FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Diego Fagundez is so much more than just a goal scorer.
Deployed as a winger in the New England Revolution’s free-flowing system – which is primarily considered a 4-1-4-1 but often plays more like a 4-3-3 – Fagundez is relied upon just as much for his creativity and defensive tenacity as he is for pure finishing.
But at his core, Fagundez wants to score goals. That’s why the 19-year-old was so relieved this past weekend when he bagged the Revolution’s equalizer in a 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire, snapping a string of 14 appearances without finding the back of the net.
“It was one of those things that was frustrating because I thought I could do better, and it just wasn’t going my way,” said Fagundez. “I think getting on the field again and playing with everyone, it was just a great feeling. I knew I had to give 110 percent and that’s what I tried to do.”
Fagundez was reintroduced to the starting lineup against Chicago after featuring as a substitute in the Revolution’s previous two matches. It was the first time he’d started on the bench for consecutive games since the first three weeks of the 2013 season.
Chicago’s physical backline did well to limit Fagundez’s influence in the early stages, but he made the all-important breakthrough just before halftime, drifting to the back post to nod home a perfectly-weighted chip from Lee Nguyen.
“Early on I think he struggled a bit to find the game because he hadn’t started in a couple weeks,” head coach Jay Heaps said of Fagundez. “Then all of a sudden, he finds the game and he scores a goal. I really like that Diego fought and competed and defended well.”
There’s a sense that Fagundez could open the floodgates now that he’s broken through, just as he did back in mid-May when he scored four goals in a three-game stretch after going scoreless through the first nine games of the campaign.
“It felt like I broke the ice again,” Fagundez said of Sunday’s goal. “Now I hope that every game I play, I can help out the team as much as possible – not just scoring, but making plays happen and creating chances.”
Fagundez knows he’ll need to continue battling just to earn time on the field, particularly with new arrival Geoffrey Castillion adding even more depth to New England’s forward corps. But more performances like Sunday’s will almost certainly ensure that Fagundez continues to find his name on the lineup sheet.
“It’s important that he continues to fight and play,” said Heaps. “He’s going to get his minutes.”
