three points."

For Campana, and all the new players joining the team this season, being home in New England this past week has started to inspire connections beyond the pitch, allowing players to get a feel for the area, the stadium, and learn more about the fans and community. Winning the last game of the preseason at Gillette Stadium with fans in the stands was a crucial boost of confidence for the squad. “The city obviously is incredible,” said Yueill, who although born in Minnesota, is getting used to the cold again after playing in California for nearly 10 years. “We got to play in front of the fans and in the stadium for the first time, so I was really excited for that and really excited for the rest of the season.”

Campana, who has been spotted mingling with fans in the city and even swapping jerseys with Boston Celtics guard Derrick White, says his first few days in Boston have been great. “The people here are amazing, really friendly. I’m really happy to be honest. I just want to get started and do great things for the city of Boston.”

For Porter, who celebrated his birthday on Tuesday with “a lot of hugs” and a run through the tunnel formed by players, the only thing he wants is a win. “That’s going to be the biggest present I could get, is three points in the first game,” he said. “They are ready to play for keeps. They are ready to play games that mean something and it was a great preseason, but we’re zero and zero now. For all the good it’s important that now we start getting results – starting with Nashville.”