BRADENTON, Fla. – The New England Revolution closed out the third and final contest at IMG Academy with a 1-1 draw against USL side FC Cincinnati. A goal from first-round SuperDraft selection Brandon Bye in the second half erased Cincinnati’s one-goal lead to earn the result. Three New England players also went the full 90 minutes, with Cody Cropper, Nicolas Samayoa, and Diego Fagundez playing the entire match.
New England applied consistent pressure throughout the match, peppering Cincinnati’s goal with a number of quality chances. Andrew Farrell sprung the first attack in the second minute with a through ball to Fagundez, whose pass to Cristian Penilla resulted in a saved attempt. Farrell delivered another sharp cross to Teal Bunbury in the 23rd minute, but his shot was parried by a full-stretch save from Cincinnati’s goalkeeper. FC Cincinnati then broke through for the opening goal in the 37th minute when Corben Bone cut inside on the right wing and finished past Cody Cropper into the bottom left corner.
The Revolution got off to a fast start in the second half as Bye received a layoff from Penilla and touched the ball past his defender to score the equalizer in the 49th minute. Fagundez nearly claimed the lead in the 60th minute with an outside-the-foot through ball to a streaking Penilla, whose shot was deflected out for a corner kick. After Zachary Herivaux was given a red card for a reckless challenge in the 73rd minute, Fagundez provided the last chance when his corner kick had to be cleared off the line by a Cincinnati defender.
Having concluded the Florida leg of the club’s 2018 preseason, New England will return to Foxborough on Wednesday morning for two days of training at Gillette Stadium on Friday and Saturday (times to be announced). On Sunday, Feb. 11, the Revolution will embark on a two-week trip to Tucson, Ariz., where the team will compete in four matches during the Mobile Mini Sun Cup, formerly the Desert Diamond Cup, hosted by FC Tucson and Phoenix Rising. The next preseason match will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 14 against FC Dallas at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Scoring Summary:
FCC – Corben Bone 37'
NE – Brandon Bye (Cristian Penilla) 49'
New England Revolution (1st Half): Cody Cropper; Gabriel Somi, Claude Dielna ©, Nicolas Samayoa, Andrew Farrell; Scott Caldwell, Kelyn Rowe; Femi Hollinger-Janzen, Diego Fagundez, Cristian Penilla; Teal Bunbury
New England Revolution (2nd Half): Cody Cropper; Chris Tierney, Claude Dielna © (Jalil Anibaba 58'), Nicolas Samayoa, Brandon Bye; Isaac Angking, Ryley Kraft; Diego Fagundez, Zachary Herivaux (Kelyn Rowe 74'), Cristian Penilla (Mark Segbers 74'); Brian Wright
