FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – It’s been well over a year now since New England Revolution defender Kevin Alston was diagnosed withchronic myelogenous leukemia.
The rare, but treatable disease took three months off of his 2013 season and although it continues to keep him on his toes, he readily faces the challenge head on every day.
“I’m still doing checkups, I’m still taking medication,” said Alston of his continued treatment of the leukemia. “I’m not technically in remission, but things are, for the most part, stable now. I’m just trying to take it one day at a time.”
Now Alston is facing down a much happier challenge, his first shot at the MLS Cup. It's a notable milestone for the veteran defender, who started at left back in the decisive leg of the Eastern Conference Championship this past weekend and did a good job of limiting New York Red Bulls winger Lloyd Sam.
“It’s awesome,” said Alston. “It’s my sixth season. This is the ultimate goal. It’s special alone, but being able to have the opportunity to participate in MLS Cup is even more special considering everything that happened last year.”
Over his first four seasons in the MLS everything was going according to plan for Alston, who made 112 starts in that span. But after starting the first four matches of 2013, he received his diagnosis. He was eventually able to return to the pitch in late July before being forced out of the postseason with a hamstring injury sustained down the stretch run.
Depth and injuries limited Alston once again this season, but after going through what he had the prior year, his positivity and determination were at an all-time high. He scored his first career goal in an April start against Houston and added a career-high three assists in 11 appearances during the regular season.
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“I think Kevin has shown up all over the place,” said coach Jay Heaps. “You talk about Kevin’s goal this year against Houston. It was his first career goal. There wasn’t a dry eye on the team because everyone was so happy for him.”
Appearing in four of the final five regular season matches, Alston seemingly played himself into being an integral postseason piece for Heaps, who gave him the start at left back in the crucial 2-2 draw against New York last Saturday. It remains to be seen if Heaps will employ that same tactic this Sunday against the LA Galaxy, but Alston, who has appeared in all four of the club’s playoff matches this year, will be ready if called upon.
“It’s good to finally have my feet on the ground this year compared to last year,” said Alston. “It was hard to really get a grasp of things. This year I’ve been able to consistently try to get better.”
