FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (August 7, 2023) – The New England Revolution played to a 1-1 draw with LIGA MX side Querétaro FC in the Leagues Cup 2023 Round of 16, falling 4-3 in the penalty shootout at Gillette Stadium on Monday night to end the club’s Leagues Cup 2023 campaign. Homegrown Player Esmir Bajraktarević tallied his first goal for the Revolution first team in Monday’s match.
New England Querétaro dueled to a scoreless first half in a tightly contested battle. Defender DeJuan Jones, who shifted to right back in place of the injured Brandon Bye, had the best chance of the opening 45 minutes as his header from Noel Buck’s service ricocheted off the crossbar. In the opening minute of the second half, Querétaro midfielder Jamie Gómez put the visitors in front, glancing a header past Revolution goalkeeper Djordje Petrović. The Serbian international made two point-blank saves in the match.
The Revolution drew level in the 78th minute off the foot of Esmir Bajraktarević, who collected a pass from Matt Polster and tucked a left-footed strike into the net. The goal was the 18-year-old Academy product’s first senior tally with New England. New England poured on the pressure late, narrowly missing a winner in the dying moments. In the penalty shootout, Querétaro converted all four of its attempts while Revolution midfielders Nacho Gil and Ian Harkes had their attempts saved by Fernando Tapia.
New England started the match without midfielder Carles Gil and forward Gustavo Bou, both sidelined with injuries.
The Revolution return to action on Sunday, August 20 when the club resumes the 2023 MLS regular season at Nashville SC. The 8:30 p.m. ET kickoff at GEODIS Park will air live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV in English and Spanish.
POSTGAME NOTES
- With Monday’s result, New England moves to 9-2-3 all-time against LIGA MX opponents, including a 9-1-3 mark at Gillette Stadium.
- The Revolution are now 11-1-5 at Gillette Stadium across all competitions this season.
- Esmir Bajraktarević tallied his first Revolution first team goal wit h the second-half equalizer. The Homegrown Player logged 33 minutes, recording two key passes.
- Matt Polster notched an assist on the tying goal for New England and converted his attempt in the penalty shootout. Polster had one shot on target and three duels won.
- Djordje Petrović returned to the starting lineup and made two saves.
- Nacho Gil logged his third straight appearance off the bench, registering a team-high three key passes in 33 minutes.
- Dave Romney played 90 minutes, winning a team-high 12 duels.
GAME CAPSULE
Leagues Cup 2023 – Round of 16
New England Revolution 1 (3), Querétaro Fútbol Club 1 (4)
August 7, 2023 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Referee: Daniel Quintero Huitrón
Assistant Referees: José Ibrahim Martínez Chavarría (AR1), Jéssica Fernanda Morales Morales (AR2)
Fourth Official: Jorge Abraham Camacho Peregrina
Video Assistant Referee: Erick Yair Miranda Galindo
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Óscar Macías Romo
Weather: 71 degrees and mostly cloudy
Attendance: 8,895
Scoring Summary:
QRO – Jaime Gómez 1 (Pablo Barrera 1) 46’
NE – Esmir Bajraktarević 1 (Matt Polster 1) 78’
Misconduct Summary:
QRO – Jordan Sierra (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 18’
NE – Dave Romney (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 40’
QRO – Jaime Gómez (Yellow Card – Tactical Foul) 63’
QRO – Federico Lértora (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 65’
New England Revolution: Djordje Petrović; Ryan Spaulding, Dave Romney, Andrew Farrell ©, DeJuan Jones; Matt Polster; Emmanuel Boateng (Damian Rivera 57’), Ian Harkes, Mark-Anthony Kaye (Nacho Gil 57’), Noel Buck (Esmir Bajraktarevic 57’); Giacomo Vrioni
Substitutes Not Used: Earl Edwards Jr., Jacob Jackson, Josh Bolma, Tomás Chancalay, Omar Gonzalez, Tommy McNamara, Jack Panayotou, Justin Rennicks, Ben Sweat.
Querétaro FC: Fernando Tapia; Omar Mendoza, Federico Lértora, Óscar Manzanarez, Jonathan Perlaza (Joaquín Montecinos 89'); Pablo Barrera ©, Jordan Sierra (Rodrigo López 69’), Kevin Escamilla, Jaime Gómez (Raúl Sandoval 69’); Camilo Sanvezzo ( Jonatán Torres 79’), Ángel Sepúlveda.
Substitutes Not Used: Alejandro Arana, Ettson Ayón, Alberto García, Marco García, Marco González, Paolo Yrizar, José Raúl Zúñiga.
Full statistics available HERE.
