Revs find scoring from unusual sources

The New England Revolution walked away with three points after defeating Orlando City SC 3-0 on the road.

While fans might have expected Carles Gil to have had a major performance, that wasn’t exactly the case. New England got goals from Matt Polster, Wilfrid Kaptoum, and Henry Kessler.

Two defensive midfielders and a center back scoring was quite the shock. Polster had the shortest goalscoring drought with his last tally being back in April of this year, but Kaptoum hadn’t scored since October of 2021 and Kessler was off the scoresheet since September of that year.

Polster talked about what the team showed with himself being a part of the unconventional scoring outburst.

“I think it’s important that the entire team steps up and I think we did in this moment, and we are going to have to for the rest of the season,” he said. “Obviously, we’ve been hit with some injuries recently and players leaving, so it’s going to take a team performance week in and week out and having each other’s backs and trying to find a way to get three points. Tonight, I was lucky enough to find some space to finish and then Wilfrid [Kaptoum], really good finish, good assists by Tommy [McNamara] and then Henry [Kessler] on the set piece, so good service by Carles [Gil]. All around defensively we were solid and I think in the attacking third, we were really clean.”

Part of the reason for the unorthodox scoring sources is due to the fact that Gustavo Bou and Dylan Borrero once again didn’t play. After the match, Bruce Arena told The Bent Musket’s Seth Macomber that along with Giacomo Vrioni, Bou and Borrero are injured.

Arena also touched upon the night’s goal scorers.

“Well that’s the sport, that’s the game,” he said. “We can’t expect getting a goal every game out of Gustavo [Bou]. Others have to chip in. When you have a performance like tonight, that’s fantastic. Obviously, some really, really good goals. I thought Wilfrid’s [Kaptoum] was a terrific, terrific goal. Henry [Kessler] getting a header, and [Matt] Polster’s goal was great teamwork, good ball movement. All in all, those guys were rewarded for a really good team performance.”

With the Revs in a tight playoff race, New England will need all the goal scorers that they can get. After the win, the club is still in 10th place in the Eastern Conference but only three points from fifth place.

Points are at a premium in such a contested race and the Revolution will look to get another three points against Wayne Rooney’s D.C. United on Saturday.