Coming off back-to-back wins, the New England Revolution would appear to have another favorable matchup against lowly Toronto FC.
They, however, haven't had much success in the series of late.
Looking to continue its playoff push, New England goes for its first-ever road win over Toronto on Friday night.
After Kelyn Rowe and Juan Agudelo provided all the offense in 2-0 win over Chicago on Aug. 17, the Revolution (10-9-6) matched their highest goal total of the year in a 5-1 rout of Philadelphia on Sunday. Rowe and Agudelo both scored twice while Diego Fagundez added his team-leading eighth goal.
"I think what the last two games have proven is if we're on top of our game, take care of our passing and come in with the right mentality, then we're going to win the game," left back Chris Tierney said. "So we're going to Toronto with that attitude, and we're going to continue to try to build our confidence and keep getting better."
Tied with Houston for the fifth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, New England has gone 5-5-2 since a season-high three-game winning streak May 18-June 2.
"We've been streaky over the past couple months, and we got to stop that, we got to be consistent," midfielder Scott Caldwell said. "Really over these last nine games, we need to win the majority of them if we want to make the playoffs."
While Toronto (4-12-9) is tied with Chivas USA for the second-fewest points in the league, it has given the Revolution fits over the years. New England has compiled a 1-3-3 record in the series dating to 2010, with its lone win coming by a 2-0 score May 25 behind goals from Agudelo and Fagundez.
The Revolution dropped the last matchup 1-0 on Aug. 4 after allowing Matias Laba to score in the second minute.
"It's crucial, especially on the road," Tierney said of getting off to a better start. "If you give them any sort of momentum at home, then they'll start to feed off of that. So we have to make sure that - first things first - we're tight defensively, don't concede anything, and then play our way into the game. It's going to be a physical battle."
New England is 0-2-4 all-time at BMO Field after playing to 2-all draws in its last two visits.
"We know how dangerous Toronto can be at home," coach Jay Heaps said. "It's going to be another important game for us because it's another Eastern Conference game."
Toronto has been limited to two goals in going 0-2-1 since beating New England earlier this month. The club salvaged a 1-all draw at D.C. on Saturday thanks to Bobby Convey's tying score in 60th minute.
"I'm really disappointed we didn't take all three points," coach Ryan Nelsen told the league's official website. "I'm happy because we were away from home and came from a goal down to get a result, but I'm a wee bit disappointed that we didn't take all three, because I thought the team deserved it."
Toronto has gone 1-4-6 in its last 11 home matches.
