No miracle, but Revs end strong
FOXBORO — Even on the last day, the Revolution spent most of the day contemplating the lost and the squandered opportunities of this frustrating, star-crossed season.
“That was the thing I was thinking about during the whole game,” Revs forward Juan Agudelo said after his side concluded the campaign with a 3-0 victory over Montreal. “‘Wow, we’re such a good team. We could have gone so far.’ It’s very disappointing that it has all come to an end when we showed how good we are.”
The defeat in Chicago last weekend essentially ended their playoff hopes and rendered this fifth win in seven matches academic. Agudelo, Diego Fagundez and Kei Kamara all scored to send home the season-high announced crowd of 39,587 for the offseason with three points in tow.
There were no 13-goal playoff miracles on tap here, even against an Impact side clearly planning for a midweek knockout round match. This comprehensive display instead prompted questions about the future for a team in line for tangible changes during the offseason.
Cody Cropper illustrated the dilemma in goal as he made his first start for the Revs in place of the suspended Brad Knighton. Cropper’s presence — and a pair of tidy saves just after halftime — reinforced the potential alterations ahead as Revolution coach Jay Heaps and general manager Michael Burns ponder whether his longterm number one is in house or is located elsewhere.
Not even a final-day shutout masked the fallout from the pervasive defensive failings for most of the season after the Revs missed out to Philadelphia for the final playoff berth on goal difference. Longtime stalwart Jose Goncalves’ contract is up, and there is latitude for widespread changes in central defense as a result.
“We just have to get better,” Heaps said. “We have to solidify some spots on the field where we want to be better. We can’t concede as much as we’ve conceded. We have to stop giving away goals.”
The controlled midfield display underscored the decisions ahead in the center of the park. Xavier Kouassi is expected to recover by next March and team MVP Kelyn Rowe is back after signing a new deal, while Gershon Koffie is a free agent. No matter how those changes shake out, the Revs need a more imposing figure to dictate terms.
Most of the promise in this group emerged in the attacking third over the waning stages of the season. Agudelo, Kamara and Lee Nguyen found their footing together during that period and posed a consistent threat as the Revs completed their futile postseason quest.
This thumping victory offered a glimpse of the often untapped potential in this first playoff-less campaign since 2012. The focus turns to figuring out how to alter things enough to ensure next season extends through the playoffs.