Propelled by their newfound defensive success, Orlando City will look to extend their season-long three-match winning streak when they play the New England Revolution on Saturday night in Foxborough, Mass.
Plagued by a lackluster defense for most of the first half of the year, Orlando (10-11-4, 34 points) has allowed just two goals across its three straight MLS victories. The club is also enjoying a five-game unbeaten stretch (4-0-1).
Interim head coach Martin Perelman’s team still ranks 14th in the Eastern Conference with 56 goals allowed, but Orlando has given up only 12 goals in 10 outings since the World Cup break.
“This is a process, and it’s a process that started a long time ago,” Perelman said. “We’ve always got to improve on things that we’re building. … In this locker room, on this roster that we have, everybody is ready.”
Martin Ojeda leads Orlando with 11 goals, followed by Antoine Griezmann’s eight in just 10 matches since joining the club. Goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau has posted five clean sheets, including two in the last three games for Orlando, which enters the weekend one point ahead of the Philadelphia Union for the No. 6 seed in the East.
New England (13-8-4, 43 points) can further distance itself from the middle of the pack with a third straight win on Saturday. The Revolution are two points behind second-place Inter Miami.
Saturday will mark New England’s first game at Gillette Stadium since Aug. 23, following a four-game road trip that saw the team go 3-1-0.
“We are very excited. It’s obviously easier to play at home with your fans,” said Carles Gil, who leads the Revolution with 10 goals. “We’re playing against Orlando, a team who is having good results the last two months, so it will be difficult.”
New England, which will wrap up the regular season with a road match at Orlando on Nov. 7, knows Saturday’s opponent is not the same one that had just one victory through the first eight games.
“I think when they had the changing of the coaching staff at the beginning of the season, they started to change the way they played and started to pick up points,” Revolution head coach Marko Mitrovic said. “If we look purely on recent form, they are one of the best teams in the league.”
–Field Level Media
