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MLS New England Revolution

Revolution Continue Preseason with Friendly vs. FC Cincinnati

February 14, 2023 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


CLEARWATER, Fla. - The New England Revolution played 120 minutes of preseason action against FC Cincinnati on Tuesday afternoon at Walter C. Campbell Park in the club's fourth of five preseason friendlies in Florida. Homegrown Players Esmir Bajraktarević, Noel Buck, and Damian Rivera all started Tuesday's contest, a 4-0 defeat for New England, with Buck and Rivera logging 75 minutes each.

Defender Andrew Farrell and forward Bobby Wood each saw their first minutes of preseason, with Farrell starting the opening 45 minutes. Wood, who joined New England this offseason after two seasons with Real Salt Lake, saw 30 minutes on the afternoon.

Match Notes:

All five Homegrown Players on the Revolution roster saw action on the day, with Esmir Bajraktarević, Noel Buck, and Damian Rivera each starting while Justin Rennicks and Jack Panayotou played 30 and 45 minutes, respectively.

Latif Blessing and Matt Polster played together in central midfield for the last 45 minutes to close out the match.

Defender Andrew Farrell and forward Bobby Wood each made their preseason debuts. Farrell started and played 45 minutes, while Wood saw 30 minutes during the second period of Tuesday's 120-minute match.

While Wood played 30 minutes at the forward position, Giacomo Vrioni and Jozy Altidore each contributed 45 minutes on the day.

2023 MLS SuperDraft selections Joshua Bolma and Victor Souza both made appearances for a fourth straight preseason match. Bolma started and played 45 minutes, while Souza replaced Andrew Farrell and played 30 minutes during the second period.

The Revolution will conclude the 2023 preseason on Saturday night, when New England visits Orlando City SC at Exploria Stadium. The club's final match of the 2023 preseason kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET. New England then returns home to prepare for the 2023 MLS regular season opener on Saturday, Feb. 25 at Charlotte FC (7:30 p.m. ET). All matches during the "MLS is Back" opening weekend will be available to watch for free on the Apple TV app. Every Revolution, MLS, and Leagues Cup match is available on MLS Season Pass - all in one place, with no blackouts.

MLS Season Passis available now through the Apple TV app on Apple devices, smart TVs, streaming devices, set-top boxes, and game consoles, and on the web at tv.apple.com. Fans can now subscribe to MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app for $14.99 per month during the season or $99 per season, and Apple TV+ subscribers can sign up at a special price of $12.99 per month and $79 per season. As an exclusive benefit of their full-season membership, New England Revolution Season Members receive one MLS Season Pass subscription with each account. Visit Revolutionsoccer.net or call 1-877-GET-REVS to learn more about becoming a Season Member.

GAME CAPSULE

New England Revolution 0, FC Cincinnati 4

February 14, 2023 - Walter C. Campbell Park (Clearwater, Fla.)

Weather: 70 degrees and sunny

Scoring Summary:

CIN - 8'

CIN - 37'

CIN - 41'

CIN - 55'

New England Revolution (1st Half - 45 minutes): Earl Edwards Jr.; Ryan Spaulding, Omar Gonzalez, Andrew Farrell ©, Joshua Bolma; Noel Buck, Noble OkelloT; Emmanuel BoatengT, Esmir Bajraktarević, Damian Rivera; Giacomo Vrioni.

New England Revolution (2nd Period - 30 minutes): Earl Edwards Jr.; Pierre Cayet*, Omar Gonzalez, Victor Souza^; Joshua Bolma, Noel Buck, Noble OkelloT; Emmanuel BoatengT, Damian Rivera; Justin Rennicks, Bobby Wood.

New England Revolution (3rd period - 45 minutes): Djordje Petrović; Christian Makoun, Henry Kessler, Dave Romney, Brandon Bye; Matt Polster, Latif Blessing; Dylan Borrero, Carles Gil, Jack Panayotou; Jozy Altidore.

* = Revolution II player

^ = Unsigned 2023 MLS SuperDraft pick

T = Trialist

Postgame Quotes

Revolution Midfielder Joshua Bolma

On Tuesday's match:

Bolma: "I think overall we did pretty good except some petty errors that we had, especially in our own third. ... I think as a group, it's starting to come together. We can play, we can move the ball around, and at least we want to play through pressure and everything. But sometimes, we have to be mindful of just get it up sometimes and then regroup and go again. Overall, I didn't think it was that bad. I thought we were able to control the game, it was just those few errors where we tried to play through pressure a little bit and got caught in our own third. So, I think that's something we should keep working on and get better at."

On discovering an identity and building chemistry:

Bolma: "As I said before, it's starting to come together now. You can see that we're getting the pieces together, the way we want to play, the system, and everything else. It's preseason, so it's like dress rehearsal and seeing how it fits with other teams, pressure, and stuff like that. I think we're coming together slowly now, we're definitely building now, and before the season starts, we're definitely going to be in the right place and be able to progress from there."

On building fitness in the final week of preseason:

Bolma: "I think it's been pretty good. The weather is really hot and gets you extra fit. You're going to get a little sore, that's for sure, but it just builds more fitness for you. A lot of minutes is good to get in the tank, to be able to get fit and ready for the season because when the season starts it's back-to-back-to-back-to back. I think this is great right now for us to be able to build up fitness, and the weather is a factor as well."

On transitioning to a more defensive role in the pros:

Bolma: "I think college has helped me a lot, playing in different roles. Coming in has been a smooth transition because I'm familiar with all the different type of positions I've played here. So, college has definitely been a real factor into how I've been able to progress here, and it's been great so far.

Revolution Midfielder Damian Rivera

On what the group can take away from today's match:

Rivera: "I think the team is still building chemistry, obviously. I think we can take a lot out of this game. I think one is fitness and, like I said, building chemistry."

On the team's progress from game to game:

Rivera: "I think every game we definitely improved. I think we have more of a system of how we want to play, and I think every game gets better and better."

On having Andrew Farrell back on the field:

Rivera: "Obviously, Andrew [Farrell] is a leader on the team and to have him back, it's good for all of us. I think he helps the team a lot."

On forward Bobby Wood:

Rivera: "Bobby [Wood] is a very good player and he has a lot of experience. A lot of the younger guys can learn from him as well and to have him back on the field is a big positive."

On the primary focus of the last few days of preseason:

Rivera: "The last 10 days for us, I think the most important thing is getting everything sharp and building that little bit more chemistry that we need."

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