MLS New England Revolution

Revolution Extend Streak with 4-1 Win vs. FC Cincinnati

Published on August 21, 2021 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Revolution (15-3-4; 49 pts.) recorded their MLS-best 15th win of the season and extended the club's unbeaten streak to nine games with a 4-1 victory over FC Cincinnati (3-8-8, 17 pts.) at Gillette Stadium. Despite five changes to the starting lineup from Bruce Arena, the Revolution picked up their eighth win in the last nine games to maintain their Supporters' Shield lead at seven points. The Revolution's 49 points through 22 games are tied for the most in MLS history at this stage of the season.

Tajon Buchanan scored for the third consecutive match to put New England on the front foot in the seventh minute, cleaning up a rebound created by Henry Kessler's cross. Buchanan now has four goals in his last six games. The Canadian international then delivered his fourth assist of the campaign on Emmanuel Boateng's goal, his first with New England, to double the lead in the 21st minute. Boateng, making his first start of the year, later added his second assist in as many games.

Adam Buksa joined the scoring frenzy with goals in the 33rd and 61st minute, marking his second career multi-goal game. Buksa's 10 goals are a career high and tied for fifth most in MLS. Gustavo Bou supplied the assist on the team's fourth goal, giving him four helpers on the year.

In net, Matt Turner made three saves to raise his season total to a career-high 11 wins in 17 starts. Meanwhile, Andrew Farrell made his 261st league appearance and now finds himself in a three-way tie atop the Revolution's all-time games played chart.

Boateng, now the 12th different Revolution player to score in 2021, was one of two Revolution midfielders making his first start of the season, along with Scott Caldwell. Colombian defender Christian Mafla was one of Arena's other changes as he slotted in at left back. DeJuan Jones moved to right back for his sixth career start at the position. In addition, Revolution Academy product Damian Rivera made his Major League Soccer debut, playing 28 minutes as a substitute.

Following this week's MLS All-Star Week festivities including Wednesday night's 2021 MLS All-Star Game in Los Angeles, Calif. (9:30 p.m. ET - FS1, UniMás), the Revolution will return to league action next Saturday, August 28 with a trip to face New York City FC. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on TV38, myRITV, 98.5 The Sports Hub, and 1260 AM Nossa Radio.

POSTGAME NOTES

New England Revolution 4, FC Cincinnati 1

August 21, 2021 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

Team Notes:

The first-place New England Revolution improved to 15-3-4 (49 points) with today's 4-1 win over FC Cincinnati.

New England's 49 points through 22 games are tied for the most in MLS history at this stage of the season (LAFC, 2019).

The Revolution, averaging 2.23 points per game, need only 11 points over the final 12 games to set a new club record (59).

The Revs' nine-game unbeaten streak, during which the team has won eight of nine games, is tied for the third longest in club history (11 games - 2019, 2005).

The Revolution's home record improves to 9-1-1. The club's nine home wins and .864 home-winning percentage both lead the league.

This is now the Revolution's fifth 15-win season in club history. The Revs need only two more wins to tie the club's single-season record (17 - 2005, 2014).

The Revs' have now scored 44 goals on the year, most in MLS and 11 away from matching the club's single-season record (55 - 2003, 2005).

The Revolution have scored multiple goals in 14 games, and three-or-more goals in seven games, both the most in MLS this year.

New England has now won three straight meetings with FC Cincinnati, improving to 3-1-0 in the series and 1-1-0 at home.

Individual Notes:

Andrew Farrell (261) tied the Revolution record for most MLS games played. He is now level with Shalrie Joseph and Diego Fagundez atop the club's appearance chart.

Adam Buksa recorded his ninth and 10th goals of the season for his second multi-goal game in MLS. Buksa's 10 goals are a career high and tied for fifth most in MLS.

Tajon Buchanan scored for the third consecutive game, opening the scoring in the seventh minute. Buchanan's goal was the MLS All-Star's fourth in the last six games.

Buchanan, making his 50th MLS appearance, also recorded his fourth assist of the season to set up the Revs' second goal of the night.

Matt Turner remains unbeaten at Gillette Stadium this year (8-0-1) as he improved to 11-2-4 on the year. He is unbeaten in his last 11 starts between the Revolution and U.S. Men's National Team.

Gustavo Bou recorded his fourth assist of the year and totaled four key passes while wearing the captain's armband.

Emmanuel Boateng, making his first start with New England, scored his 10th MLS goal and his first with the Revs. Boateng is the 12th different Revolution player to score in 2021. He added his third assist of the season on Buksa's 33rd-minute goal.

Scott Caldwell made his first start and eight appearance of the season. The Revs improved to 8-0-0 in 2021 when Caldwell appears in a game.

DeJuan Jones made his sixth MLS start at right back and his first at the position since Nov. 1, 2020. Jones had previously started 18 games this season at left back.

Christian Mafla slotted in at left back for his fourth start of the season and his first since July 25, vs. CF Montreal. New England is now 4-0-0 when Mafla starts.

Damian Rivera, a Revolution Academy product and Homegrown Player from Cranston, R.I., made his MLS debut as a second-half substitute. Rivera is the club's sixth Homegrown Player to appear in an MLS match.

Homegrown Player Justin Rennicks also made his season debut as a late substitute. It was the Massachusetts native's seventh MLS appearance.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Fotis Bazakos

Assistant Referees: Eric Weisbrod (AR1); Gjovalin Bori (AR2)

4th Official: Luis Arroyo

Video Assistant Referee: Carol Anne Chenard

Weather: 73 and Clear

Attendance: 18,268

Scoring Summary:

NE - Tajon Buchanan 6 (Unassisted) 7'

NE - Emmanuel Boateng 1 (Tajon Buchanan 4, Adam Buksa 2) 21'

NE - Adam Buksa 9 (Emmanuel Boateng 3) 33'

CIN - Brenner 5 (Luciano Acosta 5) 54'

NE - Adam Buksa 10 (Gustavo Bou 4) 61'

Misconduct Summary:

NE - Tommy McNamara (Yellow Card - Foul) 68'

NE - Tajon Buchanan (Yellow Card - Unsporting Behavior) 74'

NE - Andrew Farrell (Yellow Card - Foul) 86'

New England Revolution: Matt Turner; Christian Mafla, Andrew Farrell, Henry Kessler, DeJuan Jones; Scott Caldwell (Maciel 62'), Tommy McNamara (Wilfrid Kaptoum 74') Tajon Buchanan (Teal Bunbury 74'), Emmanuel Boateng (Damian Rivera 62'); Adam Buksa (Justin Rennicks 89'), Gustavo Bou ©

Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Earl Edwards Jr., A.J. DeLaGarza, Collin Verfurth

FC Cincinnati: Przemyslaw Tyton; Gustavo Vallecilla (Caleb Stanko HT), Geoff Cameron (Kamohelo Mokotjo 81'), Nick Hagglund, Ronald Matarrita; Haris Medunjanin, Yuya Kubo, Luciano Acosta © (Isaac Atanga 70'), Florian Valot; Brenner (Brandon Vazquez 70'), Alvaro Borreal (Chris Duvall 77')

Substitutes Not Used: Kenneth Vermeer, Edgar Castillo, Avione Flanagan, Quimi Ordonez

New England Revolution Team Statistics FC Cincinnati

12 (6) Shots (on Target) 13 (4)

0 Blocked Shots 0

3 Saves 2

3 Corner Kicks 3

3 Offsides 1

12 Fouls 8

462 (56.3%) Passes Attempted (% Completed) 471 (85.8%)

49.8% Possession 512%

POSTGAME QUOTES

New England Revolution Sporting Director & Head Coach Bruce Arena

On Emmanuel Boateng's performance:

Arena: "I think he did well. Obviously, a really nice goal and worked pretty hard. We knew he would hit the wall a little bit physically at some point, so that's why he got 60 minutes. But overall, it was a good effort on his part."

On the first Revolution goal of the night:

Arena: "I kind of, at the time, said, what is Henry [Kessler] doing running into Ema [Boateng's] space there, and he showed me why. Obviously, it was a good goal and a good, clean finish by Tajon [Buchanan]. So, I was impressed with our start tonight. It was important to get that first goal and deflate Cincinnati a little bit."

On if he told his defenders not to hesitate to go forward if given the opportunity:

Arena: "Well, not exactly like that, but they understand. Our center backs generally don't go into the attack, but the outside backs certainly have a lot more freedom."

On Scott Caldwell getting his first start of the season:

Arena: "Good, solid job. And again, with the limited minutes he had, we didn't project that he was going to play a whole lot more. I think he did a good, solid job."

On Adam Buksa's performance:

Arena: "He did a good job, won some balls defensively, scored two goals, arguably could've had a couple more as well. But on the night, it was a good performance. He's growing into that position and having a better understanding of how he needs to play."

On how important it was to get the win after playing three matches in eight days:

Arena: "Well, anytime you win a game in this league, it's big. I think, at this time of year, it's important to get the points in the bank, because as we get down to the last 10 games of the season, it's going to be crazy with teams fighting for playoff positions and it's going to be really challenging. And for us to have, I think it's 49 points now - 49 points in 22 games is pretty good. And it allows for us to have a few slip-ups along the way, which is going to happen. That's all part of it as well."

On the minimal number of "slip-ups" on the year thus far:

Arena: "There haven't been too many at this point. However, one would think that there are going be some down the road."

On Damian Rivera and why he earned the opportunity with the first team:

Arena: "Well, he is on our first team. He's on our roster. You know, he's played well with Revolution II and he's earned the opportunity to come up with us. His minutes will be decided as he continues to play with Revolution II. We look at his performance tonight and you can see that he's got a way to go, but that's, I believe, his first minutes with us this year. So, it's something to build on. I think, when you get some of the younger players on the field, it gives them a little bit of confidence. He'll be going back to Revolution II, obviously, at some point, but I think those minutes are an important lesson for him as well."

On if there is an update on the injury status of Matt Polster and Brandon Bye:

Arena: "No. I would think that they're going be ready to go in the near future."

New England Revolution Forward Adam Buksa

On Emmanuel Boateng's performance:

Buksa: "I think he performed very well. He scored a goal, he gave an assist. He's proving that he [can perform] and can help the team with his passes, with his ability to get into the box and finish off the crosses from the right side. He did that tonight. So that was a very, very good performance."

On if he expected Cincinnati to be difficult to break down defensively:

Buksa: "In this league, there are no easy opponents. You have to be absolutely 100 percent in every game to score and control the game. We did this tonight. We knew that Cincinnati rarely changes their lineup. They played a game three days ago, so we kind of knew that we had to press them very high from the very beginning, because they might be tired. We managed to score two early goals, then the third one at the end of the first half, so I think we were in full control for the most part of the game. That was our plan and I think we did that well."

On the offense clicking with impressive combination play:

Buksa: "Yeah, the most important thing is to have the team winning. As a striker, obviously, everybody wants to score, I also want to score, but it's not the only duty I have. When I have the chance to score, I try to do it, but against Toronto and the last game against D.C., there were some moments that I had to help the team in a different way. You can see the penalty that I earned against Toronto or when there is a chance to cross the ball from the sides, mostly two defenders are occupying me, so that's why there was a space for other players like Tajon or Ema to get into the box and finish off these chances. That's the role of the number nine, just to be there and occupy the defenders. When I have the chance to score - if not, help the team the other way."

On being hungry for goals:

Buksa: "That's nice to hear. I don't know what he meant that I'm hungry, because I like eating. I like to eat a lot, that's why I was wondering what he meant. [Laughter] I try to score as many goals as I can, finish off my chances. Today, I had three or four chances, I finished off two of them. I'm very happy with that. When you have a player like Ema on the field, he can cross the ball very well. Whenever he gets the ball or Gustavo or Tajon, my only duty is to get to the box and try to find a spot to score. That's my job."

On scoring a goal after his own throw-in at the end of the game:

Buksa: "That was simply a dynamic situation. We intercepted the ball and I wanted to start the action very quickly. I saw the chance that they were not well set up in the defensive line, Cincinnati's line, so that's why I decided to take it. It was just a quick reaction, nothing else to add."

On if he feels he has progressed this season:

Buksa: "I feel like I have progressed, as well as the team. That's very encouraging. I feel like I'm becoming a better player every game, every week. So yeah, definitely. I see that, I feel that, but there's still a lot of games to go. A lot of ways I can improve, so nothing changes in my mind."

On being called into the Poland National Team for September's World Cup Qualifiers:

Buksa: "That feels simply great for me. Selected as one of the strikers for the Polish National Team alongside players like [Robert] Lewandowski, it means a lot to me. It's always been my dream and very happy to be a part of that team. Three very, very tough and challenging games against England, Albania, and San Marino. So, in our situation in World Cup Qualifiers, we need to grab six, seven points in these three games. It's going to be a difficult time, for sure, in order to grab these points in these games. But before that happens, there's still a game against NYCFC. That's where my focus goes right now, then I will fly directly from New York to Poland and do my best for the national team."

New England Revolution Midfielder Scott Caldwell

On the importance of the first goal and if he thought the game might become a "blowout":

Caldwell: "You never think anything is going to be a blowout. Definitely, that first goal was huge for us and we just continued to push forward and our guys in the attack did a great job continuing to put pressure on and capitalizing on chances."

On getting the start tonight:

Caldwell: "It felt great. I was excited, happy, and our team did a great job, so I was pleased."

On the team's sustained success this season:

Caldwell: "Our team has done a great job of continuing to take it game by game. You don't look at the big picture. You try to get three points and then move on from there. I think everyone has pushed really hard and done a great job of preforming when they're on the field. It's gone really well and we just have to continue that. There's still a long way to go."

On what feels different this year compared to previous seasons:

Caldwell: "We did so well to start the year and we've been able to ride that wave and continue the momentum and push forward. Everyone has helped each other out on and off the field. It's been a really good year so far, but like I said, a long way to go and just going to continue to support each other as a team."

On fellow Homegrown Player Damian Rivera making his MLS debut:

Caldwell: "That was awesome. I was really happy for Tico. It's been a long time coming for him. I'm sure he's been waiting for this opportunity and I'm glad he got it. It's great to see and hopefully we continue to have guys continue to come through the Academy and continue to get these opportunities. Tico did an outstanding job and hopefully he continues to push and get those chances."

On how beneficial Revolution II has been to the club:

Caldwell: "It's been huge for us. You named all those guys. It's been really helpful in the development of players and able to have an easier transition to the first team. I imagine it's just going to continue to move in that direction, which is outstanding for the organization."

Check out the New England Revolution Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Major League Soccer Stories from August 21, 2021


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