‘Where’s the fight?’: 3 takeaways as the Revolution were eliminated from playoff contention

The home defeat saw fans in the club's supporters' section wave an actual white flag amid a lackluster performance.

The Revolution lost to D.C. United 2-1 at home on Saturday night, a result that officially eliminated New England from playoff contention.

Two goals in the first eight minutes from Pedro Santos and Christian Benteke gave United a quick lead, leaving Revolution fans — 44,110 were in attendance for the final home game of the season — in a stunned and exasperated state.

Despite eventually putting together a concerted response, with an Ian Harkes deflection in the 74th minute handing New England a goal to cut the deficit, Caleb Porter’s team was ultimately unable to find a second (or third) goal to avoid a season-ending loss.

Now, Porter and team management will have choices to make over the final two games of the regular season as they evaluate in preparation for 2025 (with their own futures likely to come under scrutiny as well).

Here are a few takeaways:

A microcosm of a doomed playoff push.

New England began the night trailing the Eastern Conference playoff line by six points. Though the Revolution clearly faced a mountainous climb to get back into postseason contention, the path technically remained open.

Porter could call on a nearly full roster to try and get a result, including winger Dylan Borrero (who returned from suspension). Interestingly, he chose to start Emmanuel Boateng on the left, with Giacomo Vrioni also re-entering the starting lineup for Bobby Wood up front.

Yet with their season on the line, the Revolution could not have started worse (though, it should be said, they tried). In a quick series of mental lapses at the back, New England surrendered a pair of goals in the opening eight minutes.

The first, in fairness, was mostly the result of a United highlight. Santos rushed onto a bouncing ball inside New England’s box in the third minute and walloped a perfectly struck volley just under the crossbar.

There was nothing Revolution goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic could do, though questions could probably be asked of how New England allowed an (uncontested) cross to bounce inside the box three times before an opposing player was allowed to shoot.

The second goal showcased the Revolution defense’s maddening inconsistency.

A simple lobbed vertical pass from United center back Lucas Bartlett fell between New England’s back line and Ivacic (standing just outside his goal). Yet instead of calmly dealing with it, center back Xavier Arreaga pulled up in his run and signaled Ivacic to come out and clear it.

Benteke, who leads MLS in goals (now with 23), surged ahead of Arreaga and, having a shorter distance to cover than Ivacic, beat New England’s keeper to it. He applied a simple finish, easily nodding the ball past the helpless Revolution keeper.

In truth, it could’ve been as bad as 4-0 in the first 16 minutes, though United were profligate with multiple chances, allowing New England to escape with “only” half the damage.

In many ways, it was representative of the team’s season overall, and specifically the fiasco that has been the late-season playoff push. Despite possessing plenty of talent — and stringing together some decent sequences of possession — the Revolution fell victim to avoidable but costly mistakes, and never recovered.

Some striking scenes emerged at the end of a frustrating year.

Trailing 2-0 before some fans had even taken their seats, the reaction from the home crowd was one of frustration.

In the team’s supporters’ section, “The Fort,” fans unveiled a banner that read, “Where is the fight,” a play on the team’s slogan: “Bring the fight.”

Other fans waved a literal white flag, a sad acknowledgment of a painful reality at that point.

The crowd tried to will the Revolution back into it at various points during the game itself, but serenaded the team with a noticeable level of boos at both halftime and the final whistle.

Offseason priorities coming into focus.

Two games remain for the Revolution, both coming on the road against the best teams in the conference (Columbus and Miami). It will provide an additional evaluation period for New England’s management.

Porter, whose future is by no means guaranteed either, will begin to assess the squad with an eye on 2025.

Having inherited a largely cap-tied roster, Porter (along with sporting director Curt Onalfo) will have the potential to open up quite a bit of salary space in the offseason.

Here’s the list of players who, according to Spotrac, have expiring deals or club options:

• Tim Parker
• Jonathan Mensah
• Bobby Wood
• Nick Lima
• Xavier Arreaga (club option)
• Dave Romney (club option)
• Andrew Farrell (club option)
• Dylan Borrero (club option)
• Matt Polster (club option)
• Tommy McNamara (club option)
• Nacho Gil (club option)
• Brandon Bye (club option)
• Emmanuel Boateng (club option)

At this point, it feels like Bye and Polster could be the only ones with what might be called a strong likelihood of returning. Others will probably also be kept, but it’s harder to say for sure at this point. Borrero is the most talented of the group, yet his recent maturity issues (earning what proved to be a multi-game suspension for referee dissent) could give evaluators cause for concern.

Regardless of the specific choices, the most likely outcome is that New England declines many of the options, opening up significant cap space.

What Porter and Onalfo prioritize will be fascinating. One thing is clear: A major goal must be acquiring another center forward. Vrioni, whose contract runs through 2025, has not lived up to the Designated Player mantle he was handed when initially signed in 2022. He has nine goals in 29 appearances in 2024, but none since Aug. 24. Injuries aside, he has simply not been consistent enough.

Rectifying the defensive issues will also certainly be a task. Other than 16-year-old left back Peyton Miller, New England could potentially rework the entire defense. It seems likely that at least one or two of the group will be brought back (probably Bye and at least one center back), but Porter will not want to squander the opportunity to finally work some major changes.