FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (May 25, 2024) – The New England Revolution (2-10-1; 7 pts.) were defeated, 1-0, by New York City FC (8-5-2, 26 pts.) on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium with 26,625 fans in attendance. Despite the Revolution holding an edge in shots and possession, with an eight-to-four advantage in shots on target, NYCFC claimed all three points after an 81st-minute header from midfielder Keaton Parks provided the difference.
New England controlled the play during the first half, staving off an early push from the visitors thanks to two blocked shots by Henry Kessler in the opening five minutes. Kessler was cautioned in the 13th minute and will be suspended for next weekend’s contest at Nashville for yellow card accumulation. The Revolution were also forced to dip into their bench early, as Tomás Chancalay, who returned to the starting lineup after missing last week’s match through suspension, picked up a right leg injury 10 minutes into the match. He was replaced by Homegrown midfielder Esmir Bajraktarević for the remainder of the match and recorded five shot attempts, even with Giacomo Vrioni for the team lead, with a career-high four shots on target.
The Revolution produced a flurry of chances just shy of the half-hour mark as they pushed to open the scoring. Xavier Arreaga narrowly missed a header wide off a corner kick in the 25th minute. Vrioni then had an effort saved and Dylan Borrero fired a shot high in quick succession. Borrero made his second straight start and fifth appearance of the season, logging 78 minutes in his 25th MLS appearance.
At the start of the second half, Vrioni was again stymied by NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese, who parried away the Albanian’s glancing header. Freese, who finished with eight saves, also denied Borrero and Carles Gil two minutes apart midway through the second half to keep the game scoreless. In addition to his one shot on target, Gil recorded eight key passes in the match, his most in a single game since 2021. In the 81st minute, Parks got separation from his defender and nodded home a cross from Tayvon Gray to put the visitors in front.
New England will look to rebound next weekend when the Revolution hit the road to face Nashville SC on Saturday, June 1. The 8:30 p.m. ET kickoff at GEODIS Park airs live on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app in English and Spanish. Listen to the Revolution’s local radio calls on 98.5 The Sports Hub (WBZ-FM), with Brad Feldman and Charlie Davies, and on 1260 AM “Nossa Radio USA” in Portuguese.
MATCH NOTES
- Giacomo Vrioni logged 82 minutes and recorded a game-high five shots, including two shots on target.
- Esmir Bajraktarević entered the match in the 11th minute to replace an injured Tomás Chancalay, finishing the night with five shots, tied for the game high, and a career-high four shots on target.
- Carles Gil recorded a season-high eight key passes, his most in a match since 2021. Gil entered the contest ranking second in MLS in key passes.
- DeJuan Jones made his first start since April 13, logging the full 90 minutes at left back.
- Matt Polster suited up for his 175th MLS start in Saturday’s contest, his ninth consecutive start and 12th of the current campaign.
- Dylan Borrero made his second consecutive start, the 25th appearance of his MLS career. The Colombian played a season-high 78 minutes and recorded four shots with one on target.
GAME CAPSULE
New England Revolution 0 vs. New York City FC 1
May 25, 2024 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Referee: Ted Unkel
Assistant Referee: Corey Rockwell (AR1); Chantal Boudreau (AR2)
Fourth Official: Alexandra Billeter
Video Assistant Referee: Younes Marrakchi
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Joshua Patlak
Weather: 71 degrees and partly cloudy
Attendance: 26,625
Scoring Summary:
NYC – Keaton Parks 3 (Tayvon Gray 3) 81’
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Henry Kessler (Yellow Card – Hard Foul) 13’
NYC – Mounsef Bakrar (Yellow Card – Hard Foul) 33’
NYC – Thiago Martins (Yellow Card – Tactical Foul) 41’
NE – Dylan Borrero (Yellow Card – Hard Foul) 73’’
NE – Xavier Arreaga (Yellow Card – Hard Foul) 86’
New England Revolution: Aljaž Ivačič; DeJuan Jones, Xavier Arreaga, Henry Kessler, Nick Lima; Mark-Anthony Kaye, Matt Polster; Dylan Borrero (Emmanuel Boateng 78’), Carles Gil ©, Tomás Chancalay (Esmir Bajraktarević 11’); Giacomo Vrioni (Bobby Wood 82’).
Substitutes Not Used: Henrich Ravas, Dave Romney, Jonathan Mensah, Ian Harkes, Noel Buck, Andrew Farrell.
New York City FC: Matt Freese; Birk Risa, Thiago Martins ©, Kevin O’Toole, Tayvon Gray; Andrews Perea, Santiago Rodriguez, Keaton Parks; Mounsef Bakrar (Alonso Martinez 60’), Hannes Wolf (Justin Hakk 81’), Agustin Ojeda (Malachi Jones 60’).
Substitutes Not Used: Luis Barraza, Jovan Mijatovic, Strahinja Tanasijevic, Mitja Illenic, Talles Magno.
