The New England Revolution stare down what could be their last game of the season on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in Game 2 of the first round of the MLS Playoffs versus the Philadelphia Union.
Wednesday’s playoff game can be watched on FS1 or Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass.
After losing the first game of the best-of-three series, 3-1, at Philadelphia on Oct. 28, the Revolution must win Game 2 to extend the series to a third game, which would be played in Philadelphia on Nov. 12 at 3 p.m.
In Game 1, New England fell apart in the first half, allowing a penalty in the 19th minute and then two more goals in the next 18 minutes for a 3-0 halftime deficit. Gustavo Bou brought one back in the 68th minute – his third goal in two games – but the defending Eastern Conference champions held on for the win. Captain Carles Gil was also forced to exit with a right leg injury in the 23rd minute, though he is fit and prepared to start Wednesday night.
“We need to go into this next game and be a little forceful from our side of things,” midfielder Matt Polster said. “Put them under pressure, make good challenges, and be on the front foot. I thought we were good in the first 15 minutes and then we made a mistake, and it was difficult from there to get back into the game.
“I think we’ve shown moments where we string a lot of good passes together, and lots of good actions of play. We’ve shown on the defensive side of things that we do defend well as a group, and we’re all at it. I don’t think we should go in with the nerves, I think we should go playing with confidence and on the front foot. We really have nothing to lose.”
Wednesday’s game is the third consecutive between the two sides. In the regular season finale on Oct. 21, New England beat Philadelphia 2-1 at home behind two goals from Gustavo Bou to set up a playoff rematch. Though the Revolution have lost both games they’ve played at Philadelphia this season, they’ve been excellent at Gillette (club record 40 points at home) and haven’t lost a home playoff game since 2003.
“The two games were completely different,” forward Tomás Chancalay said.
“We have to defend their forwards and their attack and take advantage of our chances. We managed that well in the first game, but the second game at their place got away from us.”
If this was last year, New England’s season would already be over. But this year’s updated MLS Playoff format makes each first round matchup a best-of-three series, allowing the Revolution a chance to send the series back to Philadelphia with a win. The Union changed their formation between the regular season finale and the first game of the playoffs, so interim head coach Clint Peay and the Revolution are preparing for anything.
“Obviously, it’s a game where they can be a little bit more conservative,” Peay said. “But I expect at a minimum, they’re going to be combative. They’re going to hit you on the counter.”
Philadelphia will play without one of its players as Major League Soccer issued a three-match suspension to defender Kai Wagner Tuesday. Wagner’s suspension is due to an “on-field antidiscrimination policy” during the Game 1 match.
Thanks partially to the 11-day layoff between games, Gil, fellow midfielder Ian Harkes (out since Sept. 23) and center back Henry Kessler (out for the regular season finale) will all be available on Wednesday night as New England tries to extend its season at home.
“The fans have showed up, and they’ve been such an immense help for us at home,” defender Dave Romney said. “It’s why we had such a good home record. I desperately want to get a playoff win for them and keep this run going. They’ve showed up for us this whole year, so [we] definitely are going to show up for them in this playoff game.”
