KANSAS CITY, Kan. – New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis deserved a better ending.
The 16-year MLS veteran came through time and time again inside the cauldron of Sporting Park to repel the home side. His seven saves on this night kept the Revolution in the game and preserved any chance of a place in the Eastern Conference Championship.
But the conclusion to his night hardly reflected those contributions. Reis rushed off his line to clear the danger yet again in the dying embers of the Revolution's season-ending 3-1 defeat to Sporting Kansas City and then slumped to the ground holding his left leg. He received treatment on the field and left it with the aid of people on either side of him.
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Reis suffered a suspected torn left quadriceps on that play, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the injury. He is expected to undergo further evaluation upon his return to Boston on Thursday afternoon.
“It's too early to say, but it doesn't look good,” Revolution coach Jay Heaps told MLSsoccer.com.
It served as an unfortunate coda to his late-season renaissance. Reis returned to the starting lineup in mid-August and strung together a nine-match unbeaten run to push this promising team into the postseason. His first charged loss of the season came in this painful denouement at Sporting Park.
“That's been the story for the past couple of months: Matt Reis has been phenomenal,” Revolution defender A.J. Soares said. “I'm really sad to see him go down with that injury.
"But he's a stud. He really led us into the playoffs and through that last stretch of games where we needed to win all of the time. He really was the backbone and the guy we leaned on. ”
And now Reis will lean on them as he recovers from his injury and hopes his next appearance ends in a more fitting fashion.
