Last season the New England Revolution didn’t win their first road match till the end of the season but this year? Well, that is a completely different story.

In their second road match of the year, the Revs came away with a win with a 2-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo on the road.

New England’s first goal came via forward Teal Bunbury who scored in the 15th minute and their second goal came via the under-the-radar signing in Cristian Penilla who provided a much-needed cushion for the Revs defense.

Caicedo ➡ Penilla ➡ Bunbury ✅#NERevs // #HOUvNE pic.twitter.com/KHNJxAdeLi

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) April 1, 2018

In addition to his 71st-minute goal, Penilla recorded an assist which leaves him only one assist behind league leader Diego Rossi of LAFC for the league lead in assists. While we are on the topic of newcomers, midfielder Luis Caicedo who joined the Revs just days prior to last weeks match was able to start for the Revs against Houston. Caicedo in his first MLS start played all 90 minutes for HC Brad Friedel and recorded his first MLS assist with a secondary assist on the Bunbury goal.

What. A. Finish. From Cristian Penilla!#NERevs pic.twitter.com/HXMbZGnDnN

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) April 1, 2018

As for net-minder Matt Turner he recorded a career-high six saves en route to his first career shutout and New England’s first shutout of the young MLS season.

For the Revs the defensive effort was immense keeping the Dynamo off the board and controlling the physical style of play Houston brings to their games. In addition, their win can be described as a complete team effort with a balance of offensive and defense being key to their full 90 minutes effort.

This can be best described by defenseman Jalil Anibaba.

Three. Huge. Points.

Instant reax from @jalil_anibaba4. #NERevs pic.twitter.com/dojU1TYg5H

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) April 1, 2018

The starting lineup that Friedel brought to the table once again did not include Juan Agudelo who came off the bench to sub un for Bunbury in the 53rd minute and was once again not rewarded the opportunity to get his 100th MLS start but with the current starting group clicking it might take someone faltering for Agudelo to get back in the starting group.

For the Revs as a whole winning in Houston is huge since in the last two seasons the club only had three road wins and getting one this early in the season means it could no longer be an issue or a topic of discussion both in the fanbase and elsewhere in MLS.

New England returns to action next Friday, April 6, when the club hosts the Montreal Impact at Gillette Stadium for the first of three meetings this season. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET and I will be live from Gillette with all the game coverage.

The New England Revolution hit the road for the second time this season. This time in Houston.

Tonight at 8:30 pm ET the Revs will kick off their 4th MLS game of the season against the Dynamo with New England entering the match with a 1-1-1 record and currently sit in 6th place in the Eastern Conference.

There are plenty of storylines heading into the match to watch out for but here are just a few.

• If Juan Agudelo starts the match it will be his 100th career MLS start,
• Midfielder Diego Fagundez will look to record a goal for a third consecutive match. Should he score, Fagundez will become the first Revs player to achieve the feat since Kei Kamara scored four goals in a three-game span from July 22 - August 5, 2017.
• Forward Cristian Penilla will look to extend his streak of matches with an assist to three. If he registers an assist, it will mark the first time a Revolution player has recorded an assist in three consecutive matches since both Diego Fagundez and Kelyn Rowe did it from September 3-17, 2016.
• Midfielder Kelyn Rowe (28G/38A) needs two more goals to become the sixth member of the Revolution’s 30/30 club, joining Diego Fagundez (42G/32A), Shalrie Joseph (37G/34A), Joe-Max Moore (41G/35A), Lee Nguyen (51G/49A), and Steve Ralston (42G/73A).

Houston is set to be an interesting physical opponent for the Revs who look to get a vital road win to get their 2018 road campaign pointed in the right direction.

They will certainly have their chances but New England should be in a position to come away with points if not win the match outright which would be huge considering last season they didn’t win a game on the road till the final weeks of the season.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

TV: myTV38 (WSBK-TV) (Streaming on Revolutionsoccer.net)

Talent: Brad Feldman (play-by-play), Paul Mariner (analyst)

Revolution Postgame Live: Brad Feldman, Paul Mariner

Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub HD2

Talent: Brad Feldman (play-by-play), Paul Mariner (analyst)

Portuguese Radio: WMVX 1570 AM “Nossa Radio USA”

Talent: Luis Lombardi Jr. (play-by-play), Raphael Fraga (analyst)

The New England Revolution brought in Cristian Penilla this past offseason with many not thinking twice about the signing. But now with the MLS season underway people are starting to take notice of Penilla’s play and are already considering him one of the best under-the-radar signings of the 2018 season.

In a list put out by MLS host Andrew Wiebe, the New England Revolution forward finds himself among one of the leagues best under-the-radar signings.

Wiebe credits Penilla’s ability to be another one of New England’s versatile attackers who was able to break out in both of the last two matches for the Revs. Penilla has played in all three games for the Revs but was pulled after just 27 minutes in the season opener after a red card was handed out to Antonio Delamea.

In his last two games though he has really shown immense potential for the Revolution. Penilla has two assists in as many games and has come very close to putting a few balls in the back of the net while breaking defenders ankles and making incredible passes to set up teammates.

Agudelo: “Huge dynamic. You could tell how scared some defenders are of his acceleration, so they give him space. Like on the goal [in the 63^rd minute against NYCFC], he was able to get space and cross the ball. If they’re tight against him, he’s able to use his pace to get in behind, so it’s a good addition we have.”

Liga MX Failures Not Relevant To MLS Play For Penilla

Penilla was an relative unknown before coming to New England having had an unsuccessful stint in Mexico’s Liga MX but has logged over 200 appearances and 10,000+ minutes across eight years of professional play. He came to New England on loan from Pachuca on Jan. 23, 2018 with a transfer option for the 2019 season.

Coach Friedel: “We knew when we signed him what we were getting. It takes players a little bit of time to adapt to the new culture, a new language, and new surroundings, but it hasn’t taken him long at all. Outstanding player, very, very good with his right foot, and he’s got an incredible burst of pace about him. I know a lot of teams in MLS when they come play us, they’re going to have to scout him and they’re going to try to stop him, but he’s one of those players that I think you can scout multiple times and he’s still very difficult to scout. We’re expecting big things from Cristian [Penilla].”

Even with Penilla’s early success this season it is unclear what his role will be with this team both long-term and short-term with Brad Freidel having plenty of decisions to make in regards to his lineup card.

Turner: “Every week no one knows who’s playing. We go into every week of training [and] every single rep is very important — I’ve said that before. So, everybody’s ready to do the job on the weekend. All you can do is when your name is called, whether it be before the game, at halftime or in the 60^th minute, all you can do is your job.”

Even with other options to go with if Penilla can keep this up there is a very good chance he could find himself in the starting lineup a lot going forward and is almost a certain to be slotted in for Saturday against the Houston Dynamo.