FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Diego Fagundez sure knows how to mark an occasion.
On the night he became the youngest player in MLS history to make 100 regular-season appearances – besting Eddie Gaven’s previous mark by more than a month at 20 years, 119 days – the dynamic winger scored a potential Goal of the Year candidate and then tacked on an assist, helping the New England Revolution snap a six-game winless run with a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Fire.
Just minutes after head coach Jay Heaps had given an impassioned halftime directive – telling the Revs not to come back to the locker room without three points – Fagundez scored what proved to be the game winner, and he did so in emphatic fashion.
With the ball dropping from high in the air after a half-cleared corner kick, Fagundez stepped into a vicious side volley at the top of the box, drilling a shot past helpless Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch.
“It was the best hit I’ve had in my whole career,” said Fagundez, who now has 24 goals as a professional. “I scored tons of goals when I was a kid, but [not] as good as that. I had a couple bicycle kicks, scored a couple of those (in youth soccer). But at this level, scoring something like that is such a big deal.”
It was an audacious attempt from the Homegrown talent, one which could only be tried by the most confident of players. But after curling home a stunning free kick in a 2-2 draw with the LA Galaxy two weeks ago, confidence is something currently flowing through Fagundez.
“Once the ball lobbed up, the first thing I said was, ‘I have to hit this towards goal’,” he said. “I think everyone was thinking, ‘no, no, no, don’t shoot this.’ But in my head I said, ‘I need to make sure it’s on target.’ Once I shot it, I felt great and saw it go into the back of the net.”
Fagundez wasn’t done, though. Just two minutes later he played an integral role in Charlie Davies’ insurance strike, deftly using his chest to direct Lee Nguyen’s chip into the path of Teal Bunbury, who crossed – or perhaps shot – across the box for Davies to head home.
“I saw Teal making a good run,” Fagundez said. “I had to just lay it off and then Teal shot. It landed on Charlie’s head and that was the most important thing. Charlie just finished it off.”
It was the perfect capper on a special night for Fagundez, although he didn’t realize just how special it was until after the final whistle.
“I found out (about the 100th appearance) after the game,” Fagundez admitted with a laugh. “It’s pretty nice to have a 100th appearance and end it with a goal. It’s something I can remember. I’ll take the jersey home now and give it as a gift to my mom.”
