FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – And down the stretch they come.
With just nine games remaining in the regular season – seven of which will be played in the next six weeks – the New England Revolution are well and truly into the stretch run of the 2015 campaign.
Perched six points above the playoff line in the Eastern Conference and just five points back of the second-place New York Red Bulls, there is still much to be decided the coming weeks. A top-two seed and a first-round bye are well within reach, but even a playoff spot is not yet guaranteed.
“We’re in a position now where every game matters,” said head coach Jay Heaps. “You want to get in your rhythm so that you can kind of hit the right stride going into these final games.”
The Revs – fresh off their second bye in a three-week span – return to action on Saturday night when they’ll visit the Philadelphia Union at PPL Park. All nine of the Revolution’s remaining games are against Eastern Conference opponents, including seven against clubs currently behind them in the standings.
“Playing the conference teams makes it even more important, because with the points, it’s a six-point swing,” said Jeremy Hall, who has started the past four games at right back. “We also have a couple more games played than some of the other teams, so these games are crucial for us.”
While the timing of the recent bye weeks was seen as unfortunate – disrupting the rhythm of New England’s current four-game unbeaten run – there were benefits, as well. This is the stage of the season when everyone is dealing with bumps and bruises, and the Revs were able to manage some of those concerns by resting players ahead of the impending gauntlet of games.
Jermaine Jones is coming off his first start since May – Heaps said the Revs will assess his progression throughout the week – and Kelyn Rowe was afforded time to fully recover from the muscle tightness which forced him off in the second half of New England’s win over the Houston Dynamo on August 15.
“Big picture, I think it’s a good thing,” Heaps said. “When you’re playing games and you feel like you’re in the grind, you don’t want bye weeks. But in the big picture, if we can go out and have another good week this week and prepare ourselves for a good Philly team, then in the long run, it’ll be better for us.”
