FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – It was something said by nearly every goalscorer on the New England Revolution’s roster this week leading up to their match against San Jose.
They knew that if they could just get one fortunate bounce in their favor, it could lead to their season-opening goal – and once that came, the rest would follow.
Give the Revolution credit, because they certainly gave themselves ample opportunities to get that lucky bounce, firing 20 shots – eight on target – in their 2-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
“You want to get shots on target because if you do, something’s going to happen,” said Kelyn Rowe, who accounted for both New England goals on the day. “Whether it be a deflection goal, whether it be like a rebound … you want to put anything on target.”
The luck came when Rowe unloaded a blast from just outside of the box in the 21st minute and the effort of defender Shaun Francis to redirect caught goalie David Bingham on the wrong foot as the ball switched right and into the back of the net.
“You see him wind up from that angle and you’re confident if he hits it’s not too challenging,” Bingham said. “Then when he hits it you start leaning because you see it come for a save.”
Once that first one went in, the determination level ticked up a level for the Revs, especially for Rowe, who finished with seven shots in the first half, including five of the club’s six that were on target.
He would capitalize in the 37th minute following a Chris Tierney free kick into the box that Darrius Barnes initially headed, leaving the rebound on the doorstep for Rowe to put away.
“It was something we’ve worked on, just getting across the box,” said Barnes who charged in hard for his header. “Set pieces are something that we want to get better at and I just took it upon myself to try to get in the mix and get something on frame. I asked Kelyn [Rowe] if it was going in, he said no, so I’ll give it to him. To get that goal [and] get that assist on the goal was great, and Kelyn getting two goals was even better.”
The two goals proved to be enough for the Revs to escape with their first three-point day of the season, as they held off a late surge by San Jose to secure the win.
And with the first part of their premonition coming true, the defending Eastern Conference champs now hope the second part about the floodgates opening comes next.
