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MLS New England Revolution

Revolution Defeat New York City FC, 2-1

September 11, 2021 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Revolution (17-4-4; 55 pts.) defeated New York City FC, 2-1, at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night. After New York City netted the game's opening goal, Emmanuel Boateng scored the equalizer on Edward Kizza's assist in the 21st minute. New York City went down to 10 men in the 53rd minute when Alfredo Morales was ejected after picking up his second yellow card of the night. Tajon Buchanan delivered the game-winning goal shortly thereafter, converting on assists from Carles Gil and Andrew Farrell in the 65th minute.

With tonight's victory, the Revolution match the club's all-time record with 17 wins in a season, equaling the total reached in 2005 and 2014. New England needs only five more points over the remaining nine games to set a new club mark, while the team's 55 points and 2.20 points per game are still on pace to set new MLS records. The Revolution also set a new MLS mark with their 14th win in games decided by a one-goal margin. With seven more wins than any other Eastern Conference side, the Revolution maintain double-digit advantages in the Supporters' Shield (10 pts.) and Eastern Conference (14 pts.) tables.

The winningest home team in MLS this season, New England's record in Foxborough improves to 10-1-1 on the year. This marks only the sixth time the Revs have reached double-digit home wins in a season. The Revolution finish the season series against New York City with a 2-1-0 mark, claiming multiple wins over the Eastern Conference rival for the first time since 2015. New England's only loss in the last 12 games (10-1-1) came at the hands of NYCFC on August 28.

Tonight's victory featured the returns of three Revolution players - Buchanan (Canada), Matt Turner (United States), and Adam Buksa (Poland) - from international duty for FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. Buchanan's game-winning strike marked the 22-year-old's seventh goal of the season and his fourth goal in as many league matches. Buchanan paced the attack with three shots, all on target. Gil, who submitted his second appearance since returning from injury, added his MLS-best 16th assist. He now owns eight game-winning assists, tied for the most ever in an MLS campaign.

Boateng registered his second goal of the season on the 21st-minute equalizer, with Kizza recording his first MLS assist on the play. Kizza collected his second consecutive start and posted a 61-minute shift with two shots.

New England will remain home next Saturday, September 18 to host defending the MLS Cup champions, Columbus Crew, at Gillette Stadium. The match kicks off at 7:00 p.m. ET on WSBK-TV38, myRITV, 98.5 The Sports Hub, and 1260 AM Nossa Radio. Pregame coverage begins with CBS Boston's "Revolution Kickoff' at 6:30 p.m. ET on TV38.

POSTGAME NOTES

New England Revolution 2, New York City FC 1

September 11, 2021 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

Team Notes:

The New England Revolution defeated New York City FC, 2-1, on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium improving their record to 17-4-4 (55 pts.) on the season and 9-6-4 in the all-time series with NYCFC.

The Revolution's 2.20 points per game through 25 matches keep the team on pace to challenge the MLS single-season points record (72 - LAFC, 2019) as well as the MLS points-per-game record (2.13 - LA Galaxy, 1998).

New England's 55 points are already tied for second most in club history (2014), four away from the team record of 59, with nine games remaining.

With their 17th victory of the season, New England tied the club's record (17) set in 2005 and matched in 2014. The next victory will set a new franchise record.

New England's home record improved to 10-1-1 on the year, just the sixth time in club history the Revolution has achieved double-digit win totals at home. With five home games remaining, New England is two wins shy of matching its club record of 12 home victories, set in 2017 (12-2-3).

The Revs' 46 goals and 25 first-half tallies both lead the league, as does the team's +18 goal differential (as of the end of Saturday's match).

New England set an MLS record with their 14th victory in games decided by one goal, surpassing the previous mark of 13 that had been reached on three occasions. The Revolution are 14-2-0 in games decided by one goal this season.

Saturday night's attendance of 19,481 set a new high for the 2021 season.

Bruce Arena deployed a starting lineup featuring two changes from the club's last match at Philadelphia on Sept. 3. Tonight's new starters were Matt Turner and Emmanuel Boateng, replacing Brad Knighton and Arnór Traustason, respectively.

Individual Notes:

Tajon Buchanan scored his seventh goal of the season and extended his scoring streak to four straight league appearances. In just 29 minutes, Buchanan had a team-high three shots on target along with one chance created.

Buchanan, Adam Buksa, and Matt Turner all returned to the lineup for New England after representing their respective national teams in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers over the past two weeks. Buksa and Buchanan appeared off the bench while Turner made his 19th start of the campaign, making one save to improve his record to 12-3-4 on the year.

Carles Gil recorded his 16th assist of the season on Buchanan's second-half goal. The assist was also Gil's eighth game-winning assist of the year, moving him into a tie for the most in MLS history.

Gil also added to five key passes to his MLS-leading total in just 45 minutes on the night.

Andrew Farrell recorded his second assist of the season, giving the defender multiple assists in a season for the third time in his career and the first time since 2018. Farrell also finished tied for team highs in interceptions (2) and clearances (3).

Emmanuel Boateng tallied his second goal of the season, a first-half equalizer, and completed 22 of his 23 passes in a 45-minute effort. Boateng now owns two goals and three assists in seven appearances for the Revs.

Edward Kizza recorded his first MLS assist, setting up Boateng's goal in the first half, in his second MLS start. The rookie recorded two shots.

Matt Polster set a new career high with 90 completed passes at 95.7 percent accuracy. The midfielder also registered team highs in recoveries (13), interceptions (2), and clearances (3).

Henry Kessler won six of his nine duels and had a team-high three blocked shots in a 90-minute shift.

Tommy McNamara matched a team high with three shots on the night, one on frame, and added one key pass and five recoveries in a 90-minute effort.

Sporting Director & Head Coach Bruce Arena improved his career record to 235-135-109, including a 33-14-20 mark in New England. He is now five wins away from matching Sigi Schmid (240) for the most regular season victories in MLS history.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Chris Penso

Assistant Referees: Corey Richardson (AR1); Ian McKay (AR2)

Fourth Official: Sergii Demianchuk

Video Assistant Referee: Edvin Jurisevic

Weather: 72 degrees and clear

Attendance: 19,481

Scoring Summary:

NYC -Santiago Rodriguez 3 (Valentin Castellanos 7) 11'

NE - Emmanuel Boateng 2 (Edward Kizza 1) 21'

NE - Tajon Buchanan 7 (Carles Gil 16, Andrew Farrell 2)' 65'

Misconduct Summary:

NYC - Alfredo Morales (Yellow Card - Bad Foul) 45+1'

NYC - Valentin Castellanos (Yellow Card - Dissent) 52'

NYC - Alfredo Morales (Red Card - Bad Foul) 53'

NE - Henry Kessler (Yellow Card - Unsporting Behavior) 63'

NE - Adam Buksa (Yellow Card - Unsporting Behavior) 64'

NYC - Thiago (Yellow Card - Dissent 74')

NE - Matt Polster (Yellow Card- Hard Foul) 90'

New England Revolution: Matt Turner; Brandon Bye, Andrew Farrell ©, Henry Kessler, DeJuan Jones; Matt Polster, Emmanuel Boateng (Carles Gil 46'), Wilfrid Kaptoum (Tajon Buchanan 61'), Tommy McNamara; Teal Bunbury (Scott Caldwell 81'), Edward Kizza (Adam Buksa 61')

Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Earl Edwards Jr., A.J. DeLaGarza, Christian Mafla, Luis Caicedo

New York City FC: Sean Johnson ©; Anton Tinnerholm, Maxime Chanot, Alfredo Morales, Malte Amundsen; James Sands, Keaton Parks, Thiago, Talles Magno (Nicolás Acevedo 56'), Santiago Rodriguez (Andres Jasson 16'), Valentín Castellanos (Ismael Tajouri-Shradi 75')

Substitutes Not Used: Luis Barraza, Gudmundur Thórarinsson, Chris Gloster, Vuk Latinovich, Tony Rocha, Gedion Zelalem

New England Revolution Team Statistics New York City FC

12 (6) Shots (on Target) 10 (3)

1 Blocked Shots 4

1 Saves 3

1 Corner Kicks 4

0 Offsides 1

13 Fouls 17

579 (90.5%) Passes Attempted (% Completed) 414 (85.5%)

58.4% Possession 41.6%

POSTGAME QUOTES: New England Revolution 2 vs. New York City FC 1

Revolution Sporting Director & Head Coach Bruce Arena:

New England Revolution Sporting Director & Head Coach Bruce Arena

On tonight's performance and securing three points:

Arena: "We got out of here with three points. Obviously, the sending off was a big part of the game, but I think after about 20 minutes, we played all right. Two good teams playing. Game was pretty even. Tajon [Buchanan] obviously scored a great goal and we had chances to make the game a little easier on ourselves with a third goal. Never got that, so it was a nail biter right to the end. But I think we deserved the three points."

On Emmanuel Boateng's performance and what has made him successful so far this season:

Arena: "He hasn't played that much, but he has, over the last month, been able to contribute. Obviously, the goal tonight was a big goal. He hasn't played that much, so we're careful with his minutes. We were bringing Carles [Gil] in at halftime and someone had to come out. And out of the midfield, it was either going to be Wilfrid [Kaptoum] or Ema [Emmanuel Boateng] and I thought Wilfrid was a little bit fresher. But Ema's doing a good job and hopefully he can continue to move forward in an important time of the year as we close out the season and have the playoffs."

On the value of getting distribution out of the center backs such as Andrew Farrell, who contributed to both goals:

Arena: "I'm trying to think this one out now. The first goal, with Ema[Boateng], ball was crossed and [Edward]Kizza laid it off to him, right? You got Andrew in there somehow, huh? And the second goal, I don't recall what Andrew [Farrell] did, but good for him. His passing has gotten better in the back and that is critically important. Our center backs, as the season has gone on, have improved with their passing. We know we still need to get better, but it's encouraging to see they're improving."

On managing the minutes of Carles Gil and the entire team through the rest of the year and the playoffs:

Arena: "Hopefully the playoffs. We haven't achieved any of our goals yet for the year. We wanted to qualify for the playoffs and we haven't done that yet. Until some mathematician tells me we've qualified, we're not there yet. And we want to have a home-field advantage. So, we're heading in that direction. Hopefully, we can do that. In terms of minutes with Carles [Gil], we've just got to see how he recovers from this, how he does in training next week. I thought tonight, he was tired. Basically, we doubled his minutes, but we've got to keep pushing him and get him going. We'll be getting Gustavo [Bou] back and some others that have been injured. Hopefully, as we close out the regular season, we'll get our team healthy and fit."

On if the team's performances make it easier to allow players like Gustavo Bou time to recover:

Arena: "Yeah, it's easier. I think if we were struggling a little bit to position ourselves for the playoffs, we might be pushing these guys a little bit harder. But we have a little bit of an advantage as we close out the season. But the month of September, we have to get through in a good way, because there are a lot of difficult games. I can't remember exactly. We have Columbus on Saturday. Then I think we have Chicago in Chicago, and somebody at home after that - Orlando. So, that's a real tough week. We want to come out of that week in good shape. So, there's still a lot ahead of us here and then we hit the international break, which becomes a complete disaster in our league, these international breaks. So, that's going to be difficult as well. It's nice to have a little bit of a cushion now. I'd hate to be scrambling to try to get one of the top seven spots and have to deal with all these other issues."

On Edward Kizza's performance and his overall season thus far:

Arena: "He's doing well. We've given him a lot of time with the second team. He's getting better. He's moving along exactly like we thought he would. So, it's good to see. I think this game was better than his last game in Philadelphia. So, that's a real positive sign."

On the Adam Buksa, Matt Turner, and Tajon Buchanan transitioning from international duty back to MLS:

Arena: "Well, this is new for Adam [Buksa]. It's not new for Matt [Turner] or Tajon [Buchanan]. They've done it before. I was very impressed with Adam's approach coming back. He didn't come back from Poland until yesterday. So, he had a real good approach to coming back to the team and all that. Matt's pretty levelheaded. He's done well and I'm very impressed with Tajon's attitude. He's done a real good job coming back into the team and being positive. And obviously, you see tonight, he got the winning goal. So those guys have been good with all of that."

Revolution Defender Henry Kessler

On defending Valentin Castellanos:

Kessler: "Yeah, [Valentin Castellanos] a dangerous player, he scored twice against us last time [on August 28]. So, it was certainly something that was on our mind. We wanted to keep him at bay and I think we did a decent job. He's a physical player, so we tried to be as physical as possible with him as well between Andrew and I, always getting the bump on him and on my yellow card. So, as you said, we we kept an eye on him."

On the team's approach after New York City FC went down to 10 men:

Kessler: "For sure, it's way better to be up a man than down a man. I thought we should have kept the ball a little bit more, but I think we did a good job limiting their chances. So, that was kind of the game plan, swing the ball, try to kill the time, and we did create some chances in the end. So, I think we did a decent enough job while we were up a man."

On establishing his physical presence:

Kessler: "Definitely be physical. Definitely be physical, not trying to get yellow cards but certainly set the tone, if you will. So, definitely, like you said, establish myself."

On launching a ball into the stands last week in Philadelphia:

Kessler: "I think the ball had to go. The first one had to go, then I saw the second one and I was on the sideline out of position, so I thought the second one had to go as well. Obviously, it was a yellow card and I'll take that one and I'll take the fine too."

On if the team feels like it has a target on its back:

Kessler: "You're going to get everyone's best shot. We're the first-place team in the conference, first place in the league, so you're going to get everyone's best shot. So, we know that coming in that teams are going to try to take points from us and we're going to do our best to prevent that. So, as you said, I feel like there is a little bit of a target on our back being the leader in the Supporters' Shield race."

On the impact of the substitutes:

Kessler: "Really important. Carles [Gil] came on last week and was a good presence keeping the ball, and similarly this week. He created that chance and Tajon [Buchanan] did a really good job putting it away. Adam [Buksa] came on as well, I thought his impact was good. And it's impressive that those guys can come back from international duty and make such a quick turnaround and be effective this weekend."

On Edward Kizza's progression:

Kessler: "I'm happy for him. He's a guy I played against in college, and so I knew the skill he had coming in. With Adam [Buksa] away and Gustavo [Bou] injured, he's had the opportunity and I think he's done well with the opportunity. So, hopefully he continues to progress."

On being successful in so many close games:

Kessler: "Yeah, I was just told that's our 14th win by one goal and that's a bunch. I think it's a good thing. Some of those we were up 3-1, maybe should have closed it out at 3-1, so we would have liked to have won more games by multiple goals. But a win is a win, so we'll take three points however we can get them."

On playing on 9/11 as a native of New York City:

Kessler: "Really emotional. It's a really sad day. Tragedy struck 20 years ago, and it's tough. When you're playing, you try to just focus on that, but much of today was just spent mourning really, and that's difficult."

Revolution Midfielder Matt Polster

On Emmanuel Boateng's performance:

Polster: "At the beginning of the season, I think he did really well in preseason. He never really got his opportunity. But then when the season went on, guys are going to have to step up in certain moments and help this team win games. He's the kind of guy that can do for us. He's shown that he can create things off the dribble, crossing the ball, finishing. So, he's someone that you can rely on and we're definitely going to need him towards the end of the season as well."

On how the game changed when NYCFC went down to 10 men:

Polster: "The goal at that point is to push the game a little bit more, try and get the goal, take the lead, and then see where we are kind of thing, and then try to get another one, a third, and a fourth. We maybe we lacked a little bit of finishing tonight to close the game out, because obviously the last five minutes becomes more chaotic and it really takes a lot more concentration to close games out, which we showed we can do. It would be nice to maybe be up 3-1, 4-1, and cruise a little bit more, which we need to start focusing on a lot. So, it was nice to be up a man, but it was a really good team performance all around. I thought everyone played really well, so hats off to the guys."

On what he said to the team before the start of the second half:

Polster: "Some of the words can't be said, but it was more of I really wanted to win the game. I want those guys to really want to win the game. They do. This team keeps showing that every game is a must - three points - even if we have the lead that we do. It's a standard that we've shown that we want to uphold every single time. It was just a lot of emotion of they took three points last time, and we wanted to take three points this time."

On the midfield battle against New York City FC:

Polster: "It's difficult. They're very good on the ball. They have a lot of good moments. Keaton Parks, James Sands, Alfredo Morales, Maxi Moralez - even though he wasn't playing today - all really good players technically. Good movement off the ball, good technically. It's not easy. We have to defend as a group, which we did, and just wait for moments to win the ball. I thought we could have been a little bit more aggressive in the midfield tonight winning it. Me, myself, I thought I could have won a couple tackles. But for the most part, I thought it was a good performance for 90 minutes."

On bringing Carles Gil, Adam Buksa, and Tajon Buchanan off the bench:

Polster: "You can obviously see the spark that those guys bring. Like I said, we're a really good team. We have a lot of players that can help win games. There are certain guys like Carles [Gil] who brings a spark that not many can do. Similar to Tajon [Buchanan]. Tajon brings a lot of pace and aggressiveness with his runs. Carles can pick the pass from just about anywhere. When you have the best player in the league coming back, that's always a positive. And Adam [Buksa] coming off the bench is pretty important, considering he was balling out for Poland. He should score for us now since he scored for Poland. I told him that. It's nice to have those three guys back."

On the Revolution's home-field advantage:

Polster: "We wanted to make this a fortress. I think we have. Home or away, we expect to get three points. That's the standard we have now. At home, the next couple of games are obviously very important, very difficult. I think we play Orlando twice, we play Columbus - those three games are really important, because they are right there. Just in general, these last games, either teams are trying to get into the playoffs, or keep their place in the playoffs. So, now it's going to become more of a playoff kind of environment. Our level is going to have to raise. The teams that we are going to be playing are going to raise their level, so it's important that we keep pushing ourselves and keep that mentality of wanting to win every game."

On the Revolution's depth and the difference it makes over the course of a season:

Polster: "Everybody wants to play in this team, and that's really important to have. There's no player in this group that's taking days off, or a day. Everybody is pushing each other in training to get a spot, and that's what you want in a group of players. Obviously, like I said, we can rely on just about anybody to come in and get the job done. I think certain players lift the level a little bit more. Obviously, players like Carles [Gil] and Tajon [Buchanan] have that extra something in their game that bring a spark. Obviously, those two come in, create something - Tajon scores, Carles assists. It's nice to have. I think if those two are to start and other players were to come in, I think they would bring that spark as well. It's really important to have everybody on the same page - I feel like we do - and wanting to keep winning each game."

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