"Set piece giveth and set piece taketh away."

That's what New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner told reporters after the club's victory over CF Montreal. It is the perfect description of that area of the game.

In recent history, set-pieces have largely been taking wins away from the Revs. The club has largely struggled to defend dead-ball plays and has been lacking an attacking presence to take advantage of these opportunities. New England has allowed 46 set-piece goals since 2020.

But against Montreal, the work that the Revs have been doing in this area was on full display. Brayan Ceballos got a wide open chance on net early on and later in the game, Mamadou Fofana buried home a free kick off the foot of Luca Langoni for his first-ever MLS goal.

The center back immediately sprinted towards the Revs bench and pointed towards a coach, set-piece specialist Marc Orti Esteban. Orti Esteban joined the Revs organization at the beginning of the 2025 season after serving as a Set-Piece Specialist for English Premier League club Brentford FC since 2023.

The work that Orti Esteban does is largely on the training ground away from the public eye. The goal against Montreal was the outward proof of his impact on the Revolution.

“Marc [Orti Esteban] is a great person with a great energy," head coach Marko Mitrovic said. "We have a lot of people in this club that are working behind the scenes, like in every other club, and Marc’s impact is significant. He’s working really hard together with all staff members supporting not just set pieces but every other moment of the game. We all work together and collaborate. Set pieces are very unique situations on the field where it’s a very short action and you have to be very successful. As I said, we are working and Marc is leading that very hard, day after day, to improve us both attacking and defending. The good thing in this game against Montreal, we got rewarded with that second goal that Mamadou [Fofana] scored.”

While a set-piece goal is evidence enough, the fact that Langoni assisted on the play is another testament to the coaching that Orti Esteban does. The winger had previously never taken free kicks when at Boca Juniors and prior.

"It's super important, all the work we put in tactically, and everything we do is super important, "Langoni said. "We take major responsibility in that and focus on it during the week in training so that it pays off during the games. Like I said, it's fruit of the labor."

The effort on the defensive side of set pieces is evident, considering that prior to Orti Esteban's arrival, New England allowed 12 set piece goals in 2024. That number was slashed to just six in 2025.

"We're working really hard at it, but, you know, it's just an area of absolute care," Turner said after the win over Montreal. "So our big message today was defend our house in that six-yard box. Heightened energy every time that they're attacking set pieces. Then on the other side, we know our principles. Our messaging is very clear, and it's all about the delivery. Especially when we're scoring — it's great for our back line to score — but the ball's got to arrive where it's supposed to arrive. The work that Mark does with guys on their delivery, on the timing, on where to arrive, the game plans always are changing. It's really a great challenge for all of us."

Now it is unlikely that New England never allows a set piece goal again, but the work the team has put in is starting to bear fruit. The team has been able to convert on chances and is doing a better job at defending dead balls.

So it was great to see Orti Esteban get his flowers in the public eye. His job is much more than the number of goals that New England allows and how many it scores. Still, these positive moments show that the hard work on the training ground is paying off.