FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Seven games into the season the New England Revolution remain alone atop the Eastern Conference standings.
With the club going 4-1-2 to date, the Revs have also tied the club record for second-fastest start through seven games.
Furthermore, amidst this strong beginning to the campaign, New England is off to a perfect start at home, winning all four games at Gillette Stadium.
“That's the mentality we have,” Gustavo Bou said through a translator. “Last year, it was the opposite way. Last year, we lost some games, we tied some games, and we couldn’t seem to get three points at home.
“This season, we wanted to play strong here at Gillette Stadium … We’ve won all four games here. Hopefully we can continue that. Our next game is on the road and we'll try to carry the same mentality.”
This marks only the second time in club history the Revs have won four straight at home to start the campaign, matching the metric set from the 2005 Revolution side.
Conversely, it’s still extremely early as the squad is only seven games into the season. New England still has 27 matches left to play with more than five months remaining in the regular season.
“We’re off to a good start after seven games, but it’s a long season,” said assistant coach Richie Williams. “We’ve got to get through the summer where we’re going to have a lot of games, and the heat, and the travel, so we have to be happy with the way we’ve started, but we’ve got to make sure we have consistency and that we can continue with the good results throughout the season.”
“Our goal is still to qualify for the playoffs,” said head coach Bruce Arena. “That’s our number one goal this year. We’ve got a way to go, and we know it’s a challenging year, so we generally take it one game at a time.”
The positive results have emanated confidence in the locker room as the Revs look ahead to each game.
“The spirits are really high because we’re winning each game in and out, we’re getting good results, but the most important thing is that you have to be consistent throughout the whole season,” said Jon Bell. “We still have 27 games left, so a lot can happen, and for us, it’s just we have to have the same mindset each game we go into.”
The squad realizes that they have what it takes to set the team up for success at the end of the regular season.
“I think it's the mindset from the group coming in from day one knowing where we want to be from how we ended last year,” said Brandon Bye. “And then just to continue to work every day and new challenges presented.
"Our lineup changes a little bit here and there every week, every game, and I think it helps when everybody can step up in the times they need to and keep playing strong with the guys that we're playing with.”
The Revs will look to build upon their strong start with their first road win of the 2021 campaign at FC Cincinnati on Saturday, May 29 at 3 p.m. ET.
