The Mike Lapper era is off to a great start.
New England Revolution interim head coach Lapper took charge of the club on Thursday after the Revs parted ways with Brad Friedel and the team responded with a resounding 3-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night.
After conceding 18 goals in their last four game, with three losses and one wild 4-4 draw, Lapper is optimistic following the 3-1 win.
“This team is good enough to do amazing things," Lapper said after the match. "I’m not going to say we can win MLS right now, because it’s only one win. But they can do great things like you saw tonight.”
Juan Agudelo got the scoring underway after 18 minutes, latching onto an Edgar Castillo cross.
“I thought the guys fought for one another today. We needed this win at home,” Agudelo said. “A lot of encouraging points.”
Cristian Penilla and Carles Gil rounded out the scoring for New England, before the Quakes would grab a consolation goal in the 88th minute.
"I think there was a lot of emotion in the locker room," Lapper said. "We challenged them and upper management also challenged them because we’re all responsible for what happened with Brad. You can’t just point to one person. I think that’s unfair. … I thought [the players] rallied and I was so proud of them. Obviously, the result speaks for itself. But more than that, it’s just the fight and the energy that they brought. Maybe it was the fans, it was the night. I don’t know what it was, but they brought something special.”
New England are next in action on Saturday against the Montreal Impact (1 pm ET | TVAS, MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US).
“Tonight was fun,” defender Andrew Farrell said. “I love this game and it’s hard when you’re losing games like we have been. But today was fun.”
The Revs are still only five points below the playoff line.
“It means a lot,” Agudelo said. “I 100 percent feel like this can be a huge boost for us for the rest of the season. I hope so. And I hope every single one of the players out there realize how big of an effort we put in for one another today, communicating and encouraging one another.”
