PORTLAND, Ore. – The New England Revolution (0-0-1, 1 pt.) opened the 2022 Major League Soccer season with a 2-2 draw on the road against the Timbers (0-0-1, 1 pt.) on Saturday night. Brandon Bye netted New England’s first goal of the season with a powerful header in the 41st minute, assisted by Carles Gil, to give the Revolution a 1-0 lead at halftime. Newcomer Sebastian Lletget added a 63rd-minute tally in his Revolution debut.

Three of the Revolution’s key offseason acquisitions – Lletget, defender Omar Gonzalez, and forward Jozy Altidore – made their Revolution debuts in the contest. Gonzalez, who collected his 240th MLS start, led the Revolution with two shots on target in addition to four clearances. Altidore entered the match as a 79th-minute substitute to see out the draw.

Bye scored the first goal of the game in the 41st minute, rising up to meet Gil’s corner kick and sending his headed shot off the underside of the crossbar. Portland midfielder Dairon Asprilla tied the game in the 61st minute, before Lletget reclaimed the lead for New England just two minutes later. DeJuan Jones registered the primary assist on Lletget’s goal, with Tommy McNamara also picking up an assist. Portland’s Yimmi Chara delivered the game-tying goal on a bicycle kick in the 78th minute.

With tonight’s result, New England extends its unbeaten streak in the Pacific Time Zone to 11 matches since 2016. The Revolution’s all-time record against the Timbers shifts to 1-2-8, including five consecutive draws. New England has opened the season on the road in 14 consecutive years.

The Revolution return home to Gillette Stadium for the 2022 home opener on Saturday, March 5 against FC Dallas. The match kicks off at 1:30 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium on WSBK-TV38, myRITV, 98.5 The Sports Hub, and 1260 AM Nossa Radio. CBS Boston’s exclusive pregame coverage live from Foxborough begins with “Revolution Kickoff” at 1:00 p.m. ET on WSBK-TV38.

POSTGAME NOTES
New England Revolution 2, Portland Timbers 2
February 26, 2022 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)

Team Notes: 

• New England played to a 2-2 draw with Portland on Saturday night at Providence Park, the second straight year they’ve opened the season with a draw. 
• New England and Portland played to a tie for the fifth consecutive meeting and the eighth time in 11 all-time matchups. 
• The Revolution extended their unbeaten streak in the Pacific Time Zone to 11 games dating back to June 18, 2016.

Individual Notes:   

• Brandon Bye scored the opening goal of the 2022 season for New England, the sixth of his career and his first since July 31, 2021. Bye added five clearances on the defensive end.
• Carles Gil, the reigning Landon Donovan MLS MVP who led the league with 18 assists last season, provided the helper on Bye’s opener. Gil’s 35 MLS assists are tied with Joe-Max Moore for sixth most in Revs history. 
• Gil recorded a game-high six chances created on the night.
• Omar Gonzalez and Sebastian Lletget both made their Revolution debuts as part of the starting lineup after arriving in Foxborough this offseason.
• Lletget tallied a goal in his first match with the club, the first Revolution debutant to score in his first match since Gustavo Bou did so on July 17, 2019. 
• DeJuan Jones made his 70th MLS appearance and surpassed 5,000 career minutes played. Jones marked the occasion with an assist on Lletget’s tally, the seventh of his Revolution tenure.
• Jozy Altidore made his Revolution debut, playing 11 minutes as a substitute, after signing with New England earlier in February. 
• Earl Edwards Jr. made his Revolution MLS debut and his first league start since August 4, 2018. Edwards registered three saves as his career record moves to 1-3-2. 
• Andrew Farrell had a team-high eight clearances on the night.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Chris Penso.
Assistant Referees: Jeremy Hanson (AR1), Cameron Blanchard (AR2).
Fourth Official: Brad Jensen.
Video Assistant Referee: Geoff Gamble.
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: TJ Zablocki.
Weather: 44 degrees and cloudy.

Scoring Summary:
NE – Brandon Bye 1 (Carles Gil 1) 41’ 
POR – Dairon Asprilla 1 (Santiago Moreno 1) 60’
NE – Sebastian Lletget 1 (DeJuan Jones 1, Tommy McNamara 1) 63’ 
POR – Yimmi Chara 1 (Unassisted) 78’

Misconduct Summary:
POR – Jose Van Rankin (Yellow Card- Bad Foul) 22’
POR – Dairon Asprilla (Yellow Card- Dissent) 28’
POR – Bill Tuiloma (Yellow Card- Bad Foul) 54’
POR – Gio Savarese (Yellow Card- Dissent) 54’ 
NE – Tommy McNamara (Yellow Card- Bad Foul) 70’
NE – Matt Polster (Yellow Card- Bad Foul) 76’ 
POR – Claudio Bravo (Yellow Card- Dissent) 84’

New England Revolution: Earl Edwards Jr.; DeJuan Jones, Omar Gonzalez, Andrew Farrell, Brandon Bye; Matt Polster, Tommy McNamara (Maciel 74’), Sebastian Lletget (Wilfrid Kaptoum 79’), Carles Gil ©; Adam Buksa, Gustavo Bou (Jozy Altidore 79’)     

Substitutes Not Used: Jacob Jackson, Jon Bell, A.J. DeLaGarza, Ryan Spaulding, Emmanuel Boateng, Justin Rennicks

Portland Timbers: Aljaz Ivacic; Zac McGraw, Jose Van Rankin, Bill Tuiloma, Claudio Bravo; Dairon Asprilla (Marvin Loria 86’), Christhian Paredes, Diego Chara ©; Santiago Moreno (Sebastian Blanco 83’), Yimmi Chara, Jaroslaw Niezgoda

Substitutes Not Used: David Ayala, Justin vom Steeg, Blake Bodily, David Bingham, George Fochive, Justin Rasmussen, Diego Gutierrez

Full statistics available HERE.