ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The New England Revolution continued to build fitness and foundation for the 2026 season on Saturday afternoon, fighting through 120 minutes against MLS side Houston Dynamo FC at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida. Although the Revs ultimately suffered a 3-2 loss to the Western Conference team, players and coaches alike left the pitch feeling confident in their continued progress.
“The first thing – it’s preseason – is to continue to build a base level of fitness. I do think that the players in both sets of groups that participated did push themselves to a reasonable level. That’s one of the main objectives for preseason. Aside from that, we’re always focusing on all of our four moments of the game. We knew Houston would present some unique opportunities in terms of the way they build and the way they rotated in the midfield, so our defending shape was a big focus,” explained assistant coach Michael Morris. “They actually had a little bit of flexibility in terms of how they pressed us, so just another opportunity for us to implement different ways that we want to build out and build better connections between the players.”
The two teams split the match into four 30-minute quarters, dividing the game respectively between two groups who each saw 60 minutes of play – barring a few substitutions made in the final 30 minutes of the match. Revs head coach Marko Mitrović utilized 25 different players, allowing almost everyone to get some preseason minutes under their belts as they continue to develop stronger connections on the pitch.
The Revolution impressed on the attack, highlighted by Leo Campana netting his third goal in as many preseason matches. Despite conceding to a deflected effort in the 10th minute, the Revs responded with purpose. In the 45th minute, Luca Langoni delivered a pinpoint cross from the right side, finding Campana’s head for the equalizer.
“It’s great when your forward can score three goals in three games. I don’t even think it’s necessary to talk about the amazing goals that he [Campana] has scored. I think what I can talk about the most is the intensity of his defending behavior and his commitment to that level of togetherness,” said Morris. “His immediate response to re-press the opponent, little details that he’s taking up like cutting off passing lanes. Those little actions off the ball aggregate for the team, and it eventually ends up creating better circumstances for him to finish attacks and create more goals for himself. So, it’s all cyclical and it’s been pretty exciting to see a player of his profile be so intense with his defending.”
The Revolution took the lead less than 10 minutes later. Carles Gil launched a brilliant long ball from midfield to the feet of newcomer Griffin Yow, who drove toward the top of the box and fired a strike into the far upper corner, putting the Revs up 2-1 before the half. It was Yow’s first goal in a Revolution jersey, impacting the play in just his second preseason appearance for the team.
“I thought the attack was very good. We had a lot of great opportunities and the buildup to get those goals, it was amazing. Very good finishes by Leo [Campana] and Griffin [Yow],” said defender Peyton Miller, who joined the first group in the initial 60 minutes of play.
With the second group of players entering the match, Houston earned a penalty in the 64th minute to pull level, then scored again in the 114th minute to seal the final score.
Despite the result, New England continues to look increasingly cohesive under Mitrović’s system. Both players and staff remain energized by the progress they’ve made, with two preseason matches still ahead before the Revolution open the regular season on February 21 in Nashville.
“We’re coming here for a fight, but we’re not messing around about it. If teams come to play us, it’s going to be a horrible experience. Our fight is going to be part of our identity, and that’s just who we are,” declared Morris. “When it’s time to make things intense and fight, we’re going to be there for the fight. If teams want to fight us, then we’re going to fight you back even harder.”
The Revs will continue their preparations in Florida with one final test before returning to Foxborough. They’ll aim to carry that competitive edge into next Saturday’s matchup on February 7 against CF Montréal.
