FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Upwards of 30,000 fans are expected to pack Gillette Stadium on Saturday night to watch the New England Revolution close out its 2014 regular-season schedule against Toronto FC.
The Revs (16-13-4, 52 pts.) are already guaranteed a second-place finish in the Eastern Conference, but they’ll have to wait until Sunday to learn their opponent – either Sporting Kansas City, the Columbus Crew or New York Red Bulls – in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Toronto FC (11-14-8, 41 pts.) was officially eliminated from playoff contention last weekend.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night with both Comcast SportsNet and 1510AM WUFC providing regional coverage. CSN will also air Revs Post Game Live immediately following the final whistle.
Current Form: Revs roll toward the playoffs as one of Major League Soccer’s hottest teams
MVP candidate Lee Nguyen popped up in another big spot last Thursday night, scoring a pair of second-half goals – his 16th and 17th of the season – to lift the Revolution to a 2-1 road win over the Houston Dynamo.
WATCH: Nguyen – along with trio of second-half subs – sparks Revs to comeback victory
It was a result which not only locked up one of the top seeds in the East, but also improved New England’s record to 8-1-1 in the past 10 games – the best mark in MLS through that span. Although this weekend’s regular-season finale won’t affect where the Revs finish in the East, they’ve emphasized the importance of carrying their current run of form straight through into the postseason.
“We want to take momentum into the playoffs if we can,” said A.J. Soares. “We know there’s no consequence of the game, but it doesn’t really matter. It’s all about us and looking forward, and we know if we have a good performance here, that’ll carry to the next week.”
Toronto FC’s once promising season came to a disappointing resolution last weekend as the club’s 1-1 draw with the Montreal Impact – capping a 0-3-1 run through the past four games – guaranteed that TFC will head into the 2015 campaign still searching for a first-ever playoff berth.
Past Meetings: Revs go in search of a season sweep after pair of wins in Toronto
This year has already seen the Revs pick up their first-ever victory – two victories, in fact – in Toronto, and now they’ll have the chance to complete their first-ever season sweep over TFC on Saturday night.
Patrick Mullins’ first professional goal and a late Nguyen penalty earned New England a come-from-behind win at BMO Field back in early May, while more recently the Revs rolled to a 3-0 win in Toronto courtesy of goals from Nguyen, Kelyn Rowe and Teal Bunbury. Coincidentally, it was the Revolution’s last clean sheet.
WATCH: Revs match their biggest road win in club history with three-goal triumph in Toronto
Now the Revs welcome TFC to Foxborough for the only time this year looking to improve upon the home form which has seen them go just 1-2-1 against Toronto in the past four meetings at Gillette Stadium.
Injury Report: Farrell just fine after injury scare in last week’s win over Houston
Revolution fans held their collective breath last Thursday when standout defender Andrew Farrell was stretchered off the field at BBVA Compass Stadium following a studs-to-ankle challenge from Jermaine Taylor.
Those initial fears have thankfully been allayed, however, as Farrell trained throughout the week and is not listed on the Revolution’s official injury report.
The Revs do, though, have four players on that injury report, including stalwart winger Teal Bunbury (L hamstring tightness, questionable). Bunbury appeared in 31 of the Revolution’s first 32 games this season before the injury prevented him from making last week’s trip to Texas, and he may require additional rest before the playoffs.
Three players are listed as out for the Revolution – Shalrie Joseph (L groin strain), Stephen McCarthy (L meniscus surgery) and Luis Soffner (R ankle sprain).
Toronto FC will be short four players for Saturday’s regular-season finale, including leading scorer Jermain Defoe (R adductor strain) and standout rookie defender Nick Hagglund (R hamstring strain) through injury. Midfielders Dwayne De Rosario and Jonathan Osorio will also miss out this weekend through suspension.
Final Thoughts: Soares says Revs have sights set on a title, and “it starts this Saturday”
“We want to go into this game and have a good performance, because we know we have to perform better if we want to win in the playoffs,” said Soares. “We’re in the playoffs, but I think we have more expectation than last year. Last year, we got in, we were happy to get in and it was sort of let’s go from there.
“This year, we’re expecting to go all the way. We want to win the Cup. There’s no doubt about that. It starts this Saturday with a game where we can tighten the screws. We can fix errors, we can play better football, hopefully roll into the playoffs and go deeper than we did last year.”
