The floodgates have officially been opened by the New England Revolution offense.
For the second straight week the Revs scored five times, a first in club history, and after a slow start in which they tallied only two scores over their first five matches, their attack has become one of the sharpest in the league.
“I think what I expected [this season] was a balanced attack and we were going to get goals from a lot of different ways,” said coach Jay Heaps in a postgame conference call. “I think tonight you saw that.”
Saturday night's 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Union gave the Revolution their first win in six tries at PPL Park and extended their current win streak to 10 games, the club’s best run since 2005.
They featured five different goal scorers against the Union. And over their current 5-0-1 run, New England have 17 goals from eight different players.
“I think we’re breaking well with good balance, with numbers forward,” said Heaps. “We’re setting each other up. It’s really coming down to some individual play as well.”
New England’s offense carried some heavy expectations into the season, but faltered out of the gate, going 1-3-1 in their first five matches, a span that included a 1-0 loss to the Union.
The recent outburst has coincided with some key lineup changes in starting Patrick Mullins at forward and moving Teal Bunbury to the right wing, which has created the scoring chances that were lacking early on.
“We train the same, we do a lot of the same tactics, the same technical work,” said Heaps. “Sometimes you find chemistry, it takes a little while. Guys are taking chances, guys are getting to understand each other. When you take chances, you get confidence and that’s what we have to keep doing.”
The chances and goals are now coming in bunches for New England. But after struggling early, they know well that things won’t always come this easy.
“You’re not going to score many five-goal games,” said Heaps. “So you’ve got to take it in stride.”
