FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – It’s not entirely surprising that the New England Revolution is the highest scoring team in the MLS Cup Playoffs. The club racked up 51 goals during the regular season and has scored multiple goals in 11 of its last 13 games in all competitions.
What’s turning heads, though, is how balanced the Revolution’s attack has been in finding the back of the net nine times through the first three postseason matches.
While MLS MVP finalist Lee Nguyen – an 18-goal scorer in the regular season – has contributed two goals and two assists in the playoffs, a host of other players have been just as influential.
Teal Bunbury has two goals and two assists. Charlie Davies has two goals and one assist. Jermaine Jones has one goal and two assists. Three different players have scored the Revolution’s three game-winning goals. Nine players total have recorded at least one goal or one assist.
Oh, and the two players who finished second and third on New England’s scoring chart during the regular season – Kelyn Rowe and Diego Fagundez – have combined for just one assist. So there’s even more potential waiting to break out when the moment arrives.
“There are so many guys that can cause problems for other teams,” said Bunbury, who has one goal and one assist in each of the last two games. “If Lee’s getting marked up, if Jermaine is, if Charlie is, there are guys that can come off the bench, as well. It’s just finding that right opportunity and that right time to be able to exploit them and have that unselfish character.”
On Sunday at Red Bull Arena, part of New York’s strategy was to limit the role of Nguyen, achieved in part by having Dax McCarty shadow the Revs’ playmaker for much of the game. It was a largely effective approach, apart from the one opportunity Nguyen had late in the game when he helped orchestrate the game-winning counterattack.
The emphasis on Nguyen offered the chance for others in the Revolution’s attacking corps to step up, and on this occasion it was Bunbury who answered the call, scoring a stunning opener before making a perfectly-timed run and pass to tee up Jones for the winner.
“That’s what we preach all year long,” said head coach Jay Heaps. “There are going to be times when players aren’t going to be at their best, or they’re going to get marked out, or they’re going to have a system in place against what you’re doing. Other guys have to step up. I thought Teal was definitely one of those guys.”
Balance will continue to be key for the Revs as they look to close out their Eastern Conference Championship series with New York on Saturday, hoping to make their 2-1 aggregate lead stand up as they return home to Gillette Stadium for the second leg.
Heaps, of course, won’t care who puts their name on the score sheet so long as it’s enough to get the job done, and even after three straight playoff wins with six different goal scorers, he believes this team is capable of much more.
“I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think we had our best game (in New York),” Heaps said. “I really don’t. We’re excited that we have an opportunity to win at home and go through, but at the same time, we feel that we have more to offer. Hopefully we can do that on Saturday.”
