The New England Revolution opened its home schedule Saturday with a scoreless draw against the Montreal Impact. While it has kept a clean sheet and got its first point of the season, it also failed to score on last season’s league bottom feeder. And though it’s very easy for the Revs to have a negative prognosis for the season with a 0-2-1 record and a -5 goal differential, it is not the time to panic.
As many diehard Revolution fans know, admittedly myself included, the same situation occurred for the Revs last season. New England lost the first two games by different scores but the same combined margin of 5-0. It returned home for the third game of the season to face a Canadian opponent and the previous season’s league-worst team in the Vancouver Whitecaps, playing to a scoreless draw. The fourth game was played in San Jose and ended in a 2-1 victory for the Revs. Who do they play in the fourth game this year you ask? San Jose, this time at home.
As the early part of last season continued, the Revs found their scoring and winning forms and by Mother’s Day, May 11, following a 5-0 beat down of the Seattle Sounders, the Revs sat atop the Eastern Conference. Just two months removed from a disastrous start to the season, New England was one of the league leaders. This year, the same can be expected.
Here’s a typical Revs season condensed: takes four games to score, start scoring and winning, arrives at the top of the Eastern Conference at the end of May, doesn’t win again until the end of July, alternates wins and losses through August and finally makes a late season surge toward the playoffs. If the Revs can win in June and July along with having a decent August, there is no reason to say they cannot be the best team in the league, winning the Supporters’ Shield for the best record in the regular season.
There are a few more factors that can explain the sloppy start this season. First off, the Revolution is playing without the services of both their designated players. Jerry Bengtson, a Honduras international, is currently on loan at Argentine club Belgrano until August. More notably, Jermaine Jones is out recovering from sports hernia surgery sustained while at U.S. National Team camp in January.
Second, the injury bug has hit the Revs … hard. On top of the Jones injury, Lee Nguyen, despite playing in the second and third matches this season, is dealing with a nagging leg injury. Midfielder Teal Bunbury separated his shoulder in the opener at Seattle and is set to miss some time. Defender Kevin Alston injured himself against New York City FC in match two while José Gonçalves missed the Montreal match due to a red card suspension.
Third, there is an issue at striker. Charlie Davies finished the year in exquisite form and led the Revs with four playoff goals. However, the Revs reacquired striker Juan Agudelo, who had left the season before for Utrecht in the Netherlands. Agudelo won the starting job in preseason. The only problem is that Agudelo hasn’t played regularly since leaving New England. Not only is he shaking off the rust, but he is also lazy and plays with a lack of urgency.
Despite these major issues, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Jones, along with the other injured and suspended players, will be returning to the lineup soon. A reinvigorated Bengtson will be returning to help later in the season, offering another option at striker. Finally, Agudelo, after getting regular playing time, will shake off the rust and could contend as one of the league’s best strikers if he plays unselfish, urgent soccer. If manager Jay Heaps changes the formation to a two-striker lineup, the addition of Davies would freshen up the team. With all these positives, wins are not impossible.
Once the light is reached, the Revs will be one of the deepest teams in all of MLS. Their depth at backline passed the test against a volatile group of Montreal strikers and midfielders. At midfield, the depth continues to show and improve by battling through the many injuries it sustains. The striker depth is much less obvious, but will grow throughout the season.
So the million-dollar question is, will the Revs perform to last year’s standards? As soon as the key players return to the lineup, it is easy to say their form will improve. Last season, the Revs were one of the best teams in the league. They can do that again this year, in fact be even better, if and only if, they play urgent and unselfish soccer and stay healthy. With these two factors in play, the Revs will not only be competitive, but may even make a run at the Supporters’ Shield and the U.S. Open Cup.
Daniel Shulman is a sophomore at Boston University majoring in Journalism through the College of Communication. A native of Stoughton, Dan is a sports fanatic who loves everything Boston sports related. He is currently a Sports Hawk at the Boston Globe in the High School sports department. He is also a statistician for both Men’s and Women’s Soccer and Men’s Ice Hockey. Aside from writing, Dan has an interest in music, movies and cooking.
