New England Revolution Looking to Slow Down Fast-Paced San Jose Attack

“So, it’s going to be important that we kill the transitions, that we get behind the ball, get numbers back, and set up our shape."

Photo By J. Alexander Dolan

The New England Revolution will be playing one of the higher-octane offenses in all of Major League Soccer in the San Jose Earthquakes. The matchup doesn’t just present a battle of talent, it also presents a battle of philosophies (though Caleb Porter would disagree).

San Jose has the most goals per match (2.2) and the most expected goals (28.5) in MLS this season. Chico Arango leads the team with nine goals while Cristian Espinoza is tied with Arango for the team lead in goal contributions (10).

“It’s a very good attacking team,” Revolution head coach Caleb Porter said. “They’ve scored a lot of goals and they create a ton of chances. They have a lot of talent in the front part of their team, with guys like [Cristian] Arango, [Josef] Martinez, [Cristian] Espinoza, Hernan Lopez, and [Ousseni] Bouda. They prefer an open game where those front guys can run and have freedom to hurt you in open spaces. They really flourish in that type of game. It also means they give up some chances and give up some goals as well.”

San Jose plays a free-flowing game where it succeeds in transition. There isn’t a whole lot of structure and the onus is on the players to get the job done.

The Revolution on the other hand have a clear desire to build from the back but are also more methodical in its attack. While the team has improved its counterattacking ability, they will look to slow things down on Saturday evening.

“They are really aggressive in the transition, in the open spaces,” Porter said. When the game starts to go back and forth and run and gun, if you want to call it that, that’s where they really thrive. Often times it’s after you have the ball, for sure, but then it’s after they have the ball, then you counter them, they counter you again. It’s a tricky game. The way I view it, you need to, if you can, get some control in the match so it doesn’t become a track meet, because for me, that’s where they’re most dangerous. If we get our lines set and we get organized in our block behind the ball, then I think that makes it a little more difficult for them to create in an organized, positional attack versus an open-space transition.

“So, it’s going to be important that we kill the transitions, that we get behind the ball, get numbers back, and set up our shape,” Porter added. “If we do that, we’ll be okay. But that’s easier said than done, because now when we win the ball, there’s a lot of moments where you can go forward. By going forward, you’re now risking another transition, so it’s always a cat-and-mouse in that type of game.”