When Chris Tierney returned to New England in 2008 after four years at the University of Virginia, all was good. He was about to start his professional career for his hometown team and the Revolution were on a roll, winners of the previous three Eastern Conference Championships (2005, 2006 and 2007).
Over his first two seasons the club made their seventh and eighth consecutive playoff appearances, and then the wheels fell off.
In 2010 the team began to undergo a transition phase, a span that coincided with the longest postseason drought in Revolution history. Tierney matured during those years, watching players flow in and out and seeing then-manager Steve Nicol, the coach who built New England into an Eastern Conference power, step away from the helm after a decade in charge.
Prior to the 2012 season, former defender Jay Heaps, a person that Tierney looked up to when he came into the league, was named the head coach and thus began the journey back to prominence for the Revolution.
“It’s really exciting,” said Tierney of the club’s recent run of success. “Personally this club means a lot to me. I grew up supporting this team, I’ve been here for a while. This is where this club belongs, playing in big games in November and hopefully December. It’s a great thing for the club. The club’s come a long way since those days.”
Since suffering through one of the worst seasons in club history, a 5-16-13 campaign in 2011, New England has been gathering momentum on the way to returning to the upper echelon in the Eastern Conference. They won nine games in Heaps’ first season as coach, followed by a 12-win season and a return to the playoffs in 2013.
Despite losing in the Eastern Conference semifinals last year to eventual MLS Cup Champion Sporting Kansas City, the Revolution continued their successful ways this season. Part of the reasonwas a solid core of veteran leaders, led by Tierney.
“Players, when they know a guy’s tough mentally and they see a guy that every day trains hard, every day he’s competitive, you earn instant respect from the guys,” Heaps said. “I think that Chris has that.”
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Tierney may be a piece of the puzzle in terms of the club's resurgence, but he points to the efforts of the front office as a main reason why New England is once again a major contender in the league. And now that they have gotten back to where they once were, the goals have become elevated to the highest.
“Our ownership group has really proven that they’re committed to bringing quality players here,” Tierney said. “Everything else around the club has really taken off to the next level. We’re trying to reciprocate that on the field and make sure that we’re putting out a good, exciting product.
“I think we’ve done that so far this year and we’re going to try to take it all the way.”
Craig Forde covers the New England Revolution for MLSsoccer.com.
