Even though New England was eliminated from the playoffs, they played the last eight games with purpose.
In this March 24 file photo, New England Revolution head coach Jay Heaps congratulates Saer Sene (39), of France, as he comes out of the game during the second half of a MLS soccer game against the Portland Timbers in Foxborough.
By MIKE SCANDURA
FOXBOROUGH – With eight games remaining on their schedule, the New England Revolution have already been eliminated from Major League Soccer playoff competition.
And like many teams, regardless of sport, it would have been easy for the players to “mail in” the rest of the season (see the Boston Red Sox in September 2011).
Instead, the Revs went 3-3-2 in those last eight games; posted four shutouts in the process; and allowed a total of six goals.
“There was a lot at stake,” coach Jay Heaps said before the team began its offseason training Wednesday. “I think the players were singular about those games in that they were part of the season and were about accountability for this season and preparing for next season.
“Those eight games were crucial in terms of how we build a team through adversity. We lost (forward) Saer Sene (reconstructive surgery to repair a torn ACL) and we had the big trade with (midfielder) Shalrie Joseph who was a big component. They were two players who helped pull strings for us.
“But we adapted and played harder.”
Granted, the Revs (9-17-8 for 35 points) finished with four more victories and seven more points than they had in 2011. But that was of little consolation to Heaps, a Longmeadow native who completed his first season as New England’s head coach.
“We lost 17 times and I’m not happy with that,” Heaps said. “What we lacked this year was on-field experience. We as a coaching staff tried to put our team in position to win. You can prepare a team up to a certain point but it has to be a collective experience.
“When things got tough in one-goal losses, if we had one or two more guys, they would have solidified us more in terms of on-field experience. But that being said, when you lose 15 games by one goal it takes a strong mental approach to finish the season strong.”
The obvious question is what can the Revs do to improve for 2013 and transform the team into a legitimate playoff contender?
“There are three things we can do,” Heaps said. “We can add international signings and we’ve started that process.
“We can have trades for established MLS players. The window’s closed now but we’re having dialogues with teams.
“The last is the college draft and we’ll have the No. 4 pick,” Heaps added. “We know what pieces we need. We know whether it’s an outside defender or a forward.”
On a collective basis, Heaps was pleased with certain aspects of the team.
“I really liked the culture on the team,” he said. “We talked about preparation and game planning. Players that returned had to deal with a lot of turnover. That showed in terms of we had a good start to the year and then there was the middle plateau where we had a tough time. The team rebounded and finished strong.”
On an individual basis, Heaps was pleased with several players including the following:
Õ¤Midfielder Lee Nguyen: “We took Lee off waivers (from Vancouver), which was the first time the Revolution ever did that. We were adamant and we wanted to grab him,” Heaps said.
Õ¤Midfielder Clyde Simms: “Adding Clyde was a crucial piece of the puzzle through (the) re-entry (draft),” Heaps said. “This is the third year (for re-entry) so nobody knew how that would play out.”
Õ¤Sene: “Saer, who’s up for Newcomer of the Year, was an excellent signing,” Heaps said. “We found him through an agent and watched film. I would have expected him to score 11 goals. But when I saw him on the field, next year I’ll expect 20 goals. If he was able to play in our eight last games, he would say he should have had 15 goals.”
Õ¤Midfielder Kelyn Rowe: “He was our No. 5 draft pick and finished with five assists (which tied him with Chris Tierney for the team lead and who also scored three goals),” Heaps said. “He had a very good rookie season.”
Õ¤Forward Diego Fagundez: “Diego (who’s only 17 years old) improved immensely,” Heaps said. “It took him a while to be a competitor. He had the talent but we wanted him to have the resolve, especially off the ball.”