Skidding Revs slide into ’Quakes
The Revolution are on shaky ground, and they are playing a team called the Earthquakes.
The Revs are looking to snap a four-game league losing streak when they travel to San Jose to face the Earthquakes (7-7-10) at Avaya Stadium tonight (10:30 p.m. EST).
The Revolution have been outscored 13-2 in their past four games, including consecutive shutout losses to Philadelphia (40) and Columbus (2-0) at Gillette Stadium. Last time out, the ’Quakes saw their five-match unbeaten run end with a 2-1 loss to the Houston Dynamo on Friday night.
Revs coach Jay Heaps has seen his offense and defense experience simultaneous meltdowns at a crucial stretch of the season, with teams jockeying for berths in the MLS playoffs. He is demanding a better accounting from his team on their two-game, cross-country road trip, as they return from the West Coast to face the New York Red Bulls on Aug. 28 in Harrison, N.J.
“Everyone is disappointed about the last two home games, so now we have the chance to go on the road and turn it around,” Heaps said. “We have to get ourselves organized and get ourselves ready for (tonight).
“It always important to get off to a strong start, and quite frankly, we’ve given up too many goals way too early. We have to be solid at the start of each game.”
The Revs (6-11-8) have won only 1-of-12 MLS matches this season on the road (1-7-4) and sit two spots out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot but only two points behind sixth-place D.C. United.
The Revs will be shorthanded in the back, as energetic defender London Woodbury is suspended for tonight’s match for yellow card accumulation, while fellow defenders Jose Goncalves (hamstring) and Je-Vaughn Watson (groin) both are listed as questionable on the injury report.
“We still have selections to make, but we are putting thought into the process and . . . (want to) make sure we are not doing too much with some guys and seeing who can actually make it,” Heaps said.
Scott Caldwell of Braintree and Gershom Koffie are two vital components in the Revolution midfield. Caldwell played the full 90 minutes against Columbus, and he leads the Revs in passing accuracy (87.31 percent).
“You kind of have to use (the losing streak) as a motivational tool because we know we haven’t been at our best,” said Caldwell, who is one booking away from a card suspension. “But we get back on the field quickly . . . and that is all that we can ask.
“We have to get back on and prove to everyone that we are a better team than that. This just makes the road games that much more vital, and we have to get results out here and bring them back home.”
Koffie logged 68 minutes against the Crew in his second start since missing seven matches because of a right knee sprain. Koffie feels frustrated by both the Revs’ losing skid and the eight total games he’s lost to injury in his first season in New England.
“It was painful that (fourth loss) and the day after, but we can’t take that frustration into the next game,” Koffie said. “We need three points from every game. . . . We have to pull for each other.”