Three things we could’ve learned from Revs v. Orlando

The New England Revolution’s match against Orlando City SC was postponed due to weather. As a result, here are three things we could’ve learned but didn’t.

1. Can the new center backs contain a forward like Cyle Larin? Now in his third season as a professional, Larin has established himself as a legit scoring threat. He netted 17 as a rookie, 14 as a sophomore, and already has one this season. Even without Kaka, Larin would’ve been quite the test for Antonio Delamea and Benjamin Angoua. The new center backs looked decent against an unspectacular Rapids side, but how will they fair against a stronger MLS team?
2. Could the Revs actually win their home opener? Since Jay Heaps became head coach in 2011, the Revolution have been less than stellar when opening their home slate. Sure, they’re undefeated, but only scoring one goal in four outings is a pretty sad stat. With Saturday’s conditions being what they were, another scoreless draw seemed likely. That said, I wouldn’t have ruled out the possibility of the home side grabbing a 1-0 result.
3. What would the Revolution lineup look like? I understand the logic behind playing Lee Nguyen as a striker and Juan Agudelo as a number 10. Nguyen has the footwork to create space in the box and Agudelo benefits from getting touches on the ball. The setup makes sense in theory and less so in practice. During the season opener, the Revs attack looked disjointed. Would Heaps go with the same lineup? Would he be forced to change things because of Nguyen’s injury? Would he change things up on his own? Without Saturday’s game, we now have one more week to speculate about Heaps’ thinking.