FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The saying goes that when you’re hot, you’re hot, and New England Revolution forward Teal Bunbury is scorching at the moment as he scored yet another game-winning goal in the Revs’ 2-1 victory over the Eastern Conference rival New York Red Bulls on Saturday night.
“He’s just a pro’s pro,” said goalkeeper Matt Turner. “He comes in, he does his job, he works really hard and I couldn’t be happier for him as he continues to roll. He just makes committed runs in the box and the ball finds him, and when it does, he’s there to make the most of the opportunity.”
Bunbury has been thriving in 2018 as he leads the Revs with eight goals on the year, all coming in the past 11 games. But it’s not just the plentiful amount of goals that Bunbury has put away, but also the critical moments that he’s found the back of the net to create momentum for his team.
“He works tirelessly to get himself in good positions to make sure that defensively we’re tough and we’re hard to play against,” said Jalil Anibaba. “I think he’s probably one of the main reasons that teams struggle to play through us, and then on the offensive end he’s been great in terms of scoring obviously a good amount of goals, but crucial goals as well.”
Bunbury’s mix of work ethic and talent have proven to be a lethal combination. He’s popped up at pivotal moments to change games, as five of his eight goals this season have been game winners. That figure leads the league as no one else in MLS has more than three game winners under their belt.
“What he hasn’t he done? That’s the truth,” said Diego Fagundez. “He’s been scoring goals when we need them.”
What tops off Bunbury’s stellar performances goes beyond his stats, though, as he remains humble and levelheaded as he finds arguably some of the best success of his career. He’s a team player that attributes his achievements to everyone else around him.
“Guys are putting me in good positions to finish goals,” said Bunbury. “Cristian Penilla did all the hard work there (to assist), but everybody’s working hard. It’s my job as a center-forward to score, but everyone’s putting the work in defensively, and it’s been a lot of fun.”
As the Revs head on the road for three straight matches including an Open Cup and two MLS regular season games, red-hot Bunbury will no doubt be a crucial component of the Revs’ attack through this hectic stretch.
