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When the 2023 New England Revolution Unified Team touched down at Nashville International Airport on Sunday, August 20th, the entire plane filled with cheers and applause from passengers as the pilot welcomed the team to Tennessee and wished the athletes and Unified partners luck in their match against Nashville SC’s Unified Team later that evening.

The trip was quick! All 16 players and two coaches landed in Nashville around 12:30 PM CDT on Sunday and departed from the hotel at 7:30 AM CDT the following morning. The NE Revs Unified team knew why they were there: to compete at their highest level. And they did just that, coming home with a 3-0 win against Nashville.

“We wanted to give the Unified Team a glimpse of what it is like to be on a professional team and how the First Team travels,” said NE Revolution Unified Team Head Coach, Deb Godbout.  “The professionalism all players showed on this trip was exceptional.  The team was able to experience a little bit of the Nashville culture with an amazing BBQ lunch and social with the Nashville Team. We were stopped many times on the trip and ask what team we were, and travelers gave us good luck messages. The highlight being announced on the plane and congratulated on our win!”

The pre-game meal at Martin’s BBQ proved to be an incredible way for both teams to meet each other ahead of the match.

“I loved meeting up with the Nashville SC Unified team for a pre-game meal at Martin’s BBQ Joint,” said Revs Unified Partner Amanda Ferhani.“It was awesome to get to know and bond with players on the Nashville team, and later get to play soccer on the pitch with our new friends!”

After all players enjoyed their share of chicken, ribs, and mac & cheese, it was time to take the pitch. With the match starting at exactly 6:30 PM CDT, the Revs were off, with Striker Jimmy Koshivas kicking off to teammate Tristan Labelle to start the game. The Revs brought the heat rightout of the gate, ready to end the season on a high note after taking a tough loss to Chicago Fire’s Unified Team earlier in the season.

Rookie to the NE Revs Unified Team, Tyler Rocchio ended up scoring the first goal of the match, bringing the Revs up 1-0. And while Tyler may be new to the Unified Team this year, there were definitely some vets who played their role to the best of their abilities.

 “My favorite part of being on the Revolution Unified Team is being able to play the sport that I love and also being able to help my teammates position themselves to be in the right places for the best way to score goals,” said returning athlete and 2022 MLS Unified All-Star RadleyTheolien. “For example, there was a player on our team who I wanted to help out and give him some advice. So I told him to take a shot early and test the goalkeeper and he ended up scoring.”

 The athlete that Theolien was giving advice to was none other than starting striker, Jimmy Koshivas, who scored the second goal of the match bringing the Revs up 2-0. After seeing how many times Jimmy carried the ball down the field, the crowd went wild when he finally scored, just minutes before the end of the first half.

It’s safe to say the NE Revs Unified Team was on a high note heading into the second half of the match; but Nashville wasn’t giving up. Carl Ramey of Nashville SC’s Unified Team was dominating the pitch and took multiple shots on the net; but with Rocchio making incredible stops, Ramey just couldn’t get Nashville on the board.

Another major play of the game was performed by Unified Partner, Esvin Morales, when he scored a goal all the way from half field midway through the second half of the match, bringing the score to 3-0 with the Revs on top.

“The game itself was the best we have played this season,”said Godbout. “Nashville was a tough opponent. Our team played as a unit,looking to connect passes, and creating goal scoring opportunities throughout the game which helped us score three goals with three different goalscorers.  Our defense was also quality with key saves by our goalkeepers and getting a clean sheet at the end of the game. I was really impressed with our performance especially after a full day of travel.”

And while the Unified Partners certainly showed up ready to compete, they proved to be even more invaluable to the team’s camaraderie off the pitch.

“My favorite part this season was making so many friends with both [Unified] partners and athletes,” said Ferhani. “This team has so much chemistry on and off the field. It was so amazing to get to play soccer with all my friends in a positive environment, with amazing staff and coaches—Coach Deb, Coach Jack, Revs Academy coaches, and Revs Unified alumni Claude.”

Godbout echoed this sentiment and emphasized the high level the Revs Unified team was able to train and compete at.

“This has been one of my favorite teams to coach in my career,” she said. “The team is competitive with high level players and I can run high level training sessions with them, but the best part is to see the connections and friendships made throughout the team.”

This post was updated on Monday, August 28.

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