Sterling defense and the continued recovery of Saer Sene must at some point translate to goals for a team that's gone 388 minutes without any.
Despite another scoreless night for his team, Revolution forward Saer Sene (blond mohawk) was just happy to be back on the field Saturday in Seattle.
FOXBOROUGH – To say the last two weeks for the New England Revolution have been emotional would be an understatement.
First, defender Kevin Alston was diagnosed with a treatable form of leukemia.
Then at Monday’s Boston Marathon, keeper Matt Reis’ father-in-law, John Odom, was seriously injured during the explosions and remains hospitalized.
In addition, defender Chris Tierney’s girlfriend also was injured but released after an overnight stay at an area hospital.
“The issue for me is that you can tell guys want to be around each other,” coach Jay Heaps said during a break from practice prior to Saturday’s game at the New York Red Bulls (2-4-2). “Our players are getting through it together. I think that’s important as a support system.
“You step on the field and it’s a release. You get out here and do what you love to do. We’re playing for a pretty strong nation and a pretty strong region. For me, being from (Longmeadow), I’m honored to be able to represent this area.”
Emotions aside, the Revs (1-2-2) have gone through what could best be described as a good news-bad news scenario.
The good news is two-fold:
• By playing a scoreless draw Saturday at Seattle, the Revs are off to the best defensive start in club history (two goals allowed for a 0.40 average).
• Forward Saer Sene, sidelined in August when he blew out his left ACL after scoring 11 goals, saw his first action against the Sounders and played 16 minutes.
The bad news is the Revs have played 388 minutes without scoring.
Without question, Sene’s return should be a plus for an offense desperate for goals.
“It’s almost like a new signing,” Heaps said. “He adds a spark. He’s a good player. Anytime you can add a new player, not only for your training but also the games, you can feel the lift.
“When he came on, there was a lift on the field. But he’s not all the way match-fit, so we need to be smart. That was a step forward by getting him 16 minutes. We need to use his minutes wisely and we take him day by day. But at the same time, he continues to makes those steps. Now it’s about minutes. It’s about fatigue.”
Sene admitted being sidelined for so long was difficult mentally and physically.
“It was hard for me mentally because I wanted to play the game but wasn’t ready, so I had to wait to be ready,” Sene said. “I felt very good and tried to do what my team was looking for. I tried my best, but I’m not 100 percent.
“But I hope soon I’ll be able to play 90 minutes. The more I play games, the more I will feel better. I think I can play 30 to 40 minutes (Saturday) but it’s up to the coach. I don’t know if I can play 100 percent for 90 minutes, but it’s going to come.”
When the Revs’ offense will come around to the point it can score goals is another matter, and it essentially overshadows the team’s sterling defensive play.
“We need to be better on the ball,” Heaps said. “We need to keep the ball better when we have it and play quicker.
“We need to be more clinical when we get the opportunities. For me, I’m not looking at shots on goal. What I look at are the chances. The chances have to be more clinical. Right now, we’re not firing on all cylinders. We have a commitment to attack, but we need to be better in that commitment.”