Revolution Show Strong Mentality In Road Draw Against Orlando City
"It would’ve been easy to just call it a day, and they didn’t. I love that mentality.”
The New England Revolution came from behind twice to record a 3-3 road draw against Orlando City SC.
The result revealed much about the 2025 Revolution, who have collected 16 points in their last seven games.
The Revs conceded two goals by the 33rd minute of Saturday’s match after only allowing two first-half goals during their first ten games.
Strikes from Alhassan Yusuf and Matt Polster ensured they would continue their streak of not trailing at the half.
“I loved our response down 2-0,” Porter said. “I’ve been in hundreds of games and, obviously, a few where we’re down 2-0, and rarely are you coming back in that type of game on the road. It’s pretty rare. Only teams with a very strong mentality do it.
“I love that we grew in that moment, down 2-0, and we fought back versus shriveling. That’s what good teams and good players do. They step their level up and [it was great] to go 2- 2.”
Orlando regained the lead when Martin Ojeda scored his third of the night on a penalty in the 55th minute. Carles Gil converted his opportunity from the spot in the 85th minute to bring the game to 3-3.
The Revs had a good look during the game’s final seconds, but Brandon Bye’s header went wide.
Recording a point after being down twice says something about this team, especially since the 2024 Revs were 0-17-2 when conceding first.
“The best teams, they have a refuse-to-lose mentality,” Porter said. “You see their best when there is adversity that kicks in. That’s what you saw with this group down 2-0. It would’ve been easy to just call it a day, and they didn’t. I love that mentality.”
Matt Polster agreed with Porter, saying, “You could see the character and the personality from the group that we're willing to sacrifice a lot for each other and find a way to get a point out of this game.”
Porter and Polster both view the game as an opportunity to learn, mentioning that there were times when the team wasn’t sharp enough. Porter specifically said he wants his team to start each half better.
“I thought we played really well at the end of the first half and in the middle of the second half, but we have to be more consistent with our play,” Porter said. “It starts with being better with the ball. We can’t piss the ball away up top. That’s going to lead to a team like Orlando running all over you. From there, we have to manage our lines better.
“We’ll look at the film and we’ll use it again as a real learning experience. It’s great that you can learn and not lose, take a point and the result. It’s still another result on the road, which is excellent.”