MLS Regular Season | Match #18
New England Revolution vs. Orlando City SC
Saturday, June 17 | 7:30 p.m. ET
Gillette Stadium | Foxborough, Mass.
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- English Talent: Steve Cangialosi (play-by-play), Danny Higginbotham (analyst)
- Spanish Talent: Bruno Vain (play-by-play), Andres Agulla (analyst)
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- English Talent: Brad Feldman (play-by-play), Clyde Simms (analyst)
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CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
4th in Eastern Conference (8-3-6, 30 pts.)
Last Result | 3-1 win vs. Inter Miami CF
Carles Gil put together another virtuoso performance with one goal and two assists to propel the Revs to a 3-1 victory over Inter Miami CF last weekend, snapping New England’s five-game winless run in the process. Matt Polster and Bobby Wood were also on the board as the Revs remained unbeaten in Foxborough (5-0-3), one of just three teams leaguewide yet to lose at home.
Now on a modest four-game unbeaten run (1-0-3) and just two points behind second-place Nashville SC at the midway point of the 2023 season, the Revs will continue their three-game homestand on Saturday night against Orlando before welcoming Toronto FC to Gillette Stadium next weekend.
Orlando City SC
7th in Eastern Conference (7-4-5, 26 pts.)
Last Result | 2-0 win vs. Colorado Rapids
Orlando recovered from a somewhat slow start to rapidly climb the Eastern Conference standings in recent weeks, going unbeaten in their last six games (3-0-3) to find themselves seventh in the East as they reach the season’s halfway mark on Saturday night. Oscar Pareja’s side has been the league’s best road team through the first half of the year, going 4-1-2 on their travels.
Much of Orlando’s recent success has been down to a solid defense, as their 17 goals against are tied for fifth fewest in all of MLS. They’ll arrive in Foxborough on the back of consecutive clean sheet victories, while they’ve conceded just three total goals in their last five games.
KEY PLAYERS
Revolution goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr.
International absences will be a key storyline on Saturday night, most notably for the Revs with star goalkeeper Djordje Petrović currently with Serbia for a pair of games. That will likely leave goalkeeping duties to veteran backup Earl Edwards Jr., who has been on the bench for 16 of the Revolution’s 17 regular-season games and who started both of their U.S. Open Cup contests.
Edwards Jr. made four league starts early in 2022 and featured in both legs of the Concacaf Champions League meeting with Pumas UNAM last March, while he also made six starts with Orlando during a four-year stint with the Florida club from 2015-18.
Orlando defender Robin Jansson
Swedish center back Robin Jansson is one of just four players on Orlando’s roster to appear in each of the first 16 games, and the 31-year-old has played the most minutes (1,350) alongside goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. He could be particularly valuable on Saturday night as the visitors deal with absences of their own, notably Jansson’s typical central defensive partner, Antonio Carlos, unavailable because of yellow card accumulation.
While Orlando have conceded just eight total goals in their first seven road games, they’ll visit a Revolution side that has scored 18 goals in eight home matches, including three-plus goals on four different occasions.
STATUS REPORT
Revolution
The Revs list eight players as unavailable for Saturday night’s visit from Orlando. Dylan Borrero (ACL surgery), Nacho Gil (right leg), Henry Kessler (hamstring surgery), Maciel (left Achilles), and Tommy McNamara (left leg) all remain out with injuries, while the trio of Christian Makoun (Venezuela), Djordje Petrović (Serbia), and Damian Rivera (Costa Rica Under-23s) are currently on international duty.
Jozy Altidore, meanwhile, is no longer with the club as the Revolution released the veteran forward on Thursday afternoon and exercised their one buyout on his Salary Budget charge.
On the mend, both Noel Buck and Brandon Bye have returned to training, and Bruce Arena said he expects both to be available on Saturday night assuming they don’t experience any setbacks late in the week. Gustavo Bou, meanwhile, was back in the starting XI for last weekend’s win over Inter Miami for the first time since early April.
Orlando
The visitors will also be without eight players on Saturday night through a mix of injuries, international duty, and suspensions. The quartet of Wilder Cartagena (Peru), Pedro Gallese (Peru), Wilfredo Rivera (Puerto Rico), and Facundo Torres (Uruguay) are all on international duty, while starting defenders Antonio Carlos and Kyle Smith are both suspended because of yellow card accumulation. Additionally, both Adam Grinwis (concussion protocol) and Abdi Salim (left knee) are sidelined by injuries.
Forward Gastón González (right thigh), who has two assists in 12 appearances, is listed as questionable.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
New England Revolution sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena
“It's an important game for us, our second consecutive home game, and we think it's important to collect three points at home. So, that's certainly going to be our goal. We're facing a team [Orlando City SC] that's had a good run over the last couple of months with some very good attacking players, so we need to be ready to play a good game.”
New England Revolution defender Andrew Farrell
“I think all the goalies we have are good and can step up. Everyone has been playing well, and obviously, when you're the backup to Djordje [Petrović], I'm sure you're learning a lot of things that he does. But Earl [Edwards Jr.] has been in this league for a while, so we have our full trust and commitment behind him, and he'll make the saves that he's been making and we can get the win.”
