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Revs hope to keep rolling against TFC

Oct 24, 2014 - 11:31 PM Foxborough, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - Toronto FC will bring down the curtain on another season without a playoff appearance on Saturday as the club hits the road to face the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium.

After bringing in big-name Designated Players Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley in the offseason, Toronto was expected to reach the postseason for the first time this year.

But after a 1-1 draw with the last-place Montreal Impact last weekend, TFC's bubble burst, leaving the club without a postseason berth in its eight seasons in MLS.

Toronto started the campaign with three wins from four games, but since the team returned from the World Cup break in June, TFC managed just five wins in 22 games, including only one point from their four most recent matches.

"It's a season that's obviously disappointing," Toronto captain Steven Caldwell said. "We were in a decent position and we let ourselves down in a number of games this season, certainly in the last 10, 15 games of the season. We just have to be professional about it, look back at the things we did wrong and try to improve as a team. In a season where we've won more games than we have in our history, we're still disappointed."

Toronto's 11 wins this season are the most in club history, but after such a promising start to the campaign, it's hard not to think the team underachieved.

Defoe managed to score 11 goals in 19 games, but he came off the boil over the second half of the season and will take no part in Saturday's match because of a groin injury.

New England endured an eight-game losing streak in the middle of the season, but the Revs have really turned it on over the last two months to help the team secure the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

With just one loss in their last 11 games, the Revs steadily climbed up the table and were able to capture a top-two spot after downing Houston, 2-1, last time out.

New England went behind in the 37th minute to a goal from Giles Barnes, but Lee Nguyen continued his tremendous season with a pair of goals in the second half, including the winner in the 87th, to help the Revs claim the win.

The victory allows Jay Heaps' team to avoid the knockout-round match, and the boss feels that is an important step toward setting up the Revs for a deep run in the playoffs.

"Knowing that definitely keeps you out of four-five [match], I think it's huge," said Heaps after the win over Houston. "I think we know we were going for that. As you can tell at the end there, we risked a lot to go for it because we knew that the three points was going to put us in a position not to have a game midweek of the following week."

Now Heaps has the luxury of resting some players if necessary as Saturday's match has no bearing on the standings.