Ghosts of Season's Past

Familiar Mistakes Lead to Preseason Loss

Photo Courtesy of New England Revolution

The New England Revolution continued their 2025 preseason with a game against Atlanta United on Saturday afternoon at IMG Academy Fields in Bradenton, Florida. Coming off two wins and a draw, the Revs were hungry for another positive result.

Most importantly, we were able to watch! The game was streamed on the Revolution’s website, allowing us to see the team in action for the first time this year.

Coming into the match, Head Coach Caleb Porter spoke about this being the closest thing to a regular season game so far. The starting lineup was therefore reflective of his current top eleven, which included Aljaž Ivačič, Brandon Bye, Brayan Ceballos, Mamadou Fofana, Will Sands, Jackson Yueill, Alhassan Yusuf, Carles Gil, Luca Langoni, Ignatius Ganago, and Leo Campana.

There were some interesting things to note about the lineup. Matt Polster was not included and he also did not play when the reserves came into the game in the second half. He may have been unavailable today, but it will be interesting to see how the Revs midfield shakes out.

Also of note was the selection of Will Sands over Peyton Miller. It seems the young Connecticut native will need to impress in training in order to see the field.

Lastly, even though he had just arrived, Ignatius Ganago was put into the lineup over Jack Panayotou. Porter has spoken highly about the potential of Ganago and it seems like he was not lacking any fitness coming into preseason camp.

While the Revolution had some positive moments during the first half, a familiar mistake cost them a goal. Atlanta scored on a free kick taken just outside of the Revolution’s 18-yard box in the 33^rd minute. The goal was scored by Jamal Thiaré, who was left unmarked on the far post. Poor set piece defending was a problem for the Revs in 2024, a weakness they clearly still need to fix.

The Revs finished the first half down 1-0, having not generated many chances on goal. Newcomer Leo Campana did have a shot from outside the box that went over the crossbar, but overall the Revs struggled to get the ball forward and generate line-breaking passes.

Atlanta doubled its lead in the second half when a poor back pass by the Revolution in their defensive end led to a scramble in front of goal. The Revs almost escaped the danger, clearing a shot off the line, but Mateusz Klich was able to put the ball in the back of the net in the 56^th minute.

Similar to the first half, the Revs played at a slow pace in the second half, moving the ball methodically sideways and backwards but struggling to break through lines. They did not generate many chances in the offensive third and were unable to find a goal.

The first unit exited the game after the 70^th minute, with 11 new players coming onto the field. The second group included Donovan Parisian, Ilay Feingold, Wyatt Omsberg, Tanner Beason, Peyton Miller, Andrew Farrell, Eric Klein, Allan Oyirwoth, Jack Panayotou, Malcolm Fry, and Maxi Urruti.

While the second unit was unable to score, they had some good moments and did not concede a goal. It was interesting to see Farrell playing in a more advanced role, seemingly in the right midfielder position. Last year Farrell was also deployed in the midfield, though in a central defensive midfielder role. It is unsure if his position today was indicative of where Porter intends to use him this season, or if he played there out of necessity due to the absence of Matt Polster and Luis Diaz.

The game finished 2-0, the first loss of the preseason for New England. The Revs will have two more preseason games to continue working before the MLS regular season kicks off on February 22.

While it is still very early in the season, and there are a lot of new players figuring out how to play together, the ghosts of last season are still haunting this team. Poor set piece defending, costly turnovers in the defensive end, and the lack of an attacking threat are significant barriers that will need to be overcome in order for the Revs to have success in 2025.

Hopefully^, this year’s team is just getting started and they will continue to improve as the season progresses.