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MLS New England Revolution

Revolution Fall to NYCFC in Extra Time, 0-1, in U.S. Open Cup

May 25, 2022 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


JAMAICA, N.Y. - The New England Revolution fell to New York City FC, 0-1, after extra time at Belson Stadium on the campus of St. John's University in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 on Wednesday night. Despite a six-save performance from Revolution goalkeeper Djordje Petrović to keep the game scoreless through 90 minutes, NYCFC's Santiago Rodriguez broke through for the game's lone goal in the 94th minute.

The Revolution shift focus back to the MLS regular season ahead of a home meeting with the Philadelphia Union this Saturday, May 28 at Gillette Stadium. The 7:30 p.m. ET start airs locally on WSBK-TV38, myRITV (Rhode Island), and CoziTV (Western Mass.), as well as on the radio at 98.5 The Sports Hub and 1260 AM Nossa Radio (Portuguese).

Bruce Arena deployed a rotated lineup for the Round of 16 contest, featuring 10 changes from New England's latest MLS win on May 21. Petrović recorded his second start of the Open Cup campaign and made an early impact with a stunning double save in the 12th minute, as the Serbian denied a pair of point-blank attempts to keep the match scoreless. Petrović logged another close-range stop in the 59th minute and finished the night with six saves.

Esmir Bajraktarević, announced as the club's latest Homegrown Player signing on Monday, made his first team debut with a start in the midfield. The 17-year-old recorded a shot on target in the 44th minute when he directed a cross from Justin Rennicks on frame, but the attempt was saved. Revolution II defender Ben Reveno also made his first team debut, earning the start at center back.

Bajraktarević was one of seven Revolution players who made their U.S. Open Cup debuts on Saturday, along with Reveno, Jon Bell, Gustavo Bou, Wilfrid Kaptoum, Maciel, and recent U-22 Initiative signing Dylan Borrero. This marked Borrero's second appearance with New England since arriving at the club earlier in May, while Bou played in a second straight game since returning from injury and nearly tied the game in the 119th minute with a headed shot on frame.

POSTGAME NOTES

New England Revolution 0, New York City FC 1 (AET)

May 25, 2022 - Belson Stadium (Jamaica, New York)

GK Djordje Petrović recorded six saves in his second start with New England's first team since joining the club in April.

Seven Revolution players made their U.S. Open Cup debuts: M Esmir Bajraktarević, D Jon Bell, M Dylan Borrero, F Gustavo Bou, M Wilfrid Kaptoum, M Maciel, and D Ben Reveno all made their U.S. Open Cup debuts tonight. For Bajraktarević and Reveno, it also marked their Revolution first team debuts.

Bajraktarevic, announced as the club's ninth Homegrown Player signing on Monday, made his first team debut. The 17-year-old played 67 minutes and recorded one shot on target.

Three Homegrown Players featured in the starting lineup for New England: F Justin Rennicks, M Damian Rivera, and Bajraktarević. Rivera and Esmir each recorded one shot on target.

Midfielder Dylan Borrero logged his second New England appearance, coming on in the 67th minute for Emmanuel Boateng. Borrero, 20, was acquired in April using the MLS U-22 Initiative from Brazilian Serie A champions Atlético Mineiro.

New England rotated its starting lineup from the Round of 16 match, as Bruce Arena made eight changes from the last U.S. Open Cup match vs. FC Cincinnati on May 11. The three returning starters were GK Djordje Petrović, M Maciel, and Rivera.

New England's all-time record in the U.S. Open Cup moves to 22-18-5.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Luis Arroyo

Assistant Referees: Tom Felice (AR1), Nicholas Balcer (AR2)

Fourth Official: Christian Centeno

Weather: 61 degrees and sunny

Scoring Summary:

NYC- Santiago Rodriguez (Heber) 94'

Misconduct Summary:

NYC- Thiago Andrade (Yellow Card- Bad Foul) 22'

NE- Ryan Spaulding (Yellow Card- Bad Foul) 55'

NYC- Justin Haak (Yellow Card- Bad Foul) 60'

NE- Matt Polster (Yellow Card- Bad Foul) 62'

NYC- Geeidon Zelalem (Yellow Card- Bad Foul) 84'

NE- Bruce Arena (Yellow Card- Dissent) 92'

NYC- Santiago Rodriguez (Yellow Card- Bad Foul) 100'

NYC- Valentin Castellanos (Yellow Card- Bad Foul) 120'

New England Revolution: Djordje Petrović; Ryan Spaulding (DeJuan Jones 91'), Ben Reveno (Wilfrid Kaptoum 116'), Jon Bell (Andrew Farrell 46') , A.J. DeLaGarza; Matt Polster ©, Maciel, Damian Rivera (Brandon Bye 91'), Esmir Bajraktarević (Gustavo Bou 67'), Emmanuel Boateng (Dylan Borrero 67'); Justin Rennicks

Substitutes Not Used: Jacob Jackson

New York City FC: Luis Barraza; Malte Amundsen (Christopher Gloster 70'), Maxime Chanot ©, Tayvon Gray, Thiago Martins; Justin Haak (Santiago Rodriguez 68'), Andres Jasson, Keaton Parks (Nicolas Acevedo 67'), Geeidon Zelalem (Vukashin Latinovich 102'); Thiago Andrade (Heber 77'), Talles Magno (Valentin Castellanos 68')

Substitutes Not Used: Sean Johnson

New York City FC Team Statistics New England Revolution

15 (7) Shots (on Target) 8 (4)

4 Blocked Shots 1

4 Saves 6

7 Corner Kicks 7

5 Offsides 3

17 Fouls 25

746 (85.8%) Passes Attempted (% Completed) 413 (73.4%)

64.2% Possession 35.8%

POSTGAME QUOTES: New England Revolution 0 at New York City FC 1 (AET)

New England Revolution Sporting Director & Head Coach Bruce Arena

On the game overall:

Arena: "I thought our team played a real hard game and it was a very competitive game and after 90 minutes, their chances were as good as ours, and obviously we made a mistake turning the ball over that created their goal, but I thought the effort by our guys tonight was outstanding. I thought [Justin] Rennicks played really well. Esmir [Bajraktarević] for his first time did a good job. [Ben] Reveno was very good, and I was really pleased. [AJ] DeLaGarza, a good solid effort, [Ryan] Spaulding a good effort. And the young guys - [Djordje] Petrović in the goal was solid, [Damian] Rivera did a good job, so it was good. It was good for some of our young players to get this kind of experience. We were in that game right until the end. So, I'm disappointed obviously in losing the game, but I thought it was a really good effort on the part of our team."

On how Petrović has settled in with the team and the value of each minute he plays:

Arena: "Of course, those minutes are valuable. He's going to be our goalkeeper when Matt [Turner] departs, so the Open Cup games have been good for him. He's doing fine. He's fit in well with the group."

On the team building chemistry in the first half:

Arena: "Yeah, and I think obviously that group has never played together before and New York City started with some pretty good players, so they had a very talented group out there, and the surface was very difficult, very hard field. I hate to be critical of Open Cup venues, but if you have two Major League Soccer teams playing and one's home field is available, you should use it. We shouldn't be playing in these types of venues, not the MLS teams, but whatever. It was a really difficult game, and actually I thought difficult conditions probably favored us more than it did New York City."

On Jon Bell's performance:

Arena: "He played very well. He's been out for months so we played him 15 minutes, I think, in Cincinnati and ended up with 45 minutes tonight. We were thinking a playing him another 15 minutes, but it wasn't worth the risk, so it's a good, positive move for Jon [Bell]. He's moving in the right direction."

New England Revolution Midfielder Esmir Bajraktarević

On making his first team debut:

Bajraktarević: "I was really excited. Obviously, there [were] nerves at the beginning. I kind of settled down after a couple of minutes. Obviously, it wasn't the result we were looking for. Overall, I think it was a good debut. I had some good moments, some bad moments. It was definitely a learning experience."

On playing the attacking midfield position and what he feels is his best position:

Bajraktarević: "I think the ten is definitely my best position, but I can still play on the right wing coming in on my left, I can play up top, false nine, I can play left wing. But yeah, the ten is definitely my best position."

On the difference between playing with the first team compared to MLS NEXT Pro:

Bajraktarević: "I think definitely the defensive side of things. You can't take a second off. You can't switch off, because they'll take advantage. You have to stay switched on, on the defensive side of things for sure. I think everything is just quicker."

On when he learned he would get this opportunity to start and how he prepared:

Bajraktarević: "For our Revs II game [on May 22], I only played 45 minutes, so they told me I would probably be playing in Open Cup. But it's not for sure, I still have to do well in training in everything. So in training, I did my best to get my spot for this game. Mentally, I think I was trying to stay calm. I wasn't trying not trying to think about it too much, just trying to treat it like another game. But yeah, it was definitely great to get one."

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