FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – As of Monday evening summer has officially arrived, and as the temperatures continue to heat up, so do the New England Revolution.
Historically a side that has suffered through the occasional summer swoon the Revs are hoping to reverse course this season. After a difficult start to the 2016 campaign they’ve turned the tides in recent weeks, winning four of their last five games in all competitions.
The turnaround has been highlighted by last week’s successful two-game road trip through North Carolina and Vancouver, where the Revs clawed their way to a U.S. Open Cup victory over the Carolina RailHawks and a league win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Recent results have been in sharp contrast to the first two months of the season when the Revs managed just one win in their first 11 games, and according to both players and coaches, the difference has been largely between the ears.
“I think it’s been a mentality,” said Teal Bunbury. “We’ve been able to stay mentally strong throughout these past few games. We have a lot of depth on this team, and we’ve been able to capitalize on opportunities and get gutsy performances out of a lot of guys.”
Capitalizing on chances and grinding out a result was the formula in Vancouver, where the Revs scored with two of their three shots on target and withstood a barrage of 17 shots from the hosts.
Head coach Jay Heaps said the Revolution’s performance in Vancouver “wasn’t our best game by any means,” but they still managed to come away with three points from BC Place, where the Whitecaps were unbeaten in seven and hadn’t lost since the season opener.
And that’s what has Heaps so optimistic about the Revolution’s potential once Kei Kamara has fully settled into his new squad, and when the attacking corps all starts clicking at the same time.
“The good thing is I don’t think we’ve hit our stride yet. We have another gear,” said Heaps. “When we get [everyone] rolling, we feel like we have another gear, and we haven’t hit that yet. So getting results when that’s still not at its peak is really good for us.”
