New England Soccer Today

Cold One on Tap for #NEvORL

Photo credit: Chris Aduama/aduamphotography.com

It’ll be a frosty one in Foxboro for Saturday’s Revolution home opener if the weather forecast is accurate.

According to weather.com, temperatures in Norfolk County are expected to top out at a frigid 21 degrees. But wait, it gets better: a west-northwesterly 18 mph wind could make the New England-Orlando City clash feel like it’s taking place above the Arctic Circle.

Too cold for soccer? Not according to Revolution striker Kei Kamara, who believes the unseasonably chilly conditions predicted will suit the hosts just fine.

“I don’t think it’s going to be cold enough,” Kamara told the media on Tuesday. “Again, that’s going to be our advantage when [Orlando City] comes here. It’s going to be cold, the field is in our advantage.”

That is especially true considering the Lions will training all week down Orlando, where temperatures have held steady in the low-70s.

But even though biting cold won’t be a welcome development for Orlando City, Revolution left back Chris Tierney isn’t expecting the weather to play a starring role on Saturday.

“I don’t think it’s going to play too much of a factor in the game,” Tierney told the media on Tuesday. “Those are things you think about before the game, but once it kicks off, you’re just playing a soccer game regardless of temperature or whatever other conditions.”

Tierney can speak from experience. The Wellesley, Mass. native knows what it’s like to play in the bitter cold, and can probably fight through it better than most of the players who’ll see action on Saturday. But he did concede that another aspect of the forecast could impact the match.

“I think wind is probably the biggest factor and will be in the game,” Tierney said. “So hopefully it’s conditions where we can get the ball down and pass. Whatever the conditions are, we’re not going to use it as an excuse. We’re going to expect to win the game no matter what.”

If the wind does have a significant effect on the match, goals could be hard to come by, as they have been in past early-season matches at Gillette Stadium. But even if offense proves scarce, Kamara believes they’ll have a strong crowd backing them throughout.

“People in Boston, they love the cold,” Kamara said. “They come out to support the teams when it’s the cold weather, so I can’t wait.”

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