The New England Revolution have a scoring deficiency.

The Revolution have no chance of escaping the basement of the MLS Eastern Conference if they continually fail to find the back of the net, a problem that has beset them in the opening seven games of the regular season.

The Revolution (1-5-1) will need a scoring breakout to secure their second MLS win and first on the road when they engage Toronto FC (3-4-1) on Saturday night (7:30) at BMO Field.

The Revolution have scored an inexplicable five goals in seven games for a 0.71 goals per game average and have been shut out twice. The first was a 1-0 loss to Toronto FC in the home opener on March 3. The other was a 2-0 loss to New York City FC last weekend at Yankee Stadium.

“Early in the year we were creating chances but we were underachieving on our expected goals,” said Revolution first-year head coach Caleb Porter. “We were in good positions but recently we have not created as many chances as I would like.

“I do think in every game we have gotten into great spots to score and if you look for instance at New York City, we had four really good moments in the first half where we should score and we didn’t.

“Moving forward, I want to continue to create chances which puts them in position to score. Then it is up to the player in that moment to score and that comes down to quality.”

The puzzling aspect of the Revolution’s MLS scoring drought is the contrast to their offensive output while reaching the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup tournament.

The Revolution potted 11 goals in six Champions Cup games with attacking midfielder Tomas Chancalay as accounting for four of them. Chancalay has not scored a goal in seven MLS starts this season.

“Tomas hasn’t scored in the league and there are things he needs to improve on,” said Porter. “He’s a very good finisher and he’s had chances to score and a lot of it is confidence.

“It seems broken but I know it is a lot closer than it looks from the outside. A lot of it is confidence and with Tomas, he has not scored in the league but he does have quality. He has to figure it out in our system, minus the final third, and how he fits in.

“He is a guy that wants to shoot a lot and he takes risks with the ball a lot. Can we simplify his game in the back third and the middle third and then get him in position where he can score? He scored goals when he was up top in the Champions Cup and he played last year on the wing. He prefers to play on the wing, that is where he thinks his position is.”

Toronto FC has been hard hit by injuries, primarily on the back line and up top, and it has shown up on the scoresheet. Defender Shane O’Neil was recently sidelined with a thigh injury along with strikers Jordan Perruzza (ankle) and Tyrese Spicer (foot). Toronto FC has lost three straight games and has been outscored 10-3, but Porter doesn’t expect TFC’s recent ails defending the cage as a cure all for the Revolution’s scoring woes.

“It is never easy and it would be a trap to think all of a sudden we can easily find goals,” said Porter. “We have to earn the goals, we have to earn the points, and we have to earn the win and there is never an easy game in any league.

“Sometimes when a team has given up a lot of goals it’s harder and John (Herdman) is a good coach. He’s working on that and he will have them organized. We just need to continue to evolve and we need to get results for sure.

“I’m really focused on seeing more action in this game, more passion, and more intensity and for us to look more like the team I want us to look like. “

The lads from Toronto FC are not a passive lot on the pitch. In eight games, TFC has accrued 121 fouls committed, with 26 yellow cards, compared to 87 and 18 by the Revolution. The two Revolution players most likely found on the business end of these infractions are Nacho and Carles Gil. Nacho leads the club with 14 fouls sustained while Carles, typically the runaway winner in this category, has 12.

“Yeah, I think they (Toronto FC) are bought in and they’re fighting,” said Porter. “I think John has done a good job of getting them organized and fighting. So, no, I don’t think there is anything abnormal with the way they play. I think, early in the year, they were defending really well and finding results.”