Recap | Carles Gil's first-half goal enough as Revs grind out first league win, 1-0, over Charlotte FC

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (April 6, 2024) – The New England Revolution (1-4-1; 4 pts.) defeated Charlotte FC (2-3-2, 8 pts.) on Saturday night, 1-0, in front of 22,196 fans at Gillette Stadium. Goalkeeper Henrich Ravas earned the shutout in net while Carles Gil scored his team-leading third goal of the regular season, making him the fifth Revolution player to record 40 goals and 40 assists for the club across all competitions.

Both teams earned quality chances in the opening 20 minutes of the match, though neither team was able to convert. Following early pressure from Charlotte, Giacomo Vrioni responded with two headed chances from close range, both off crosses from Tomás Chancalay. Vrioni’s first header went inches wide of the near post, while his second attempt struck the crossbar. Vrioni finished the night with a team-leading four shots, including one on target.

Carles Gil broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time, giving the hosts the lead entering the intermission. The Revolution captain slipped his brother, Nacho Gil, in behind the Charlotte defense, though the Spaniard’s initial effort was denied. The rebound caromed out to the older Gil, who directed a shot through a sea of defenders inside the far post to put New England ahead. It marked the first time in the MLS season New England has opened the scoring. Gil finished the night with a team-high three key passes.

Ravas started in net tonight, his first appearance since returning from international duty, and recorded his first clean sheet in MLS play with a three-save effort. It marked the Slovakia international’s fourth shutout in all competitions through nine starts. He was aided by a backline that included DeJuan Jones and Nick Lima on the flanks, with the latter recording his 200th MLS appearance. Jonathan Mensah started alongside Henry Kessler in central defense, though the Ghanaian was replaced by Dave Romney after 44 minutes due to a right leg injury.

New England hits the road for a pair of matches next week. First, New England heads to Mexico City for the second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup Quarterfinals against Club América on Tuesday, April 9, trailing 4-0 on aggregate. The 10:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Estadio Azteca airs nationally in the United States on FOX Sports 1 (English) and TUDN (Spanish). The MLS regular season slate then continues on Saturday, April 13, with the Revolution visiting New York City FC. The 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Yankee Stadium is available to watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV in English and Spanish. Listen to the Revolution’s local radio calls on 98.5 The Sports Hub HD2 (WBZ-FM), with Brad Feldman and Charlie Davies, and on 1260 AM “Nossa Radio USA” in Portuguese.

MATCH NOTES

Saturday’s victory was New England’s first of the regular season and the team’s 32nd victory at Gillette Stadium since the start of 2021 – third-most home wins in MLS over that span.
The Revolution have now won four straight matches against Charlotte, improving to 4-1-0 in the all-time series.
New England has kept four clean sheets in 11 games across both MLS and the Concacaf Champions Cup.
The win marks Head Coach Caleb Porter’s first regular season victory with New England and the 114th of his MLS career, 12th most all-time.
Carles Gil tallied in first-half stoppage time to become the fifth Revolution player to record 40 goals and 40 assists across all competitions, joining Lee Nguyen, Diego Fagundez, Steve Ralston, and Shalrie Joseph.
Giacomo Vrioni marked his 20th MLS start with a team-high four shots, including one on target.
Nacho Gil recorded his 11th consecutive appearance across all competitions to open the season, recording one shot on net.
Henrich Ravas made three saves in the clean-sheet victory, his fourth in nine starts across all competitions.
Nick Lima logged the full 90 minutes in his 200th MLS regular season appearance.

GAME CAPSULE
New England Revolution 1 vs. Charlotte FC 0
April 6, 2024 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

Referee: Sergii Boiko
Assistant Referee: Kevin Lock
Assistant Referee: Matthew Nelson
Fourth Official: Guido Gonzales Jr.
Video Assistant Referee: Joe Dickerson
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Joshua Patlack
Weather: 42 degrees and rain.
Attendance: 22,196

Scoring Summary:
NE - Carles Gil (Unassisted) 45’+3’

Misconduct Summary:
NE - Carles Gil (Yellow Card – Dissent) 45’+2’
NE - Matthew Polster (Yellow Card – Tactical Foul) 47’
CLT - Scott Arfield (Yellow Card – Tactical Foul) 75’
CLT - Enzo Copetti (Yellow Card – Dissent) 90’+7’

New England Revolution: Henrich Ravas; Nick Lima, Jonathan Mensah (Dave Romney 44’), Henry Kessler; DeJuan Jones Matt Polster, Ian Harkes (Mark-Anthony Kaye 87’), Carles Gil ©, Nacho Gil (Esmir Bajraktarević 87’); Giacomo Vrioni (Bobby Wood 73’), Tomás Chancalay.

Substitutes Not Used: Earl Edwards Jr., Emmanuel Boateng, Noel Buck, Andrew Farrell, Ryan Spaulding.

Charlotte FC: Kristijan Kahlina; Jere Uronen, Jaylin Lindsey, Adilson Malanda; Ashley Westwood ©, Brecht Dejaegere (Iuri Tavares 78’), Djibril Diani, Andrew Privett; Liel Abada (Scott Arfield 61’), Kerwin Vargas, Patrick Agyemang (Enzo Copetti 71’).

Substitutes Not Used: Bill Tuiloma, Brandt Bronico, João Pedro, David Bingham, Nikola Petkovic, Junior Urso.