The New England Revolution and host CF Montreal close out a busy month when they square off in MLS play Saturday night.
It marks the eighth match of the month for both sides as New England has played five MLS matches and two U.S. Open Cup fixtures in May and Montreal has been on the field for six MLS matches and one leg of the Canadian Championship quarterfinals.
It also serves as the third straight road match in league play for the Revolution, who have followed a four-game winning streak with four straight draws. Revolution coach Caleb Porter acknowledged the schedule has been brutal, but he believes his players will answer the call Saturday.
“If you’re really hungry,” Porter said, “then you don’t get tired.”
New England (5-4-5, 20 points) heads north of the border after letting two points get away in a 1-1 draw on Wednesday at D.C. United. The Revolution led for the entire second half before giving up a stoppage-time equalizer to Gabriel Pirani.
Rookie defender Ilay Feingold had his first career goal for the Revs in that game. Carles Gil leads the team with six goals.
Montreal (1-10-5, 8 points) has the worst mark in the Eastern Conference and is trying to break through for a second win after getting its first May 10 at New York City FC. The Canadian club managed to net some goals Wednesday against Inter Miami but were no match for Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in the 4-2 defeat.
“Yes, they have the best player in the world and it plays with your mind a little bit,” said Montreal midfielder Caden Clark. “But, as a team, they are still beatable. … I think it’s going to give us some more confidence in those moments. It’s an unfortunate loss and they deserved the win tonight. I don’t think we were at our best, but we will go again on Saturday.”
Prince Owusu is the team’s leading scorer with four goals.
Porter warned that the Revolution should not overlook CF Montreal despite their record.
“They’re actually a very good team in the attack,” he said. “(Giacomo) Vrioni and Owusu are a handful, and they do some interesting things with the ball to try to disorganize you.”
–Field Level Media
