FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – As the points keep piling up for the New England Revolution - an MLS-best 52 and counting heading into the weekend - the gap atop the standings continues to widen as they enter the final 10 games of the regular season.
The Revs' league-leading record of 16-4-4 puts them 10 points ahead of their closest competition in the Supporters' Shield race with a 14-point lead in the Eastern Conference.
However, while New England does keep compiling three-point efforts - and it shows in the standings - the squad knows it doesn’t mean anything yet.
“I don’t think we can be satisfied with where we’re at,” said Teal Bunbury. “Up to this point, we haven’t won anything. We’re doing well. We are winning games, but the ultimate prize, the ultimate goal is making it to the playoffs, having home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and winning a championship.”
That winning mentality is a tenacious characteristic that reverberates throughout the locker room as the squad aspires to continually fight for each other, and the ultimate prize, every single game.
“It’s a gritty group, tough group, guys that have a lot of fight in them,” said Henry Kessler. “One of our slogans is ‘Bring the Fight,’ make sure we do that every week, week-in, week-out. It’s a characteristic of the team.”
“Our focus is just that next game,” said Bunbury. "Most teams always say that, but we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We’re first in the league, first in our conference, I think we have a target on our backs.
“Each game is going to be critical and important if we want to finish first in the East. That’s our goal right now.”
While the Revs are elated with the position they’ve put themselves in heading into the campaign’s final 10 matches, they know the hardest work still remains as they aim to close out the regular season and maintain their hot form into the playoffs.
Their next chance to do so is on Saturday night at home against New York City FC, which is one of four teams to beat New England this season. The Revs are eager for the chance at revenge at Gillette Stadium.
“We love that opportunity,” said Kessler. “We’ve done pretty well this year, haven’t lost too many games, so to get a chance against a team that we lost to before, I think it’s a great opportunity and we’re looking forward to making some adjustments and hopefully getting a better result.”
The Revs are set to kick off against NYCFC in Foxborough on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, with television coverage on TV38, myRITV and COZITV.