FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution closed out their preseason preparations with a 6-1 win over Hartford Athletic on Saturday afternoon at the club’s training facility in Foxborough. The Revs battled the USL Championship side for a total of 135 minutes, dividing the game between two groups, allowing players to get the closest to a full 90 as they have throughout their five preseason matches.
Five different Revolution players found the scoresheet, with Leo Campana setting the tone early. The striker found the net twice in the opening 45 minutes, pushing his preseason tally to five goals in five games and continuing his sharp run of form heading into the regular season.
“Seeing the way we want to play, the buildouts and things like that, it’s important. But then, finding the back of the net, it’s something we did throughout the preseason, but seeing it all come together today was nice,” said defender Andrew Farrell, who held down the back line with the first group of players. “It’s been great so far. The intensity, the group is really together, and today finishing the goals and putting in a good performance was important for next Saturday.”
The score remained 2-0 throughout the first third of the match, until Carles Gil extended New England’s lead from the penalty spot in the 48th minute. Hartford responded with a penalty goal of their own, but aside from a handful of half-chances, it was one of their few real threats in the Revolution’s box, as New England maintained control with a strong showing on both sides of the ball.
With substitutes coming on to relieve the first group after roughly 80 minutes, the goals continued to flow from the Revolution. Doubling the scoreline, goals came from Eric Klein, Alhassan Yusuf, and Allan Oyirwoth to close out the match.
“It’s always important to win, but also important for us the way we’re going to win the game, because we must create a sustainable model for ourselves during the season. This is something we’ve been setting up step-by-step through the whole preseason, and game-by-game. So, I feel good,” head coach Marko Mitrović said following the positive result. “I like to see the score of six goals, that’s nice. Whoever scores, it’s good.”
It was a Revolution squad that looked comfortable on the pitch, displaying the results of the five weeks of work they’ve put in under Mitrović. The progress was evident and reflects the optimism that’s been building throughout preseason.
“The last month has been amazing. It’s a great group of guys on and off the field, and I think you can see it when we’re playing,” explained defender Ethan Kohler. “It’s very fluid, the connections are there, and it’s a group of guys that I feel comfortable with. I can try things and I know they’ll have my back.”
It’s that freedom to be creative which players have praised Mitrović and the Revolution coaching staff for over this five-week period. With the ability to play fluidly, players feel like they are building something special.
“It starts with the coaching staff. It starts with Marko giving us the belief and then we’ve worked off that,” said Kohler. “We have a very good foundation tactically, and that gives you freedom.”
As the Revolution have spent time adapting to the tactics of a new head coach, the real test will now come on February 21. With the first regular season match of 2026 now just one week away, it comes down to the small details and shifting the focus to Nashville. According to Kohler, the mindset doesn’t change as they head toward matchday one. They’ve been ready since the start.
“It feels as if the group has been preparing like every preseason game is our last preseason game, so I wouldn’t say there is a shift in mindset. We’ve been preparing like we are going to play our first MLS game this whole preseason, so I think the only thing we need to do is continue the way we’ve been going,” the 20-year-old said.
The Revolution will open the 2026 season against Nashville SC at GEODIS Park at 8:30 p.m. ET next Saturday, as they aim to carry some of the positive momentum from the Hartford result with them and start the season with a statement performance.
