Sports stats



MLS New England Revolution

Revolution Defeat D.C. United, 2-0

September 27, 2020 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Revolution (5-3-6, 21 pts.) defeated D.C. United, 2-0, at Audi Field on Sunday night. Gustavo Bou scored the game-winning goal in the 86th minute, when he combined with Cristian Penilla and slotted a grounded shot by D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid. Adam Buksa added an insurance goal in the first minute of second-half stoppage time with a chipped shot, securing New England's second win at Audi Field this season.

Bou moves into the team lead in goals scored with five, and also adds a game-winning goal for the second consecutive game. This marks the second time this season Bou has scored in back-to-back games, having also tallied in consecutive matches on Aug. 25 at D.C. United and Aug. 29 vs New York. Bou also registered his third assist of the season on Buksa's goal - surpassing his assists total from last season. Buksa found the back of the net for the third time this year, and the first time since July 17, after entering the match as a substitute in the 79th minute. He totaled two shots in 11 minutes of action.

Cristian Penilla registered the primary assists on both of New England's goals, giving him four on the season and the most among Revolution players. Tommy McNamara, who replaced Matt Polster in the first half, also picked up a secondary assist on Buksa's goal.

Midfielder Diego Fagundez moved into a tie with Matt Reis for second-most appearances in Revolution history when he entered the match as a substitute in the 67th minute. The 25-year old has registered 254 appearances in league play across 10 seasons with New England. With eight more appearances, Fagundez would eclipse Shalrie Joseph for the club's all-time games played record.

In net, goalkeeper Matt Turner turned in his fifth shutout of the season - matching his previous single-season career high, which he set in 2018 and matched in 2019. His five shutouts this season are third in MLS only to Columbus' Eloy Room (seven) and New York City's Sean Johnson (six).

New England returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 3, when the club hosts expansion side Nashville SC for the first time ever. The match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET, and will air on NBC Sports Boston, 98.5 The Sports Hub, and in Portuguese on WBIX 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA.

POSTGAME NOTES

New England Revolution 2, D.C. United 0

September 27, 2020 - Audi Field (Washington, D.C.)

Revolution Earn First Home Win of 2020, 3-1, over Montreal Impact

The Revolution (5-3-6, 21 pts.) logged their second consecutive victory with a 2-0 win over D.C. United on Sunday night at Audi Field.

New England has recorded consecutive victories for the first time since the club won three consecutive matches from July 17- July 27, 2019.

Forward Gustavo Bou netted the game-winner in the 86th minute with assists from Tommy McNamara and Cristian Penilla. Forward Adam Buksa closed the scoring in the 90th minute on assists from Bou and Penilla.

The Revolution have now registered four victories away from home, including the MLS is Back Tournament, for the first time since the 2015 season and two victories over D.C. United for the first time since 2013.

Head Coach and Sporting Director Bruce Arena's all-time record shifts to 215-127-103, which includes a 9-4-8 mark in 21 matches against D.C. United.

Gustavo Bou Nets Fifth Goal of 2020, Leaps Teal Bunbury for Team Lead

Forward Gustavo Bou opened New England's scoring with an 86th-minute strike for his fifth goal of the season, moving him past forward Teal Bunbury (4) for the team lead.

Bou has now scored in consecutive matches for the first time this season. Bou also registered his third assist of 2020, a career-high, and now owns 14 goals and five assists over 28 career MLS appearances.

Bou's three game-winning goals are one behind the league lead.

Bou finished with a team-best five shots and tallied 52 touches in tonight's victory.

Adam Buksa Adds Third Goal of the Season

Forward Adam Buksa closed the scoring for New England with a left-footed shot in the 90th minute.

The goal was the third of the season for the 24-year-old forward and the first since a 1-1 draw against D.C. United on July 17 in the MLS is Back Tournament.

Buksa logged two shots in his 11-minute performance off the bench.

Diego Fagundez Climbs Club's All-Time Games Played List

With his 23-minute shift off the bench tonight, midfielder Diego Fagundez matched Matt Reis (254) for second place on New England's all-time games played list.

The 10th-year Homegrown Product from Leominster, Mass. is now seven appearances shy of equaling Shalrie Joseph (261) for the most regular season appearances in club history.

Fagundez has appeared in 12 of 14 matches this season, including five starts.

New England's Defense Registers Fifth Clean Sheet of the Season

Goalkeeper Matt Turner logged his fifth clean sheet of the season, matching a career high set in 2018 and equaled in 2019.

Turner recorded three saves tonight and improved his career record to 21-17-21, which includes a 3-1-2 record against D.C. United.

Defender Brandon Bye recorded his 14th start of the season and maintains his position as the only Revolution player to start every regular season match in 2020.

Defender Henry Kessler, who recorded his fourth straight 90-minute performance, logged a team-high five interceptions and one clearance. Kessler continues to lead all 2020 MLS SuperDraft picks in games played and starts.

Revolution Make Two Changes to Starting Lineup

The Revolution made two changes to the Starting XI as Matt Polster and DeJuan Jones started in place of Kelyn Rowe and Alex Büttner in the New England midfield and defense, respectively.

Jones returned to the Starting XI for the first time since Sept. 2 for his fifth start and 10th appearance of the season. He finished with a team-high 79 touches, three interceptions and one clearance.

Polster, who rejoined the Starting XI after appearing as a substitute in a 27-minute shift on Sept. 23, played 45 minutes today before exiting the match due to injury.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Alex Chilowicz

Assistant Referee: Adam Wienckowski (AR1), Jeffrey Greeson (AR2)

Fourth Official: Matt Franz

Video Assistant Referee: Chris Penso

Weather: 73 degrees and cloudy

Attendance: N/A

Scoring Summary:

NE- Gustavo Bou 5 (Tommy McNamara 2, Cristian Penilla 3) 86'

NE- Adam Buksa 3 (Gustavo Bou 3, Cristian Penilla 4') 90'

Misconduct Summary:

DC- Frederic Brillant (Yellow Card- Unsporting Behavior) 45+5'

DC- Joseph Mora (Yellow Card-Persistent Infringement) 50'

DC- Junior Moreno (Yellow Card- Unsporting Behavior) 81'

NE- Adam Buksa (Yellow Card-Unsporting Behavior) 91'

New England Revolution: Matt Turner; DeJuan Jones, Henry Kessler, Andrew Farrell, Brandon Bye; Matt Polster (Tommy McNamara 45+2'), Scott Caldwell, Tajon Buchanan (Cristian Penilla 67'), Lee Nguyen (Diego Fagundez 67'), Teal Bunbury (Adam Buksa 79'), Gustavo Bou ©

Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Antonio Delamea, Michael Mancienne, Kelyn Rowe, Kekuta Manneh

D.C. United: Bill Hamid; Chris Odoi-Atsem, Frederic Brillant, Steven Birnbaum ©, Joseph Mora (Oniel Fisher 81'); Junior Moreno, Yamil Asad, Moses Nyeman, Yordy Reyna (Federico Higuain 68'), Ola Kamara (Erik Sorga 68'), Griffin Yow (Julian Gressel 73')

Substitutes Not Used: Chris Seitz, Gelmin Rivas, Donovan Pines, Earl Edwards Jr., Axel Sjoberg, Oniel Fisher

New England Revolution Team Statistics D.C. United

17 (3) Shots (on Target) 8 (3)

3 Saves 1

5 Corner Kicks 1

1 Offsides 2

14 Fouls 17

476 (81%) Passes Attempted (% Completed) 386 (73%)

56% Possession 44%

POSTGAME QUOTES

New England Revolution Sporting Director & Head Coach Bruce Arena

On the substitutes' impact in this game and if he gives them advice before they enter a match:

Arena: "No, none at all. We just leave them on their own [laughs]. Obviously, the [Tommy] McNamara substitution is clearly for [Matt] Polster and to play his position. But the substitutions from the 60th minute on are designed to get guys on the field to bring energy and to be dangerous going forward in the attack. We had obviously numerous opportunities - not numerous opportunities - but time in the last 15, 20 minutes of the game where we were playing against a fatigued opponent. We did a good job of keeping the ball on the night. They were tired at the end and we needed a little bit of energy to get after them. We told Penilla to obviously take on that left back who was playing with a card [Joseph Mora], and then he was substituted for. Simply, the reason that Adam [Buksa] is in the game, [Cristian] Penilla is in the game, [Diego] Fagundez is in the game, etc. is to try to get a goal."

On Cristian Penilla's performance:

Arena: "He did a good job. If I'm not mistaken, he played 25 minutes. Came in around the 65th-minute mark. It took him a little bit of time to get going, but I thought the last 15 minutes, he was very dangerous and he did exactly what we want him to do and what he's capable of doing."

On Adam Buksa scoring and how frustrated he has been recently:

Arena: "I think you would need to ask him that question, but certainly he's still a relatively young player - not that young, obviously, at 24-years old. He's a number nine, he's supposed to score goals, and he's certainly been a little frustrated that he hasn't scored in a while. I think the goal tonight will give him some confidence, and hopefully we see more."

On Tajon Buchanan's run of starts:

Arena: "He plays a position where you need to be able to take on players. You need to be able to work up and down the field. He has good fitness, he has good skill, his movement off the ball has been good, so he's given us what we think we need out of that position. Each and every game he's gotten better."

On Matt Polster and Alexander Büttner:

Arena: "I saw Matt [Polster] a few minutes ago. He's recovered in the sense that he's got all his faculties, I guess. I don't know what the doctors have concluded - what kind of head injury it might have been - but he's got all his senses back. He seems okay now. I'm waiting to hear back. I'm sure we're going to have a neurologist check him out when we get back to Boston, but he seems to be doing fine now. [Alexander] Büttner strained a hamstring."

On coming into form at the right time:

Arena: "We have, I think, nine games left if I'm doing my math correctly. It's an odd year. I don't even know how to explain it. Certainly, that was the best game we've played this year. It was a complete game, we had to work real hard. D.C. United needed to get a result tonight and they pushed us. We did a good job in all aspects of the game, so that was certainly something I'm pleased with. Hopefully it continues. Our guys are going to need a couple of days off, because it's been a real grind this past week. They can use a little bit of a break and get away from it. I think we're playing well. The last nine games in this league is what it's all about, so hopefully we can position ourselves to be in the playoffs and maybe in a good position as well. But who knows? There's a lot of soccer to be played, there's going to be a really tight schedule from here to November, so it'll be an interesting to see how we'll do. Over the last couple of weeks, we've certainly done well. I would even say in Philadelphia, where we didn't get a good result, the team played well. I think we're headed in the right direction. "

On Gustavo Bou playing as a lone striker:

Arena: "He's scored a goal in the last two games, so I think that's what you're supposed to do in that position. He's a goal scorer. If he gets looks at the goal, he's going to finish them. I think he's done very well there."

Revolution Forward Adam Buksa

On staying calm and collected on the play that led to his goal in tonight's win:

Buksa: "First of all, I'm very happy to have scored a goal. For a player it doesn't really matter how the goal is scored, what's important is that it's in the net. Obviously, I think it was a nice one. I've been waiting a long time for that so I'm very happy."

On celebrating the goal with his teammates:

Buksa: "First of all, the guys have been fantastic. They encourage me every day to be a better player. As I said, I've been waiting a long time for that goal. It's important for a striker, not even to score a goal but to have some chances to score. The worst thing for a striker is when you don't have a chance to score. That's painful because it means that you're doing something wrong, that you don't have a good connection with the team. Over the last few weeks, this cooperation started to be better and finally I managed to score my goal and I'm sure there's more to come. As I said, the guys have been fantastic because they were real happy after the goal. It was an important one to confirm our win against D.C., which was very important."

On entering the game as a substitute and impacting the result:

Buksa: "Obviously, I'd like to play 90 minutes every game. That's my goal. That's why I came here and that's why I work every day in training. But I have to respect my role as a substitute. The minute I got onto the pitch I was trying to do all my best for the team. I had some things to do on defense, some things on the offensive part. It's not easy to get on the field 15 minutes before the end of a game, especially when it's nil-nil. But it's also a good chance for a player to change this game. I think that our subs brought fresh legs into the game and we managed to win it together as a team, which is great."

On Cristian Penilla's impact as a substitute with two assists in tonight's win:

Buksa: "I guess you'd have to ask this question to D.C.'s defense because I've never played against Cristian as a defender but I can imagine that it's very difficult because he's very fast, has incredible dribbling skills. He's overall a great player. The pass he gave me at the end of the game was crucial, was perfect. There was nothing left but putting the ball in the net so I'm very grateful for that pass. It shows that our cooperating is starting to get better."

Revolution Defender Andrew Farrell

On the game coming down to the wire:

Farrell: "I think we did a good job. We knew they were going to be a team that was going to try to wait until they had one chance or one set piece, they look for set pieces, and we just wanted to be in the game. We really wanted to win this game and we knew they were going to be a team that was going to sit back and we got a lot of possession. I think our midfield did a great job in that aspect of coming and finding the ball, moving the ball well, and in the first half we didn't do it as much as we wanted to in the final third but I think the guys coming in like [Cristian] Penilla and [Adam] Buksa, we were able to find the little seams there and get some good finishes from those guys. Obviously good to get Adam [Buksa] on the board and then Penilla with two assists and Gustavo [Bou] with another goal so I'm glad we won. Obviously it wasn't the prettiest but I think we did a full 90-minute effort which I think we should be proud of."

On what a complete performance means for the back line:

Farrell: "I think it was important. In games like those it's just like if they get one or two chances and you've got to be ready for those if we turn the ball over or if it's like a deflection, set pieces, or little moments like that in a game. We just could have a lapse in concentration for one second and we're down 1-0 in a game where I think we were the better team and we probably should have gotten more goals early on. We all were focused and I think Bruce did a good job leading up to this game by saying that D.C. is going to come and give us their best game. Obviously they hadn't done well in previous games and they were going to come out hot. We did well to match their intensity, match their fight and that quality came through at the end there, especially with the subs who did a great job and obviously the guys who started the game as well."

On the injury to Matt Polster:

Farrell: "Obviously it's tough. It's a very scary moment when someone goes down and gets knocked out and we're hoping he's doing well. He was in the locker room, moving around, talking, and doing well. But it's a very scary moment, it's kind of, you know, soccer stops and you just hope he's doing well at the time. But we took halftime to regroup, we knew we could do better we just had to focus on small details here and there, focus on set pieces, and if we turn the ball over in bad spots be ready for their counter, limiting their counter and I think we did a good job with that. And like I said the guys who came on had a big, big impact."

On Adam Buksa:

Farrell: "What a finish, I feel like the ball was in the air for like an hour as he chipped it. He's a great player, I don't score a lot of goals so I don't know but he's always scoring in practice and sometimes you get out of form and you just need to find your confidence back and he's been doing it in practice, doing a little stuff after practice. He's scoring goals in practice and I think you saw how much it meant for him. For us, we love having him on our team and he's a great teammate and great player on and off the field so that's why you saw everybody running to him and celebrating because he hadn't scored in a while so I know it meant a lot to him. What a great finish, what a good performance defensively, and also for Penilla who also hasn't scored in a while getting two assists on the night in a big way coming off the bench. Our bench is really important, especially in a condensed season we're going to need every player on our roster to step up and I think guys did that tonight, especially DeJuan Jones with [Alexander] Buttner going down, he stepped up and played a really good game. Tommy [McNamara] coming in for [Matt] Polster getting injured. I think everybody had a great game tonight."

On if the team is settling into a rhythm:

Farrell: "I think so. Obviously we have two days off here but we're going to come back into a lot of games in the next month-and-a-half to two months. But I think we gotten into a rhythm, I think we kind of know what kind of team we want to be and what kind of team we are. We've got a lot of depth and guys are getting back healthy, even though Alex Buttner is out. But I think we're getting into a rhythm, and like I said again, with guys coming off the bench scoring and assisting like that and our starters doing well and putting in a good shift, we got a good team here. We've got to take every game one at a time. We got a game against Nashville [SC] coming up. But we've just got to be ready for all that and I think we're prepared and we'll be prepared for each game coming up."

Check out the New England Revolution Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from September 27, 2020


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central