FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (October 19, 2023) – The New England Revolution announced the recipients of three of the club’s Team Awards for the 2023 Major League Soccer season ahead of Saturday’s regular season finale at Gillette Stadium. Midfielder Carles Gil has been voted the Revolution Team MVP by fans for the third time in his five seasons with New England. Gil was also named the club’s Players’ Player of the Year by his teammates. Defender Dave Romney was voted the club’s Defender of the Year by members of the local media in his first season with the club.
The club will announce the 2022-23 UnitedHealthcare Revolution Academy Player of the Year on Friday, and the 2023 Revolution Humanitarian of the Year on Saturday prior to kickoff. Finally, the recipient of the Revolution Golden Boot award, presented annually to the team’s highest scorer during the regular season, will be confirmed at the conclusion of Saturday’s regular season finale.
Gil, Romney and the rest of the Revolution’s 2023 Team Award winners will be recognized before club’s final match of the regular season on Saturday night, when New England hosts the Philadelphia Union for a 6:00 p.m. ET kickoff at Gillette Stadium. The MLS Decision Day match, also the club’s annual Noche Latina, is FREE to watch on Apple TV in English and Spanish.
Gil, a candidate for the 2023 Landon Donovan MLS MVP Award, earns Revolution Team MVP and Players’ Player of the Year honors for the third time in his five seasons with New England (2019 and 2021). Gil’s three Team MVP awards is tied for the most in club history with Joe-Max Moore (1996, 1998, 1999) and Taylor Twellman (2002, 2003, 2007). The Revolution captain has scored a career-high 11 goals this season, leading the race for the club’s scoring title by a four-goal margin, along with 14 assists, tied for third most in MLS heading into Decision Day. This year, Gil became the first player in Revolution history to record multiple 10-goal and 10-assist seasons. He is now only the second Revolution player to record at least 24 goal contributions in multiple seasons, joining Taylor Twellman.
The Revolution captain’s 2023 season also featured his third MLS All-Star selection, to go along with his numerous league honors including the 2021 MLS MVP award and two MLS Best XI selections. In 2023, Gil recorded 92 chances created according to Opta, tied for second most in MLS as he aims to lead the league in chances created for a third consecutive season. Gil’s stellar performances have landed him on the MLS Team of the Matchday 10 times, including one Player of the Matchday selection following a two-goal performance on May 31 at Atlanta United FC. Gil’s dynamic playmaking has guided a New England attack that ranks tied for fourth in MLS in goals scored with 56, en route to the Revolution’s fourth postseason appearance since Gil joined the club in 2019.
Romney was voted the Revolution Defender of the Year by local media in his first season with New England. Acquired via trade with Nashville SC during the offseason, Romney, one of the club’s two candidates for MLS Defender of the Year, has played every minute of the 2023 campaign for the Revolution. The 30-year-old center back is on the verge of becoming the second player to play every minute of a 34-game MLS season for the Revolution, joining Jose Goncalves (2013). With a full 90-minute performance on Saturday, Romney will be the only outfield player in MLS to play every minute in 2023.
Entering the final match of the regular season, Romney holds his position as the MLS leader in clearances (154) and blocks (31), while his 110 aerials duels won rank second among defenders. Since the start of 2020, he leads all MLS outfield players in games started and minutes played, while ranking tied for second with 37 clean sheets during that four-year span.
CARLES GIL’S 2023 MLS SEASON AT A GLANCE:
- Revolution captain tallied career-high 11 goals and 14 assists, tied for third most in MLS, over 31 league appearances.
- Became the first player in club history to record multiple seasons with 10 goals and 10 assists.
- Recorded career-high 25 goal contributions, the fourth player in team history to reach that mark, joining Taylor Twellman (2002, 2005) as the only Revolution players with 24 goal contributions in multiple seasons.
- Aiming to lead MLS in chances created for the third consecutive season, as his 92 key passes (per Opta) are tied for second in MLS, four behind the leader entering Decision Day.
- Catalyst of a New England attack that ranks tied fourth in MLS with 56 goals scored.
- Named MLS All-Star for the third time and second year in a row, in addition to earning 10 MLS Team of the Matchday selections and one MLS Player of the Matchday honor.
- Maintained career rate of 0.50 assists per 90 minutes played, which ranks top five in MLS history (min. 20 assists).
- Three Team MVP awards is tied for the most in club history with Joe-Max Moore (1996, 1998, 1999) and Taylor Twellman (2002, 2003, 2007).
DAVE ROMNEY’S 2023 MLS SEASON AT A GLANCE:
- Played every minute of the season in first campaign with New England over 33 appearances, all starts.
- One game away from becoming the second player in Revolution history to play every minute across a 34-game season, joining José Gonçalves in 2013.
- Leads MLS in clearances (154) and blocked shots (31), while ranking second among defenders in aerial duels won (110).
- Will set new career highs for games and minutes played on Saturday vs. Philadelphia.
- Scored one goal, a game-winning header, in league play in a 2-1 victory vs. Charlotte FC on Sept. 30.
- Has helped his team clinch a postseason berth for the fifth consecutive season, dating back to his tenures with the LA Galaxy (2019) and Nashville SC (2020-2022).
