FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Kelyn Rowe was a determined man on Saturday afternoon.
In 93 previous appearances through three-plus years in MLS, Rowe had never taken more than five shots in any single game. But against the San Jose Earthquakes – with the New England Revolution pressing for their first goal and win of 2015 – he took aim seven times. All in the first half.
Rowe’s perseverance was rewarded with a pair of goals – the second brace of his career and his first since August of 2013 – as the Revs held off the Earthquakes by a score of 2-1 in snowy Foxborough.
“I thought Kelyn was excellent,” said head coach Jay Heaps. “Not just scoring the goals, but also just the way he pressured, the way he played; his connection with Charlie (Davies) up top and also the midfielders. I thought Kelyn, today, was excellent all the way around.”
“Obviously everyone wants to get that first goal,” Rowe said. “Once we did, I think we created so many chances after that.”
Rowe’s teammate, Juan Agudelo, somewhat prophetically declared earlier in the week that the Revs, shut out in their first three games, needed to shoot more. Agudelo reasoned that any effort on target, with a bit of fortune, could find its way to the back of the net.
The opening goal, scored in the 21st minute, was created by Daigo Kobayashi’s pressure and Lee Nguyen’s clever pull-back. But when Rowe unleashed from outside the box, New England finally received the kiss of luck they needed when a deflection took the ball past Earthquakes ‘keeper David Bingham.
“You want to get shots on target, because if you do, something’s going to happen,” Rowe said.
After waiting almost 300 minutes for their first goal of 2015, the Revs added a second just 16 minutes later when Rowe was in the right place at the right time to bundle home from close range.
Darrius Barnes got on the end of Chris Tierney’s set piece and the ball found its way to Rowe, who had to react quickly to poke the ball with his left foot from an acute angle.
“It’s one of those where you’ve got to be aware,” Rowe said. “You’re inside the box and on a free kick, anything can happen. Darrius is a guy that’s always going to get his head on the ball. I was going to the near post, I turned around and it was there. It’s one of those you’ve got to put in the back of the net.”
With the ice broken both in terms of goals and wins for the 2015 campaign, Rowe believes that a small burden has been lifted from the Revs, who’ll be a more confident bunch moving forward.
“It’s not easy going three games without a goal and only having one point,” Rowe said. “I think, especially at home, it’s good to find those goals. It’s good to play well and create chances. I think going forward the confidence is going to be higher and you’ll find goals from other guys, as well.”
