Here’s how Andrew Farrell improved his crossing

If you want to see how it feels when hard work pays off then watch Andrew Farrell’s celebration after he assisted Kei Kamara’s second goal on Saturday night. The New England Revolution defender immediately starts to roll on the ground in a move that can best be defined as pure joy.

“Yeah, [it] just feels good,” Farrell explained after the Revs’ 3-0 win over the Philadelphia Union. “That’s something I’ve struggled with in my history, but just working on that this week, the past couple of weeks, to finally come to fruition, it feels really good.”

Despite playing 149 games, Farrell had only collected two assists before last weekend. He’s now doubled his output in just two games.

Farrell’s improvement can be directly linked to assistant coach Tom Soehn, who has been working closely with the 25-year-old.

“I want to credit Tommy Soehn 100 percent on that,” head coach Jay Heaps said. “For continuing to get Andrew to get into those positions and to get his head up and pick out runners and make good passing.”

The extra attention has worked, as Farrell has appeared more confident going forward. The defender stated that he now knows where to look when he’s in the attacking third. He’ll check the near post, the back past, and for late runs. Whatever looks best is what he aims for.

Farrell has always had the speed and stamina to get up and down the wing but now he’s showing that he has the ability to cross. This development is something that will surely benefit the Revs attack.

“The outside backs and the forwards, they’ve been making those runs all year, and we just want to make sure we can find the ball and get them the goal,” Farrell said. “Those guys, Teal [Bunbury] last week, Kei [Kamara] this week finished the chances, so that’s huge for us."