Midfielder Wilfrid Kaptoum adds depth to Revolution’s historic run

New England Revolution rookie midfielder Wilfrid Kaptoum is adapting to the rigors of MLS at a time of the season when roster depth matters.

“The tempo here is a little quicker than he a used to, but as we are getting into the tail end of the regular season he is adjusting,” said Revolution coach Bruce Arena following practice on Thursday. “We are trying to encourage him to get forward a little bit more in the midfield and he had done well.

“His stock has gone up of the last couple of weeks or so and it is encouraging and it adds to our depth we have in the midfield. We constantly rotating players because of injuries or suspensions and those types of things and Wilfrid has been actively involved in that group of players.”

Arena has enjoyed an unimpeded run towards the first Supporters Shield in team history by mixing his lineups and developing depth through game experience.

That depth will come into play when the front running Revolution (17-4-4) begin a stretch of three games in eight days when they host the reigning MLS champion Columbus SC (8-11-6) on Saturday night (7) at Gillette Stadium. The Revs can set a club record for wins in a season with a victory over the Crew.

The Revolution play the Fire in Chicago on Wednesday night (8) and return home for an encounter with third place Orlando City FC on Sept. 25. Kaptoum has appeared in 17 matches with eight starts this season. He was a critical addition to the mix when playmaker Carles Gil missed six straight games with a muscle injury.

“Those starts have helped me to be more confident in myself and also just to learn my teammates more and to be more comfortable with the style of play in this league,” said Kaptoum.

“I think I have that done and I think I have the physical part down to. So, all that’s left is to continue moving in the right path.”

The Crew topped the Revolution 1-0 in the 2020 Eastern Conference title game on Dec. 6 and went on to beat Seattle for the MLS title. The Revolution are 1-0-1 against the Crew this season that began with a 1-0 win at home on May 16.

The Crew played its first game at Lower.com Field when they hosted the Revolution on July 3. They battled to a dramatic 2-2 draw, a result that launched both clubs in opposite directions.

The Revs have been gangbusters in pursuit of the team’s first Supporters shield by going 11-2-1 since the holiday weekend in Ohio. Columbus has conversely gone 4-8-2 and are currently below the cutoff line for the MLS playoffs.

“Like most games we’ve played recently, most teams are in some kind of position where they want to get over the playoff line or they want to improve their position,” said Arena.

“For the most part, every game we play from here on in are going to be very similar to the position Columbus is in. They enter these games where it is a must win or go home with at least a point.”