While the result wasn’t what the New England Revolution and Matt Polster were looking for, New England’s 4-0 loss to LAFC will be a moment that the midfielder looks back on.

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With Carles Gil on the bench due to a muscle injury, Polster wore the captain’s armband for the first time in his Revolution career.

“Yeah it was an honor,” Polster said on Tuesday. “I appreciate the staff for believing in me and thinking that I’m a leader of this team. I was excited to wear it and to lead the team out there.”

For Bruce Arena, the decision to give the armband to Polster was an easy one. He spoke about Polster’s leadership after the loss on Sunday evening.

“[Matt’s] a veteran player here,” Arena said. “He’s been with us three or four years now, I’m not exactly sure. He’s one of the more established players on the team. Tonight, I thought he was a logical choice to give the armband to.”

Polster has become a crucial part of New England’s roster since joining the Revs in July of 2020. The midfielder has scored four goals and four assists in 73 appearances with the Revolution.

But Polster’s value is beyond the stats. He is often a last line of defense for New England stopping counterattacks in their tracks and making crucial tackles. While Djordje Petrovic quite literally saves the Revolution, Polster has also saved New England from giving up a fair share of goals with his defensive efforts.

With his time on the roster and being 29 years old, Polster is an elder statesman in the Revolution locker room. It’s not surprising that players look towards the midfielder for leadership.

Similar to Gil, Andrew Farrell has experience wearing the captain’s armband in New England. The center back was excited to see Polster with the armband and even revealed that the 29-year-old has quite the nickname among his teammates.

“We call him “Pouty P” sometimes because he gets pouty, especially when it’s cold and rainy, but he is one of our toughest competitors and one of our best players,” Farrell said. “It was a proud moment to see him wear the armband because he’s such an important player for our team and I think wearing the armband gives him even more of that stature of like ‘guys hey, listen to him,’ and I think it will make him be even better.”

Unsurprisingly, Polster isn’t the biggest fan of the nickname but he believes his frustration can come from the high standards he sets for himself.

“I don’t love the nickname,” he said. “But there’s times where I do get frustrated. I just have high expectations for myself and the team and I think that’s where it kind of comes from. When you set such a high standard for not just myself, but certain individuals in a team, when you don’t reach those expectations sometimes you can get frustrated.”

“Pouty P” and the rest of the Revolution will look to turn their frowns upside down after the LAFC defeat with some home cooking as they face Nashville SC at Gillette Stadium on Saturday.

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