FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution’s mentality this season has been to approach the schedule game by game, and in doing so the group has averaged 2.24 points per game en route to a historic campaign.
The team's first objective was to clinch a playoff berth, which the Revs secured two weeks ago with a dramatic 3-2 win at Chicago Fire FC.
“I think we accomplished one of our objectives, we qualified for the playoffs,” said head coach Bruce Arena on September 22, following that playoff-clinching victory. “So that’s official, which is great.
“Now we want to make sure we get homefield advantage. I think we’re pretty close to that. Then thirdly, we want to be the first seed in the Eastern Conference.”
These two additional objectives, Arena and the squad can now proudly check off their list.
While New England did not play last weekend, the Revs secured the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference following Nashville SC’s 0-0 draw with New York City FC on Sunday.
"I was checking Twitter during the game to see how the teams were doing," said DeJuan Jones. "I saw the [clinching] post for the Revs, and I was like, ‘wow.’ It took me about a full day to understand that we finished first in the East and really comprehend it, so it was pretty cool.”
In fact, the Revolution have not only punched their ticket to the 2021 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs and have guaranteed homefield advantage in the Eastern Conference, but this group is the only squad in the entire league to have even clinched a playoff spot to date.
With five regular season games remaining, the Revolution have continued to break club record after club record, and the squad shows no signs of slowing down.
The Revs have 57 goals, surpassing the previous club mark of 55 (2003 and 2005).
New England are also building on their most wins in a campaign, with 20 so far, and hope to only add to this tally after surpassing the previous club record of 17 wins in a season (2005 and 2014). The Revs are also approaching the MLS record for regulation wins in a campaign (22).
The Revolution’s single-season points record was set at 59, but they continue to break it as they're now up to 65 points and still climbing. New England are on pace to break Los Angeles FC’s all-time MLS record with 72 points set in 2019. As a result, the Revs are on track to set a new points-per-game record as they currently sit at 2.24 PPG (2.13 – LA Galaxy, 1998).
To keep adding to the stats, the Revs have already set a new club record for most away wins in a season, as they are currently 9-3-3 on the road. The club’s winning percentage of .766 is also on pace to set a new MLS mark.
While all of these statistics and records are impressive, the Revs understand their job is not done yet. The club has their sights set on much more. With five games left, New England aims to clinch the No. 1 spot in the league and lift the Supporters' Shield for the first time in club history.
"We’re still taking it one game at a time, but we can look towards the Supporters' Shield now," said Jones. "Yeah, it’s great. To know we’re going to be in the playoffs and have the homefield advantage it’s going to be a big advantage for us come the postseason so we’re really looking forward to it.”
As for the postseason, the Revs have already secured a first-round bye. New England will open the 2021 playoff campaign at Gillette Stadium between Nov. 25 and Nov. 30 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the winner of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup in the initial round, and are aiming to punch their ticket in single-game elimination matches all the way to MLS Cup on December 11.
Postseason ticket packages will be on sale later this month, with more details to be announced soon. To learn more about Revolution tickets and to become a New England Revolution Season Member, click here.
