FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The second half of the New England Revolution’s regular-season schedule will be road-heavy as they’ll finish the year by playing 10 of their final 15 games away from home.
But first, a three-game homestand offers the Revs a critical chance to solidify their place amongst the Eastern Conference contenders as they’ll host D.C. United, Seattle Sounders FC and the LA Galaxy over the course of the next three weekends, beginning this Saturday night when D.C. comes to town.
New England head into the homestand four points clear of the playoff line in the East, and they’ll have an opportunity to create a bit of separation between themselves and the postseason chasers before hitting the road for a two-game trip through Minnesota and New York.
“It’s huge,” said goalkeeper Matt Turner. “We expect to get nine (points) out of those three games, and that’s what we’re going to aim to do. Anything less will be a little bit of a disappointment or a let off.
“We know that it’s coming to a critical time in the season. Teams are starting to find their form, so we’ve got to rise up the table.”
The Revs are among those teams that have found their form, as they’ll carry a five-game unbeaten run into the weekend. They’ll also lean upon their success at Gillette Stadium, as they’ve been one of the league’s best teams at home in recent years, going 21-4-5 in their last 30 games in Foxborough.
“Home is where we’re comfortable. It’s where we’ve been pretty good as of late,” said Jalil Anibaba, who has played every minute as the Revs have gone 5-2-2 at Gillette Stadium this season. “More than anything, we’re just excited to get back after it and get games underneath our belts again.”
Saturday night’s meeting with D.C. United marks the Revolution’s return to action following a 16-day break – their longest stretch between games in more than two years – which gave players an opportunity to rest, but also extra time to prepare for the upcoming homestand.
“These next few games at home are going to be crucial for us,” said Teal Bunbury, noting the road-heavy finish to the schedule. “In our mind, we can go toe-to-toe with any team … We’re going to start off with D.C., but our mindset is winning all these games at home.”
That focus on D.C. was reiterated by head coach Brad Friedel, who wants 100 percent of his side’s energy channeled into this weekend’s meeting with their longtime rival.
“I think it’s important that we have this home game after all the road games, but I’m not looking at the other games beyond that,” Friedel said. “D.C. United has some very, very good players, and we’re going to have to focus on that.”
