FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The twine of the goal is beginning to have the look and feel of an oasis for the New England Revolution, who extended their season-long goal scoring drought over their first three matches with a 0-0 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday.
The Revolution attack was in clear control with 17 chances in the match, but the club was unable to finish and left with even more frustration following their home opener.
“I thought we had a good time trying to get there,” head coach Jay Heaps said. “I was happy about how we played defensively, but we have to be better offensively.”
With Saer Sene (two shots) making his first start of the season and Kelyn Rowe (three shots) returning after a week’s hiatus due to a tight hamstring, New England were able to generate their chances through their play in the middle third.
As they got into the final third, however, the majority of those chances were either defended by the Whitecaps backline or sent wide of the goal.
“It was a tough game,” said Diego Fagundez, who had a team-high five shots in the match. “All week we worked so hard to try to get that last pass to get that first goal for us. Finishing-wise, myself, I didn’t do as well as usual.”
After scoring just one goal in their first five games a season ago, it’s all too familiar a feeling for Fagundez and company, who were unable to capitalize on nine corner kick opportunities.
The positive? Last week the Revs managed only five shots versus Philadelphia, but the pressure to score that first goal will continue to mount with each passing minute from here on out.
“We had a lot of good chances today,” said Fagundez. “As a team we did well, but we just didn’t finish. It’s one of those things where you are trying to break the ice, and the ice is not broken yet.”
