The New England Revolution stayed undefeated in Concacaf Champions Cup play with a 1-1 draw against LD Alajuelense on Thursday night at Estadio Alejandro Morea Soto in Alajuela, Costa Rica.
The Revolution won 4-0 against LD Alajuelense in leg one of their Round of 16 series on March 6 at Gillette Stadium. They advance to the quarterfinals with an aggregate score of 5-1 and will face reigning LIGA MX champion Club America, the top-rated club in the tournament. The Revolution outscored their two opponents 9-1 in four games.
“Obviously we know our next opponent is one of the best teams in the continent and can compete globally with the best teams,” said Revolution head coach Caleb Porter. “They have a large budget and immense talent and massive fan support, so it’s a great opportunity for our club to play against a team of that caliber.
“We are happy to progress in this prestigious tournament with a lot at stake. It is a huge tournament and it is important to us, and you can see that in the four games we’ve played.”
The Revolution (0-3) will aim to secure their first MLS victory when they host reigning Eastern Conference champion and Supporters Shield winners FC Cincinnati on Sunday (2 p.m.) at Gillette Stadium.
“We are focused on the league right now, we’ve got a game in two days that we need to win at home,” said Porter. “We will start think about and look at and scout Club America once that game is done.”
The Revolution played their seventh of eight games in 26 days and Porter made significant changes to his Starting XI from the lineup that got blitzed 4-1 on March 9 at Atlanta United FC.
Porter did not start team captain Carles Gil at the 10-spot, striker Giacomo Vrioni at the top of his 4-2-3-1 scheme and steady Dave Romney at center back. Ryan Spaulding got the not at left back in place of DeJuan Jones. Vrioni came off the bench in the second half and scored on a fine individual effort to tie the match in the 81st minute.
“We had a plan coming into this game knowing that we are behind in the league and the Sunday game is really important too,” said Porter. “We felt being up 4-0 in the aggregate to rotate so that we were not only fresh in this game but fresh for Sunday.
“We had a plan to start Tomas (Chancalay) and bring on Giacomo so we could get a good push from each guy. It couldn’t have gone any better for us to get a result.”
The Revolution conceded their first goal of the tournament in the fourth minute via a quick exchange by Los Leones in the penalty area. Forward Johan Venegas got under a cross in front of the Revolution cage and headed the ball back to midfielder Celso Borges, the Leones’ captain.
Borges turned and shot at Ravas, who made the save but could not control the rebound. Midfielder Carlos Moro got behind the Revolution defense and kicked the ball inside the right goal post for his eighth of the season across all competitions.
Venegas got behind the Revolution defense in the 22nd minute but his shot hit the left post and, less than a minute later, Ravas made a diving save on Moro to keep it 1-0. Alajuelense outshot the Revolution 12-1 and 6-1 in shots on target in the first half.
“They started strongly and we knew they would give their all and then they scored an early goal,” said Porter. “It was one of the most amazing atmospheres I’ve ever experienced, the fans here are amazing, they cheer for every play and sing throughout the whole game.
“It was a fantastic opportunity for the team to play in this atmosphere away from home. Then to concede a goal and then gather ourselves, bend but not break.”
Los Leones began the second half with determination. Borges had a free kick just outside the box in the 48th minute but his shot went over the crossbar. Leones head coach Alexandre Guimaraes made three substitutions in the 55th minute to maintain maximum pressure on Ravas.
