Caleb Porter: Clean Sheets Keeping Spirits High For Revolution

The New England Revolution have barely had enough time back in Massachusetts for a load of laundry and a home-cooked meal before setting back out on the road. After a brief one-game respite in Foxborough, which saw New England post a nil-nil draw against the San Jose Earthquakes in front of over 31,000 fans at Gillette Stadium, Head Coach Caleb Porter’s side is poised to set sail on another three-game road swing.

“We were disappointed to get the draw at home against San Jose. Obviously, it’s not a loss, but at home, anytime you draw, for me it feels like a loss, and we dropped two points,” Porter said of last weekend’s stalemate. “I didn’t think we played all that well either.”

“We haven’t lost in six games, so sometimes that little bit of edge, that little bit of complacency can creep in. I did feel like in the first half against San Jose, that was the case. I think we’ll bounce back in this next game. Obviously, we didn’t lose, but we go on the road [to Kansas City] and I think we’ll be a lot better in this next game.”

In an MLS regular season that spans nine months, Porter has enough experience to know that an MLS Cup run is often determined by how you finish, not how you start. The back half of the Revolution schedule is a friendly one, loaded with home games during the most crucial stretch of the season. Eight of New England’s last 12 games will be on their home soil in Foxborough.

Nevertheless, Porter has to be pleased that his team is picking up road points with regularity, earning results in five of seven away games thus far. Zo asked Porter if those strong performances away from home will give his players confidence as they get set to visit Sporting Kansas City, D.C. United, and CF Montreal in an eight-day span.

“We’ve been a bit better on the road this year than at home. I don’t know why that is, but for sure, we’ll use that next week because we have three games on the road,” Porter said. “It’s going to be a very long week. We’re one of the best defensive teams in the league, one of the best road teams right now, so on the road you really need to grind and defend. That’s probably why we’ve been good on the road; it’s not always pretty. You just have to find a way to win, find a way to smash and grab a result.

“That’s going to for sure be the case in these three games on the road. Our guys are looking forward to going and picking up points, hopefully, and keep moving up the table. It’s a dogfight in our league. Tenth, ninth, eighth, seventh – it’s all right around a few points. So, if we get a couple of results, we’re going to shoot up quickly.”

Tune into 98.5 The Sports Hub to listen to all three of the Revs’ upcoming road games, beginning this Saturday night, May 24 at Sporting Kansas City. The 8:30 p.m. ET start from Children’s Mercy Park airs live on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app, with coverage in both English and Spanish.