SARASOTA, Fla. – Groton, Massachusetts native Malcolm Fry has been part of the New England Revolution organization since 2019, ascending from the club’s Academy to Revolution II before moving to a first-team contract in 2024 at just 18 years old. As a Homegrown player, Fry already has a storied history with the club, but now he’s focused on one narrative: making an impact as a first-team player.

The forward spent much of the past two seasons continuing to develop with the Revolution’s second team, where he scored five goals last season. This year, under the guidance of new head coach Marko Mitrović, Fry is looking to secure more MLS minutes and make a difference on the Revolution attack. More motivated than ever, Fry gave a peek at his capabilities this past weekend, scoring his first first-team goal in New England’s preseason match against CF Montréal.

“I’m obviously super happy to get my first goal, be it preseason or not,” said Fry. “I’m trying to put more focus this year on not just being a good guy in the locker room and being a good influence around the club, but also being someone that everyone can trust. That means being someone that the older guys and the more experienced guys can respect on the field. Hopefully, I’ve done that with a goal today and I’ll try to keep doing that in training. I know it’s a fun story, but [I want] to not just be the [former] Academy player, but be a first-team player and a real player for this club.”

It’s apparent that the now 20-year-old attacker has been given an injection of confidence by Mitrović and the Revolution coaching staff, feeling more ambitious and more supported than ever. In fact, when in position to get on the scoreboard for the Revolution this past Saturday, it was Mitrović’s voice echoing through Fry’s head that helped him follow through in the moment.

“All Marko said is, ‘You can miss a million times, but if the ball doesn’t leave the ground, it’s okay.’ I looked up, I saw where the ‘keeper was, and I tried to keep it down. It wasn’t a perfect shot, but it went in,” Fry explained. “Even the goal that I scored, it’s something that we worked on specifically in training. So, it was exciting to me.”

Mitrović’s style emphasizes attacking aggression and intensity – an approach that has resonated with Fry and his teammates throughout preseason camp. With nearly a month of Mitrović-ball under their belts, Fry says the tactics have been both a welcome challenge and a joy to learn. To him, there is a natural fit between his style of play and the kind of game Mitrović wants to build.

“It’s nice to feel like that style matches what I like to bring to the team. I love the way Marko coaches in the training sessions. He is incredibly intense, demanding but in a way that – I heard someone else say this – demanding in a way that never seems demeaning,” Fry explained. “He demands a lot of you because he knows that you can do that. He knows that he’ll push you as far as you can, and then if you ever make a mistake, he’s also there to explain why, what happened, and be there to help you correct it. Like in the finishing, I missed a bunch in training, he was very demanding of me on it, helped me fix it. Then, I score in this game and hopefully, I can continue to do that going forward.”

As the Revolution move through their final two weeks of preseason preparations, with just a few days remaining down in the Florida sunshine before returning to Foxborough for one final friendly test against Hartford Athletic on February 14, Fry remains hungry for more and optimistic for the season ahead.

“I think that’s what is most important in preseason, not only how the performances are and what the results are, but also the development and how much we’re improving throughout the process. Game to game, even session to session, personally I feel like every session I’m able to add things to my game,” he said. “I know there is a lot more we can learn, especially heading into that first game and as the season heats up. I’m just excited to see how much we can improve and where we can get as a group.”