FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Four New England Revolution players are tied for the club lead with six points apiece.
The production of three of those players – Charlie Davies (five goals, one assist), Juan Agudelo (four goals, two assists) and Kelyn Rowe (three goals, three assists) – isn’t exactly a surprise given their track record and respective positions on the field.
The fourth player on that list, however, might cause some to do a double take.
In his third season in MLS, Revs holding midfielder Scott Caldwell is finding a comfort zone in the attack, and the oft-overlooked, tenacious defender is now finding his name consistently on the score sheet with two goals and four assists, all of which have come in the club’s last seven games.
“I guess I’m feeling a little bit more comfortable when I get up there,” Caldwell told MLSsoccer.com as the Revs prepare for Saturday's road match against the Portland Timbers (10:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE). “As time progresses, as I get in there, I have more opportunities up there. Just in the natural flow of the game, so that could be it. I don’t think I’ve really changed much, but yeah, it’s definitely a little bit more comfort.”
Caldwell collected two assists in each of his first two seasons with the Revs, but had not registered a goal off 12 total shots, two of which registered on target.
In proving his worth on the defensive side of the ball, the Revs Homegrown player entered this season with a newfound confidence, citing many factors for the reason behind his offensive explosion.
“It’s a little bit of everything,” Caldwell said of his progression on offense. “Also, the pairings that we’ve had, just being with Dorms [midfielder Andy Dorman] a bit more and knowing that one can go and one can stay. If it’s a different pairing in there, I know I have to stay more or vice versa. But also a little bit of word from some of the guys, coaches, just to push me on, take chances a little bit.”
He is certainly taking more chances of late, firing off seven shots, three on goal, to account for the first two strikes of his professional career.
- Get more Revs news at RevolutionSoccer.net
Caldwell is also taking chances working the ball up to the Revs' deadly attackers, having distributed 24 balls within or into the box over the last seven matches, leading to his team-best and career-high four assists, which is currently tied for fourth most in the league.
“He’s good,” center back Jose Goncalves told MLSsoccer.com. “He’s playing a little more offensive now because he has more confidence. Also, when you play better you feel like you can do more. It’s good that we have another player, another midfielder with confidence to give the last pass, play a little bit more forward and be also dangerous. He’s all over the field. We see him a lot in the defensive part, but now he’s more involved also in the offensive part, so it’s good for us and good for him.”
