New Year, New Coach, New Team. Nashville Doesn’t Care
ROBC Vol. 4 No. 1, February 25, 2026
Source: revolutionsoccer.net
Matt: Happy New MLS Season, Josh! With almost two feet of snow on the ground here in Massachusetts, it doesn’t feel like soccer season, but here we are. The Revs 2026 campaign is off to a decidedly non-sunny start as well, with Nashville handing them a 4-1 loss. The way Nashville played them, I wouldn’t have been surprised if the game had ended with a score of 8-1.
Josh: MLS is back! And maybe the Revs weren’t ready for it. We are enjoying our version of Winter out here in The Bay, and I’m happy to see photos of the beautiful snow from afar. Glad you weren’t outside for a home game in this cold!
Matt: Full transparency, you and I didn’t write a ton of Revs posts last year, and that was partly because the team wasn’t doing well and I never envisioned writing a blog that dumps on a team. Also, MLSNowPodcast decided last year to focus solely on podcasts, so it took some time for us to set up our website. I’m excited to continue this fan blog with a tone of honesty without dumping on players. I’m not trying to manifest a reporting career for myself, but I enjoy writing about the Revs and being in the know about what is happening with the team. So thanks Josh, for keeping this going with me!
Josh: Oh darn - I have to write about soccer with my brother - I’m performing the real service here. I’m glad we’ve done it. I’m excited about our new site. And I also have no desire to punch down, as the expression goes. I’ve never backed a legacy winning team, and I’m always loyal to my squad!
Matt: Before the season opener I had some hopes and dreams, with the Revs hyping Brooklyn Raines quite a bit, trying to get the fan base excited about Griffin Yow, and telling us that Campana is in a better physical place this year to play…but I had been hoping for more. If you’ve read at least one post on Quakes on Both Coasts, you’ll know that I would have LOVED for Cristian Espinoza to come to New England, but it was not to be. I don’t blame him for signing with Nashville, because now he gets to partner up with Sam Surridge and Hany Mukhtar.
Josh: And partner up he did. As a Quakes loyalist for most of the Espinoza era, it was weird to see him in the supporting role, and then to watch him against my East Coast team! But the Revs didn’t have all their resources to put up against a strengthened Nashville SC.
Matt: The Revs are a shell of what they represented in 2021, due in part to the Porter Era, but I found Mitrovic’s hiring to be a positive move. The players appear to be happier and there is more energy around the organization. Such a change from last season, when everything last season was in the negative. Last September, I had a needle in a haystack moment: I saw an older gentleman in the grocery store wearing an old-school Revs STM jacket and complimented him on it. In return I got an earful about how they had season tickets since ‘96, canceled them due to the poor direction of the team, and that they didn’t miss them one bit. And this gentleman was not calm about the situation. That conversation represented a deep morale problem with the fanbase. This organization needed a major change, and I hope that looking back we will see Mitrovic’s hiring as a 180 pivot.
Josh: That would be an exciting change! As one of the original MLS teams, heading into a 32-years-later North American World Cup, the Boston area and its fans deserve a strong team. And even if they’re not finally getting that star on the crest, the Revs should be obviously making decisions that keep the fans fighting for them in The Fort.
Matt: So…I wasn’t thrilled to see the lineup for last Saturday’s game. I was especially disappointed to see that Brayan Ceballos (of the Santa Fe rumors) and Peyton Miller were unavailable. And Feingold starting on the bench. As a fan you want to see your best lineup on the pitch for opening kickoff, and I found it very discouraging. And the results unfortunately bore that out. Nashville carved up the defense like a Thanksgiving turkey. Even though Matt Turner was able to make some great reaction saves, Nashville’s second chances and positioning allowed them to quickly turn the 2026 campaign into a 2-0 deficit by the 16’, and a 3-0 deficit at the half.
Josh: The second half Revolution looked like a different team. Sure, I have to imagine Nashville didn’t feel quite as pressed to put the ball away, but there was a lot more gameplay, and a lot more back and forth across the pitch.
Matt: The Revs tried to make it a game with a great Gil to Campana combo to open the second half of play in the 47’, but Nashville answered with a goal of their own 2 minutes later. The rest of the game was a wash to me. Where was Turgeman? Where was Yow? Where was Raines? I can only hope that this, being Game #1 of the season, just showed that the chemistry and synchronicity of the attack still needs to gel. With 14 Nashville shots to 4 Revs shots, the imbalance of attack between the two teams was on full display. No surprise that the top-rated players for the game were Turner, Gil, and Campana, but everyone else’s ratings were nothing to write home about. At the same time, I’ll admit that I’m very happy Mitrovic is willing to let players develop (unlike the last guy), and he should be, given the state of the club that he’s inherited. For example, I was glad to see Malcolm Fry sub in the 68’. A hardworking forward with tons of potential who didn’t get much of an opportunity last season.
Josh: After Campana shanked what seemed like a classic and easy goal in the first half, it was nice to see the clinical finish to start the second. And like a local loyalist, I love to see a Homegrown come up from the Academy, get their minutes on the first team, and hopefully earn some stats on the team they grew up watching. Hopefully we’ll see more of Fry as Coach M starts making those real world adjustments to the roster. Players hold themselves to a different standard when they’re playing the club schedule and the points matter. I’m sure every team is making hard changes to their lineup these first couple weeks.
Matt: I can’t say much more about this match, other than I’m glad it’s over. I hope for the next match against the Red Bulls, who shocked Orlando 2-1 in Florida, that we will at least have Ceballos back. He does a solid job controlling space in the back line, and the Revs were sorely missing him last Saturday. Miller is a beast who can work the defense and wing for the Revs equally well, but there’s no sense at this point that he’ll be back soon.
Josh: Ceballos will have his work cut out for him against that young Red Bulls lineup, including the slightly-less-young Cade Cowell. Maybe we’ll see Fry and Beason out on the pitch earlier to support Ceballos and energize that back line. Polster can only do so much in transition, so we’ll see who lines up with him in midfield. A Red Bull matchup is never clean, and I’m calling a 2-1 finesse win for New England.
Matt: Let’s go Revs, steal three from the Red Bulls on Saturday! Bring the Pine Fight!
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