FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- When the New England Revolution acquired Chris Albright from the Los Angeles Galaxy in a SuperDraft day trade, Jay Heaps might have been forgiven for having mixed emotions.
On the plus side, the acquisition of an established veteran such as Albright immediately made an already-strong New England backline even more powerful. However, the addition of a player in whose position Heaps also played meant that the incumbent on the Revs' right flank had to be prepared for change.
The switch that followed has seen Heaps move to the left side of the Revolution's back three, a position he admits he had never previously played.
"In the offseason it really jarred me and I knew I had to step it up and enjoy the transition," said Heaps. "It's a change after playing in one position for nine or 10 years, it's new players coming at you so you get to see different games."
Though he embraced it, the transition, admits Heaps, was challenging and was one which took some getting used to.
"It was a shift mentally and I have actually really enjoyed the challenge," he said. "Once you get mentally set you feel comfortable there. We had a couple of bad games early but recently we've been solid and the four of us back there feel confident."
The bad games to which Heaps refers were respective 4-0 and 3-0 defeats at the hands of the Chicago Fire, matches in which New England gave up a variety of different goals. However, aside from those setbacks, the Revolution have conceded just eight goals in 12 games, demonstrating a defensive solidity that has played a major role in the rise of Steve Nicol's side to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
Playing on the left has also seen Heaps develop new playing relationships with teammates. After Khano Smith began the season ahead of him, Mauricio Castro has recently made the left midfield position his own.
"Mauricio has been great," said Heaps. "He works hard and holds the ball well so he is very easy to play with, like (Steve) Ralston. You know that when you are under pressure you can get him the ball. It's been a pretty good transition."
Although complacency was something Heaps was always keen to avoid even after years of playing in his previous position, he admits that he now places more emphasis than ever on preparing for upcoming opponents and breaking down his own performances after matches.
For example, ahead of Wednesday's game against New York, Heaps researched the way the Red Bulls' Dane Richards plays.
"I knew he was going to be pushed high on me so, going into the game, I knew a little of what to expect," Heaps said. "When we have a game coming up, I will look and see what teams are doing."
While defensive solidity is his primary aim, Heaps remains keen to help his team at the offensive end and his role in the Revolution's equalizer against New York showed the value of joining in an attack. With New England struggling to create chances against a well-drilled Red Bulls backline, Heaps' lofted ball into the penalty area found Kheli Dube with space to lay off a pass to Ralston.
The Revs' captain applied the finishing touch to extend New England's unbeaten run to seven games. Meanwhile, Heaps enjoyed collecting his first assist of a season that has seen him reinvent himself for the sake of his team.
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