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New England Revolution

Hamstrung by Slow Start Last Year, Revs Aiming to "Put Together Some Early Results"

March 1, 2017 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - "Every point matters" is something of a clichéd mantra, but no team felt the reality of that axiom more than the New England Revolution in 2016.

The Revs missed out on a postseason berth by virtue of the goal differential tiebreaker, finishing level on both points and wins with the Philadelphia Union for the sixth and final playoff spot in the East. Just one more point through a 34-game schedule and the Revs would've been in the postseason.

So yes, every point does really matter.

"We understand that last year was very close for us to make the playoffs," said Juan Agudelo, the Revolution's leading scorer in 2016 with seven goals and five assists. "We understand how important every single point is ... (We) understand that it could be as little as a goal differential that can make the difference at the end of the year."

While one more positive result at any point in the 2016 campaign would've made the difference, it was New England's slow start to the season that hamstrung them in the early stages. Just one win from their first 11 games (1-3-7) sunk the Revs to eighth place in the East, and despite a late-season run (5-2-0 in their last seven games), they'd dug themselves too deep a hole through March and April.

Now, with the 2017 season set to begin this Saturday evening in Colorado, the Revs are aiming to avoid those peaks and valleys that have defined recent seasons.

"Unfortunately, last year we were too late on the strong finish; we were a couple games late," said head coach Jay Heaps. "The key this year is consistency - that we put together some early results."

It's a challenging objective considering New England's first two road trips are to Colorado and Dallas, the two sides that finished with the best regular-season records in all of MLS last season. But with the right mindset, the Revs are confident that they can earn points away from home.

And as the Revs are well aware, each point could be the difference come the end of the season.

"You can see from past experiences, especially last year when we missed out by one point," said Lee Nguyen. "That's crucial, especially those points away from home, if we can get those. So coming into this first game against Colorado, it's going to be big to maximize those points."

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