SEATTLE (July 6, 2024) – The New England Revolution (7-12-1; 22 pts.) were defeated by Seattle Sounders FC (8-7-7; 31 pts.), 2-0, on the road at Lumen Field on Saturday night. In the teams' first meeting since 2019, the Sounders scored a goal in each half to hand New England only its second loss in the Pacific Time Zone in the last 15 trips.
After 15 minutes, the hosts scored the opening goal of the match as Seattle forward Jordan Morris charged onto a pass from Albert Rusnàk and blasted a right-footed shot past Revolution goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič. The Revolution had multiple opportunities to equalize beginning at the half-hour mark, when Esmir Bajraktarević found a streaking Giacomo Vrioni on the break, but the striker's left-footed shot was blocked.
Bajraktarević, who led the team with three key passes, created another scoring chance when he danced around three defenders to set up a shot for Vrioni, followed by his own rebound attempt. Seattle captain Stefan Frei stood tall with a clutch double save to deny New England. The Revolution sustained heavy pressure on the Seattle goal through the remainder of the half, nearly breaking through when Ian Harkes' rocket from outside the box in the 41st minute was tipped over the bar by Frei.
Early in the second half, Vrioni came within inches of the equalizer when his shot was deflected, forcing an awkward save by Frei. Ivačič was called into action again in the 55th minute as he made a diving stop to deny a low shot through traffic. He made another quick-reaction denial in the 61st minute, pushing Nouhou's header over the bar for one of his five saves on the night. With the Revolution pushing to even the score, Seattle sealed the victory behind an insurance goal from Rusnàk in the 81st minute.
The Revolution are back in action next Saturday, July 13 when Orlando City SC visits Gillette Stadium for an Eastern Conference battle at 7:30 p.m. ET. Every MLS match next weekend is free to watch on the Apple TV app. Listen to every Revolution game on the radio via 98.5 The Sports Hub and 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA.
MATCH NOTES
- Tonight's match marked D Brandon Bye's first start since suffering a torn ACL on Aug. 3, 2023. He played 60 minutes in his fourth appearance of the 2024 campaign.
- M Jack Panayotou, a 20-year-old Homegrown player from Cambridge, Mass., made his third career MLS start as he replaced F Dylan Borrero, who was a late scratch with a quad injury.
- Panayotou was one of three Revolution Academy products in the starting group, along with 19-year-old midfielders Noel Buck and Esmir Bajraktarević.
- Bajraktarević put his stamp on the match with three key passes and two shot attempts.
- F Giacomo Vrioni led the team with four shot attempts, two on target.
- Defender Xavier Arreaga played against his former club for the first time since being traded to New England in April. After being cautioned in the 23rd minute, Arreaga is suspended for next week's match on July 13 vs. Orlando due to yellow card accumulation.
- F Marcos Dias, Revolution II's all-time leading scorer, made his MLS debut as a second-half substitute. The Brazilian was signed from the MLS NEXT Pro side for tonight's match on a Short-Term Agreement.
GAME CAPSULE
Revolution Match #20; MLS Matchday #25
New England Revolution at Seattle Sounders FC
July 6, 2024 – Lumen Field (Seattle, Wash.)
Referee: Fotis Bazakos
Assistant Referee: Corey Rockwell
Assistant Referee: Jeremy Hanson
Fourth Official: Matthew Thompson
Video Asst. Referee: Kevin Stott
Assistant Video Asst. Referee: Fabio Tovar
Weather: 86 degrees and clear
Attendance: 30,017
Scoring Summary:
SEA – Jordan Morris 8 (Albert Rusnàk 10) 15'
SEA – Albert Rusnàk 4 (Obed Vargas 5) 81'
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Xavier Arreaga (Yellow Card) 23'
NE – Matt Polster (Yellow Card) 89'
SEA – Jordan Morris (Yellow Card) 90'+4
New England Revolution: Aljaž Ivačič; DeJuan Jones, Xavier Arreaga (Henry Kessler 87'), Dave Romney, Brandon Bye (Ryan Spaulding 61'); Ian Harkes, Matt Polster (c), Noel Buck (Marcos Dias 87'), Jack Panayotou (Tommy McNamara 68'), Giacomo Vrioni (Bobby Wood 87'), Esmir Bajraktarević
Substitutes Not Used: Henrich Ravas, Andrew Farrell, Jonathan Mensah
Unavailable due to late scratch: Dylan Borrero
Seattle Sounders FC: Stefan Frei (c); Nouhou, Jackson Ragen, Yeimar Gomez Andrade, Joao Paulo (Alex Roldan 79'), Cristian Roldan, Albert Rusnàk (Pedro de la Vega 86'), Paul Rothrock (Raul Ruidiaz 60') Obed Vargas (Josh Atencio 86'), Leo Chu (Reed Baker-Whiting 46'), Jordan Morris
Substitutes Not Used: Andrew Thomas, Jonathan Bell, Danny Musovski, Danny Leyva
Full statistics available HERE.
