Noel Buck: Revs “feel more together” as team seeks four-game winning streak
One of the season’s biggest tests to date is on the horizon for the New England Revolution tonight, as the surging Revs visit the reigning Supporters’ Shield winner FC Cincinnati for a 7:30 p.m. contest in Ohio.
FC Cincinnati, the MLS leader in points per game, has won nine of its last 10 matches, including a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Union in a midweek thriller on Wednesday. The Orange-and-Blue collected a 2-1 win over the Revolution in the first meeting between the two teams back on March 17 in Foxborough.
New England enters the match on the upswing, as the Revolution currently carry a three-game winning streak into the teams’ second meeting of the season. Last weekend, the Revolution defeated Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 3-2, behind goals from Homegrown midfielders Noel Buck and Esmir Bajraktarević, and forward Giacomo Vrioni.
Buck, a native of Arlington, Mass., joined D.J. Bean on The Soccer Show this morning to reflect on his latest goal, the youngster’s fifth in MLS, and the road ahead for a Revolution team that is continuing to improve week by week.
“It feels great,” Buck said of opening his 2024 scoring account last weekend. “It’s been a tough year for everybody. I’m really happy that we’ve started to get rolling. I’m happy that I got to play and contribute as well.”
The Revolution’s attack has started to click, averaging two goals per game during this winning streak. With Carles Gil supplying helpers in all three of those wins, the rest of New England’s attackers are starting to follow their captain’s lead.
“I think we’re all just getting more comfortable with each other, being able to learn what one another does,” Buck said. “It’s a new system and it’s a new coach. Especially earlier in the year, it took a little bit. Now, I think we’re starting to get it and it’s starting to work.”
Tonight’s match marks the halfway point of the 2024 season for the Revolution. With 17 games remaining, including a two-game homestand on the other side of tonight’s away test, the Revolution are nothing but confident that their best soccer remains ahead of them.
Is the team motivated to prove doubters wrong after a slow start to the season?
“It’s not just me, it’s the whole team,” Buck said of the team’s commitment to the plan. “We were all pissed about the beginning of the season. Even with just a couple of wins, we’re more confident. We feel more together. I think that’ll make a big difference in pushing to getting wins.”
Catch tonight’s match on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV in English and Spanish. Listen live on 98.5 The Sports Hub with Brad Feldman and Charlie Davies calling the action.
