Toronto FC-Revolution Preview

Although there's little significance to their regular-season finale, the New England Revolution are committed to taking their torrid stretch into the playoffs.

Already guaranteed second place in the Eastern Conference, the Revolution will try to earn a ninth victory in 11 games Saturday night when they face a Toronto FC club that's set to miss the postseason once again.

New England (16-13-4) has a spot in the East semifinals after going 8-1-1 in its last 10 games and will travel to Sporting Kansas City, Columbus or New York for the opening leg in the first weekend in November. The Revolution will return home for the second leg Nov. 9.

Coach Jay Heaps gave his team this past weekend off after it rallied for a 2-1 win in Houston on Oct. 16. Lee Nguyen scored a pair of goals, giving him 17 this season and nine in the last 10 games.

"We've had a little time off ... so we've had ample time to recover. We're going to be smart about the weekend, but at the same time, you want to go into the playoffs on the right foot. I think winning at home is really important," Heaps said.

The Revolution will try to head into the postseason with a six-game home win streak. They're on their longest run there since a franchise-best, seven-gamer Sept. 18, 2004-May 14, 2005.

"We want to take momentum into the playoffs if we can," defender A.J. Soares said. "We know there's no consequence of the game, but it doesn't really matter. It's all about us and looking forward. We know if we have a good performance here, that can carry to the next week."

TFC (11-14-8), meanwhile, will try to finish another disappointing campaign by ending an 0-3-1 stretch and an 0-4-1 road skid.

"For me, this is a character game," coach Greg Vanney said. "In the grand scheme of things there's nothing for us to play for, but if you're a true competitor and a winner then you're going to go out on the field and find a way to get a result."

Toronto hasn't made the playoffs since joining into the league in 2007 and had its pursuit of that long-awaited berth end with a 1-all draw to visiting Montreal last Saturday. Star midfielder Michael Bradley was suspended because of a yellow card accumulation and leading goal scorer Jermain Defoe was out with a groin injury.

Defoe, who has 11 goals, is expected to sit out again, and his future with the club is reportedly unclear. TFC was 6-0-2 this season when Defoe scored at least one goal.

Jonathan Osorio is out after drawing a red card last Saturday, and Dwayne De Rosario was suspended by the league for an incident involving Montreal's Hassoun Camara in stoppage time.

New England has outscored Toronto 5-1 in two wins this season with Nguyen scoring in both games. The Revolution are 11-1-2 when he tallies at least one goal.