Top 5 of ’14: #NERevs Moments
- Updated: December 23, 2014
Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz
For the New England Revolution, the 2014 season had just about everything. Success. Failure. A high-profile signing. The only thing missing? Well, a championship might have been nice.
Which moments from an especially compelling campaign stood out the most? Let’s take a look back at the season that was, and see which ones etched themselves in our minds.
1. The Jermaine Jones signing. For years, the biggest knock against the Revolution organization was that they weren’t willing to go the extra mile to sign a big-name player. That all ended on Aug. 24, when the club acquired the services of U.S. International and former Schalke 04 midfielder Jermaine Jones thanks to a closed-door blind draw. As suspect as the process may have been, the fact is ownership nevertheless committed themselves to bringing in Jones simply by participating. At a reported $4.7 million, Jones became the highest-paid player in club history. He wasted no time repaying the faith the front office had in him as the Revolution finished the season 9-1-1 with Jones in tow, and reached the MLS Cup final.
Photo credit: Chris Aduama/aduamaphotography.com
2. Revolution reach MLS Cup. Seven years after Jay Heaps and his teammates trudged off the pitch at RFK Stadium following a 2-1 loss to the Dynamo, the Revolution returned to the title game. While they weren’t able to lift the MLS Cup trophy when it was all said and done, how they got there is nothing short of impressive. Mired in sixth place mid-way through the season, the locals turned it around by adding Jones, and playing some of their finest football down the stretch. Incredibly, they stepped up their game in the playoffs, leading all teams with 12 postseason goals. A championship would’ve been the icing on the cake, of course, but the journey was exhilarating, nonetheless.
Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz
3. Revolution snap eight-game losing streak. The Revolution entered Memorial Day weekend at the top of the conference, then promptly dropped their next eight games. The low point came when they were thrashed 5-1 by the eventual champion Galaxy, a game that saw A.J. Soares slotted as the holding midfielder. But on Jul. 30, the Revolution finally put the failure behind them. Not only did Lee Nguyen kick off his scorching second half form, but Charlie Davies finally earned his first offensive statistic by assisting on Nguyen’s goal. When the final whistle blew, the Revolution had claimed a comprehensive 3-0 win over Colorado. According to captain Jose Goncalves, it was the game that turned their season around.
4. The thrilling victory in Kansas City. There were plenty of exciting games for the Revolution in 2014, no doubt. However, the nationally-televised affair at Sporting Park against the defending champs could’ve been a summertime blockbuster. The Revolution went up 2-0 early at a place they hadn’t scored a single goal in over three years. But Sporting punched back in the second half by grabbing back-to-back goals in quick succession. With the score even going in the dying moments, the stage was set for the man of the hour – Jermaine Jones – who blasted a low drive beyond the reach of Eric Kronberg to seal the emphatic win.
5. Leg 1 of the Conference Final. Since opening in 2010, the demons of Red Bull Arena continually haunted the Revolution. Not only had the Revolution failed to win there in five tries, but their last trip there saw them fall 2-1 to a shorthanded Red Bulls side. The storyline finally changed on a mild, late-November afternoon. A sumptuous left-footed strike from Teal Bunbury put the guests ahead, but the hosts returned fire when Bradley Wright-Phillips shoved one through before the half. Similar to the script seen in Kansas City two months earlier, it was Jones who once again rescued the Revolution with a game-winning 86th minute goal.
Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz
(Honorable mention) Charlie Davies’ brace in 1st leg of the Conference Semifinal. The Boston College alum endured plenty of abuse from opposing center backs as an undersized target man, and as a result, didn’t get many opportunities to showcase his scoring prowess during the regular season. Cue the scratched record sound effect. In his first postseason appearance, Davies scored on each side of halftime to become the first player in club history to score twice in a postseason game. He repeated the feat weeks later in the second game of the Conference Final, and finished the postseason with a higher haul (4) than his regular season total (3).
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