Foxborough, MA – The New England Revolution will be looking to follow the example set by the Colorado Rapids in their last outing as the two sides get set to meet at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday.
Colorado entered its weekend tilt against Chivas USA with a three-game losing skid, which it ultimately snapped thanks to a strong second-half performance that led to a 4-0 home win.
The Revs are currently in the midst of a three-game losing skid and they will hope to claim their first points since their 3-1 defeat of the Los Angeles Galaxy on March 31 when they host the Rapids.
New England's struggles in front of goal are indicative of its poor run of form. The Revolution have scored just once over their three-game slide and have managed to net only five goals through seven league games.
"I feel like we've been a little bit unlucky; I think unlucky is the word," head coach Jay Heaps told the club's official website. "Defensively we've held strong. We've done some things that I'd like to get back, but we can't, so we have to improve upon (the mistakes). But offensively, I think if we can just be a little bit more active, (have) a little bit more movement inside the 18, we can break teams down."
The Revs are coming off a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Red Bull New York, a match in which they created several scoring chances but lacked the killer instinct necessary to finish one of them off.
The same could not be said for the Rapids, who exploded for four second-half goals in their defeat of Chivas.
With five goals scored in the club's last two matches, the offensive outburst is likely due to head coach Oscar Pareja's switch from a 4-3-3 formation to a more traditional 4-4-2. The change in formation saw Omar Cummings and Tony Cascio partnered up top for two consecutive weeks, much to the pleasure of Cascio.
"I think the 4-4-2 is more center-oriented and Omar and I are a little closer together," Cascio said after Saturday's win. "That way, we can work with each other. We're two different players; he likes to make those runs in behind and I can check to and so vice-versa. It works pretty well."
The Rapids will need to certainly find more consistency if they hope to make a run into the postseason.
"I think there's a lot of room for improvement for me personally and as a team," Cummings said. "We still need to look within."
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