(Major League Soccer)

The Revs take on DC United this Saturday night at Gillette Stadium in a clash of MLS originals. DCU is a team the Revs should emulate themselves after, especially based on DC’s success the last 10 months. First, they got a stadium completed, then they brought in a franchise shifting player in Wayne Rooney- ticking off the two boxes that are holding the Revs back from success both on and off the field.



DC currently sit in second place in the Eastern Conference- tied with leaders Philadelphia on points, but having played more games (reminder MLS tiebreakers are: games played, wins, GD).They currently have the fourth best defensive record in the conference in large part due to goalkeeper Bill Hamid’s spectacular performance so far this season. DC are the colder of the two teams in the match- having only one point from their last two league games, compared to the Revs’ 4 points in that time.



The Revs have been playing their best soccer of the season since Mike Lapper took over a couple weeks ago, especially defensively. Pre-Lapper, the Revs were allowing 2.5 goals per game and he’s seen that number drop to 0.5 goals per game. A lot of that has to do with switching Andrew Farrell to CB, and not being afraid to make quick changes, as we saw in the Montreal game.



Now, a look at some of DC’s better players,



Player We Know: Wayne Rooney is someone that everyone knows, regardless if they’re a soccer fan or not. Wazza has been making headlines across the globe since joining Everton as a sixteen year old. The guy has done it all: won 5 Premier Leagues, a UEFA Champions League, a UEFA Europa League, and a Club World Cup. He’s even gotten a red card in the World Cup, like Revs legend Avery John. He’s the all time leading goal scorer for the English National Team and Manchester United- they guy is a star and is still playing like it. So far in MLS, he has 19 goals and 11 assists in 33 games since coming over last summer. Even with all those accomplishments he’s best known for being the brother of New York Red Bulls legend, John Rooney who was most notably selected two picks before Alex Morgan’s husband in the 2011 SuperDraft.



Player You’ll Notice: Luciano Acosta is the other half of the Lucharoo tandem and an absolute star in this league. Lucho is talented enough that PSG were in on him as a potential Neymar injury replacement this January (yes, PSG thought Lucho could replace Neymar, wild) but both sides weren’t able to get a deal done financially. Last year, Acosta tore MLS apart for an impressive 10 goal, 17 assist season earning him his first MLS Best XI appearance. Lucho’s production isn’t quite as astronomical this season, but he should be able to find room to operate his magic against the Revs.



X-Factor: This blog is pro-Russell Canouse blog. He’s what Scott Caldwell would be if he was about 1.5x better at every aspect of the game- which isn’t an insult to Scotty, but praise for Canouse. He’s going to be charged with disrupting the Revs attack before it gets started, and we’ll likely see him near Carles Gil for most of the match. If the Revs want to win, they have to avoid Canouse- he’s a smart player who makes timely challenges and can disrupt the flow of a team as well as any American in MLS can right now. Canouse not being on the Gold Cup roster is a real head scratcher, and he might have extra motivation from that exclusion.

Prediction: Revolution 1, DCU 2- This is not a pick against the Revs, DC is just a better team and there’s nothing Lapper and Co can do about that right now. Also- Follow @RideTheWaveSoccer on IG as our own Caiden Bodak will be live at the game with updates.

