FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The next three months will offer up some serious home cooking for the New England Revolution.
Beginning with Saturday night’s visit from Real Salt Lake, the Revs will play seven of their next 11 games at Gillette Stadium, with multiple home games in May (2), June (2) and July (3). What’s more, five of those seven home games will be “six-pointers” against Eastern Conference opponents.
For a Revolution side that’s gone unbeaten at home since last September (6-0-2), it’s a stretch that could largely define where they stand heading into the late summer months.
“It’s massive,” goalkeeper Cody Cropper said of the upcoming schedule. “We’ve proven that we can be a very good threat at home, and I think we have to continue that mentality; continue to be strong, go out there and play in front of our home fans like we’ve done in the past.”
New England’s home form did, however, hit a minor speed bump in mid-April. After winning six straight games in Foxborough between last September and early April, the Revs played to consecutive draws against the San Jose Earthquakes (0-0) and D.C. United (2-2) in a four-day span.
Those draws are part of a five-game winless run (0-2-3) for the Revs, whose last victory was a 2-0 triumph over the Houston Dynamo on April 8 at Gillette Stadium.
In response – with RSL (1-3-1 on the road this season) coming to town on Saturday night – the Revs have their sights set on three points and nothing less.
“This is a huge one,” said midfielder Scott Caldwell. “We haven’t gotten three points in a while now, and we know that. We know how important it is back at home in front of our supporters against RSL.
“It’s an important three points to get us rolling on the next four or five games. We start here, and we’ve got to get three points at home.”
