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Revolution looking for ‘statement win’ against Crew in home opener
New England begins its slate of 2025 home games with a tough test against an Eastern Conference power.
Revolution’s home opener: For Revolution head coach Caleb Porter, it remains an imperative to get off to a good start in 2025. A year ago, the team’s MLS form cratered to begin his first year in charge in New England, and never recovered.
Finishing 14th out of 15th in 2024, the Revolution can seemingly go nowhere but up. Yet after opening the new season with a 0-0 draw on the road in Nashville, this Saturday’s home opener promises an even tougher test against the Columbus Crew. Porter outlined his thoughts during a pre-match press conference.
“You have to win, it’s that simple,” Porter explained. “You create a winning feeling and when the opponent knows you win your games there, they come in knowing you’re a confident team. To win, you have to score goals and you have to play aggressive, as well, but also, there’s a balance to that.
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“You have to be smart,” he added. “Some teams do poorly at home because they go and open themselves up. We want to be balanced as a team in every game this year, home and away. What I mean by that is how we attack, how we defend, the balance of how we play, the consistency of how we play, we want to be very clear, which means we’ll always look to defend really well [and] we’ll always look to score goals also.”
Exactly what New England’s tactical identity will be remains to be seen. In the opener in Nashville, the Revolution looked like a team that had undergone a huge roster overhaul. Disjointed in the attack, Porter’s team is a work in progress.
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But patience will wear thin amongst home fans if results don’t begin to take shape sooner rather than later.
“We need to start that in game one,” he said of getting an early win. “That’s really important, to get off to a good start and get that first win at home against a very good team. Sometimes you get a win early in the year and it’s against a team that maybe hasn’t been that good. This would definitely be a statement win, if we’re able to get it.”
Columbus has been a thorn in New England’s side for the last several years. The Revolution have managed just one win over the Crew in the teams’ last 14 meetings (including a 1-0 defeat in the 2020 Eastern Conference Final, when Porter — then head coach of the Crew — led Columbus to an MLS Cup win).
Speaking of the 2024 matchup with his old team, Porter was blunt.
“I mean, they embarrassed us last year, frankly,” he admitted of 4-0 defeat. “So, I think it’s a great chance for us to show how much different a team we have this year, how far we’ve come, and that we’re a lot more competitive.”
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Scores and schedules:
Tonight, the Celtics host the Cavaliers at 7:30 p.m.
The Bruins lost to the Islanders 2-1 on Thursday. Boston will play the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Saturday at 3 p.m.
The Fleet play the Victoire in Montreal on Saturday at 2 p.m.
And (as noted above) the Revolution’s 2025 home opener gets underway against the Crew on Saturday at Gillette Stadium 7:30 p.m.
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- Mike Vrabel jokes about Travis Hunter’s desire to be ‘two-way’ player in NFL
- 9 prospects Patriots fans should watch during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine
- Hilary Knight free from injuries, distractions in regaining her offensive touch in 2nd PWHL season
Third base in focus: The ongoing Devers vs. Bregman story from Red Sox spring training.
On this day: In 1975, the Celtics overcame Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (40 points) and the Bucks in a 107-106 regular season clash. Dave Cowens led Boston with 33 points, 19 rebounds, and eight assists.
Daily highlight: Steph Curry torched the Magic for 56 points on Thursday night in a Warriors win, a performance which included this halftime buzzer-beater.
STEPHEN CURRY YOU ARE UNREAL 🤯🤯
— NBA (@NBA) February 28, 2025
CASUAL BUZZER BEATER FROM 3/4 COURT TO END THE HALF 🎯🎯🎯 pic.twitter.com/CdHcVxpe5W
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