It’s a rare thing in professional soccer to be able to say that more than half your starters have been together for five years, but the New England Revolution can: Matt Reis, Jay Heaps, Shalrie Joseph, Steve Ralston, Taylor Twellman and Pat Noonan have all been playing with the Revs since 2003. Ralston tells USA Today that it’s a luxury having that kind of experience together: “When you have so much turnover, it’s tough to gel and become a tight unit like we have.”
However, others might say it’s a curse. Like the Boston Red Sox pre-2004, this New England team has come close but fallen short of winning the MLS Cup for several years now — none closer than last year’s shootout loss to Houston in the final. But now that the Revs have won their first trophy, lifting the U.S. Open Cup last month, they believe that this year will be different (heck, we all know what eventually happened to the Red Sox). “We know what it takes,” says Ralston. “We’ve won something now; it kind of gets the monkey off the back a little bit.”
Coach Steve Nicol says having a close-knit, experienced group has already helped them get passed their first major playoff hurdle. “The game on Saturday in New York was definitely about experience and players that had been there before,” he says of the 0-0 first-leg draw at Giants Stadium. How far will experience take them this year? Answer to come Saturday night in Foxborough.