Boosted by some midseason acquisitions, St. Louis City SC look to finally enjoy some road success when they visit the New England Revolution on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass.
St. Louis (5-10-12, 27 points) is 1-0-2 over its last three matches, including a 2-1 upset win against the Western Conference-leading LA Galaxy on Sunday. Cedric Teuchert and Marcel Hartel scored for St. Louis City, continuing their success since coming to MLS during the summer transfer window.
Teuchert has two goals and an assist in three regular-season matches, and Hartel has a goal and two assists in two matches. The instant impact of Teuchert, Hartel and other new faces has helped revive St. Louis’ slim shot at getting back into the postseason picture.
A playoff push won’t happen without better results away from home. St. Louis City are 0-6-7 in road matches, and the only MLS team with a winless away record this season.
“If we execute the ideas that we had against L.A. in terms of closing out a game … it’ll be up to us to do it on the road, which we haven’t done in an awful long time. And that’s a big hurdle for us to get over,” St. Louis interim coach John Hackworth said.
The Revolution (8-15-2, 26 points) are also below the playoff line but still within striking distance in the congested Eastern Conference race. New England hasn’t helped its cause with a 1-4-1 record in its last six matches, including a 2-0 road loss to Real Salt Lake last Saturday.
“It’s time to start peaking. The best teams, the best players, this is the time of year where you see their best,” Revs coach Caleb Porter said. “Their quality comes through when the pressure is higher — the best players, they rise to it.”
Defender Xavier Arreaga (Ecuador), midfielder Esmir Bajraktarevic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and recently acquired midfielder Alhassan Yusuf (Nigeria) won’t be part of the Revolution’s lineup Saturday due to international duty.
New England’s 28 goals scored are the second fewest in MLS. Some more offense could be coming Saturday, as both St. Louis City (51) and the Revolution (49) are among the league leaders in goals allowed.
–Field Level Media
