MLS New England Revolution

Revolution Fall to 3-2 to Real Salt Lake

Published on March 12, 2022 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Revolution (1-1-1, 4 pts.) fell to Real Salt Lake (2-0-1, 7 pts.) 3-2, on a snowy Saturday night at Gillette Stadium. Emmanuel Boateng and Jozy Altidore each tallied their first goals of the season, while Adam Buksa registered his first multi-assist game in MLS.

Boateng opened the scoring with his first tally of the season in first-half stoppage time - his fourth career goal in eight games against Real Salt Lake - as Buksa and Andrew Farrell recorded the assists. Altidore extended New England's lead in the 62nd minute, two minutes after entering the game, with a header at the back post, again assisted by Buksa.

Jon Bell, A.J. DeLaGarza, Maciel, Wilfrid Kaptoum, Emmanuel Boateng, and Ryan Spaulding all made their first starts of the 2022 campaign. Spaulding made his MLS debut with the start, becoming the fifth player to appear for New England after being elevated from Revolution II.

Real Salt Lake scored three times over the last 15 minutes. The visitors cut the deficit in half with a 78th-minute tally by Sergio Córdova. Justen Glad equalized in the 88th minute and Tate Schmitt scored the winner in the final moments of second-half stoppage time.

The Revolution return to action on Wednesday, March 16 for the Second Leg of the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Quarterfinals against Pumas UNAM at Estadio Olímpico Universitario in Mexico City, Mexico. The match kicks off at 10:15 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium on FOX Sports 1 and TUDN.

POSTGAME NOTES

New England Revolution 2, Real Salt Lake 3

March 12, 2022 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

Team Notes:

The New England Revolution fell to Real Salt Lake, 3-2, on Saturday night, moving their record to 1-1-1 (4 pts.) on the season.

Three of New England's four goals this season have come in the last 15 minutes of the first half, tied for the most among all MLS clubs this season.

Tonight's Starting XI featured seven changes from the club's last match on Wednesday night against Pumas UNAM in the First Leg of the 2022 SCCL Quarterfinal Round. Earl Edwards Jr., Andrew Farrell, Arnór Traustason, and Adam Buksa are the only four players to feature in the starting lineups for both matches.

Individual Notes:

Emmanuel Boateng made his first start of the season, and second appearance across all competitions. He scored the opening goal in first-half stoppage time, his fourth goal in eight career appearances against Real Salt Lake.

Adam Buksa collected his 40th MLS start, marking the occasion with his first multi-assist game for the Revolution.

Jozy Altidore made his third appearance of the season off the bench for New England and notched his first goal for the club.

Altidore surpassed 12,000 career minutes played in MLS in tonight's match.

Sebastian Lletget registered a secondary assist on Altidore's tally, his first assist for the club. Lletget has found in three of his first four games with New England, including SCCL play.

Ryan Spaulding made his MLS debut after spending two seasons developing with Revolution II. The 23-year-old was one of three Revolution II alumni in New England's starting lineup, joining Jon Bell and Maciel, and led the team with three interceptions on the night.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Drew Fischer.

Assistant Referees: Kathryn Nesbitt (AR1); Gianni Facchini (AR2).

Fourth Official: Sergii Demianchuk.

Video Assistant Referee: Fotis Bazakos.

Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Eric Weisbrod.

Attendance: 10,633

Weather: 27 degrees and snow.

Scoring Summary:

NE - Emmanuel Boateng 1 (Adam Buksa 1, Andrew Farrell 1) 45'+3

NE - Jozy Altidore 1 (Adam Buksa 2, Sebastian Lletget 1) 62'

RSL - Sergio Córdova 1 (Unassisted) 78'

RSL - Justen Glad 1 (Pablo Ruíz 1) 88'

RSL - Tate Schmitt 1 (Jasper Löffelsend 1) 90'+3

Misconduct Summary:

NE - Arnór Traustason (Yellow Card - Bad Foul) 5'

NE - Wilfrid Kaptoum (Yellow Card - Bad Foul) 15'

RSL - Pablo Ruíz (Yellow Card - Bad Foul) 35'

RSL - Scott Caldwell (Yellow Card - Bad Foul) 66'

NE - Carles Gil (Yellow Card - Time Wasting) 87'

RSL - Justen Glad (Yellow Card - Bad Foul) 90'+2

New England Revolution: Earl Edwards Jr.; Ryan Spaulding, Jon Bell, Andrew Farrell ©, A.J. DeLaGarza; Maciel, Tommy McNamara, Wilfrid Kaptoum (Carles Gil 60'); Arnór Traustason (Sebastian Lletget 60'), Emmanuel Boateng (Jozy Altidore 60'); Adam Buksa (Matt Polster 77').

Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Gustavo Bou, Brandon Bye, Omar Gonzalez, DeJuan Jones.

Real Salt Lake: Zac MacMath; Erik Holt (Jasper Löffelsend 85'), Justen Glad, Marcelo Silva ©; Andrew Brody, Pablo Ruíz, Scott Caldwell (Everton Luiz 73'), Tate Schmitt; Maikel Chang (Sergio Córdova 14'), Justin Meram (Jonathan Menéndez 73'), Bobby Wood.

Substitutes Not Used: Tomas Gómez, Johan Kappelhof, Chris Garcia, Bode Davis.

New England Revolution Team Statistics Real Salt Lake

13 (5) Shots (on Target) 19 (6)

2 Blocked Shots 7

1.46 Expected Goals (xG) 2.24

3 Saves 3

6 Corner Kicks 8

0 Offsides 2

9 Fouls 9

415 (62.9%) Passes Attempted (% Completed) 403 (67.2%)

50.3% Possession 49.7%

POSTGAME QUOTES: New England Revolution 2 vs. Real Salt Lake 3

Revolution Sporting Director & Head Coach Bruce Arena

On playing in the weather conditions and if the ball was rolling prior to Real Salt Lake's second goal:

Arena: "Yeah. The ball was moving. They looked at it and they said it didn't move. We have the most inefficient use of VAR, probably, in the world. We looked at it. The ball was moving. Having said that though, they still got the goal and all of that, but there's no point in having VAR if they can't look at that tape and make that decision. What can I say, you know?"

On if he agrees with Carles Gil's comments that the game should not have been played due to conditions:

Arena: "I don't know. Games have been played in the snow. So, I can't argue that. What do you take away from it? Probably, you have to have better concentration at the end of the game and certainly on a day like today, there's going to be mistakes made and the penalty area. And for us to have a combination of mistakes like that at the end of the game is inexcusable, but it certainly wasn't a soccer game today, but you know, both teams played under the same conditions. So, give them credit."

On the weather and field conditions and the decision to play the match:

Arena: "We played the game. What do you want me to say?"

On if it was a lack of concentration that led to their three goals:

Arena: "There were mistakes made, however you want to describe it. And you know, there's going to be crappy goals scored on a day like today, and we certainly allowed three of them at the end of the game."

On his use of substitutions in the second half:

Arena: "We brought in some fresh players at the 60-minute mark. Two of the players that came out of the game had yellow cards. This referee in the beginning of the game didn't do a good job in terms of issuing cards and, you know, on a day like today where there's going to be a lot of sloppy plays, you don't want to be playing in the last 30 minutes at 1-0, which it was at the time, with two players with yellow cards, because you never know what the guy is going to do."

On Ryan Spaulding's MLS debut:

Arena: "He [Ryan Spaulding] played hard, you know. A little bit inexperienced, but I think he played hard and did a solid job".

On the message to the team moving forward:

Arena: "What's the message to the team? I don't know what the message is at this point. We'll talk on Monday and we will be ready to play on Wednesday."

Revolution Defender A.J. DeLaGarza

On the playing conditions in tonight's match:

DeLaGarza: "The worst conditions I've ever played in, in my entire life - the wind, the snow, the ice. But at the end of the day, those are all excuses and we had a chance to win and we blew it in the last 15 minutes."

On the final 15 minutes of the game:

DeLaGarza: "I can't even explain it, but at the end of the day it's on us defenders and doing our job like we did the first 75 minutes. Just focus on clearing balls and moving the team up and getting pressure on crosses and shots. And all of it was just a big domino effect, one play after the next."

On whether the game should have been stopped due to conditions:

DeLaGarza: "I think a couple guys said that in the first half to the ref, and he said, 'If the ball's rolling, we're playing.' So, when guys are playing and everybody watching knew that wasn't how you play the game. But at the end of the day, there's two teams out there and you compete and battle and grind to get a result and we put ourselves in good position until the end of the game."

On how the team can improve in closing out matches :

DeLaGarza: "Yeah, I think as a group defensively, we want to get better and get more shutouts. I think we gave up quite a few goals last year and now you see already today, three goals. Just not good enough defensively from all of us and especially the backline and our goalie. We'll start there and it's on us to get the rest of the team in good spots."

On defender Ryan Spaulding's MLS debut in tonight's match:

DeLaGarza: "I thought he did really well for his first time with these conditions and the circumstances. I told him yesterday to take advantage of every opportunity you get because you don't know how many you will have. So, I think he did tremendous and I'm sure he will have plenty of other opportunities and better conditions."

On using the loss as motivation moving into next week:

DeLaGarza: "We have to let it motivate us and not put our heads down because we have a very big game on Wednesday and then we close out in Charlotte and then go into international break. So, two very big games for us going into the international break and obviously Wednesday is critical. And like I said we need to defend better over there in Mexico than we did here the last 15 minutes."

Revolution Defender Ryan Spaulding

On making his MLS debut and his performance in tonight's match:

Spaulding: "Yeah, it was a dream come true getting my MLS debut. Obviously, not the conditions I would've even thought about playing in and obviously it's a tough result. [It's] definitely not what we were going for. I thought it was a good performance up until the last 15 minutes, and then, we kind of just lost it from there. Would've hoped for a better result, but we'll move on and just focus on the next week, next game."

On whether he saw the ball roll before Real Salt Lake's second goal:

Spaulding: "Yeah, I mean it was, obviously the conditions were a factor. The wind was heavy. We don't really know. The ball possibly could have rolled, but obviously you just have to move on. You have to get to the next play. And I think we have to adjust to whatever happens in the game, what the referee calls and just keep on going from there and try to make up for it."

On what changed in the final 15 minutes of the match:

Spaulding: "Yeah, I think they were just pinning us back in our, in our defensive third and, we missed a couple of key clearances that I think could've taken some pressure off of us. And, in the end, that's what it comes down to. Just a couple of plays that they took advantage of. "

On whether a loss in these conditions is easier to move on from:

Spaulding: "Yeah, I mean, it's definitely a grind in a game like that, but again, both teams are playing in it, so you just kind of go out and you fight and you try to play as much of a normal game as possible. And in terms in moving on, I think no matter what, you always have to look at what you did poorly in a game, what you did well, and you take that, you learn and you just move on to the next game. And right now, we'll be focusing on getting to Mexico City and playing Pumas."

On his reaction to starting his first MLS match:

Spaulding: "Yeah, I mean, it was an incredible feeling. Again, the first people I told were my family and they were super happy for me, and they're actually up here right now, so they were able to see it and it was just a special moment."

On the emotions in the locker room following the game:

Spaulding: "Yeah, I mean, obviously guys are not happy, but again, you just - you take what happened out there, you think about it, and then we just have move on from it. There's a lot of games left in the season and it's a great group and of course, we'll have much more better performances throughout the year."

Pool Report by Frank Dell'Apa (The Boston Globe)

Question 1: On second the second RSL goal, there was a contention that the ball was not dead when the free kick was taken. Why was play not stopped?

Referee Team: At the taking of the free kick, the focus of the officiating team is primarily on the block of players challenging in the penalty area. There is negligible movement of the ball just prior to it being kicked however this was not seen by the officiating team.

Question 2: Why was VAR not consulted?

Referee Team: This incident is outside the VAR Protocol and the VAR is not permitted to intervene.

Responses to Pool Reporter questions are provided by match officials as an account of the incident from their perspective. They are not intended to serve as official statements by the Professional Referee Organization (PRO).

Check out the New England Revolution Statistics

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