ALAJUELA, Costa Rica (March 14, 2024) – The New England Revolution secured a 1-1 result against LD Alajuelense in Leg 2 of the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 at Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto Costa Rica, winning the series 5-1 on aggregate. New England advances to the Quarterfinal Round of the continental tournament for the second time in three years, where it will face the current top-ranked club in Concacaf and the defending LIGA MX champions, Club América, to battle for a semifinal berth in the continental tournament.
New England, carrying a four-goal advantage into Thursday’s second-leg away match, eliminated LD Alajuelense from the Champions Cup for the first time in three meetings. Tonight’s 1-1 draw gives New England an unbeaten 3-0-1 record in the tournament, where it is outscoring opponents 9-1, while the club’s record against Central American opponents moves to 4-2-2.
Alajuelense’s Carlos Mora opened the scoring in the fourth minute, but the Revolution then settled into the match and limited the host’s scoring chances for much of the night. Goalkeeper Henrich Ravas started his seventh game of the season and made five saves. Alajuelense’s early goal was the only score conceded by New England through 360 minutes of action in the tournament thus far.
With New England trailing by a goal in the second half, forward Giacomo Vrioni provided a spark off the bench and delivered his first goal of the 2024 season in the 81st minute, assisted by Esmir Bajraktarević. Vrioni now has one goal and two assists in three Champions Cup appearances this year.
Midfielder Matt Polster donned the captain’s armband for the Revolution and completed 98 percent of his passes in his 125th appearance for the club across all competitions. Nacho Gil and Tomás Chancalay each made their fourth starts of the tournament, with the latter recording two shots on target in his 57-minute shift.
The Quarterfinal Round series with Club América is set to begin in the first week of April, with schedule details set to be announced by Concacaf soon. Meanwhile, the Revolution return to MLS action at home this Sunday, March 17 against reigning Supporters’ Shield winners FC Cincinnati. The 2:00 p.m. ET kickoff at Gillette Stadium, and every MLS match this weekend, is available to watch free on Apple TV in English and Spanish. Listen to the Revolution’s local radio calls on 98.5 The Sports Hub (WBZ-FM) or 1260 AM “Nossa Radio USA” in Portuguese.
TEAM NOTES
- New England advances to the Quarterfinal Round of the Concacaf Champions Cup for the second time in three years, where they will meet the reigning champions of LIGA MX, Club América, for the first time.
- Through four games in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup, the Revolution are 3-0-1 and have outscored their opponents 9-1.
- The Revolution are now 5-5-2 in 12 all-time Concacaf Champions Cup matches, while the team’s record against Central American opponents stands at 4-2-2.
- New England moves to 2-2-2 against LD Alajuelense, advancing past the Costa Rican club in this competition for the first time in three meetings (2003 and 2006).
PLAYER NOTES
- F Giacomo Vrioni appeared as a substitute and sealed the tie with his first goal of 2024 in the 81st minute, his 11th tally with the club.
- Vrioni, the sixth Revolution player to score in this year’s Champions Cup, now has one goal and two assists in the competition.
- M Esmir Bajraktarević logged the assist on Vrioni’s equalizer, giving him one goal and one assist in Champions Cup.
- M Matt Polster wore the captain’s armband and played 83 minutes in his fourth start of the Champions Cup campaign, his seventh start in as many games overall to begin the year. Polster completed 98 percent of his pass attempts on the night.
GAME CAPSULE
LD Alajuelense 1, New England Revolution 1
New England wins series 5-1 on aggregate
March 14, 2024 – Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto (Alajuela, Costa Rica)
Referee: Cesar Ramos (Mexico)
Assistant Referee: Alberto Morin (Mexico)
Assistant Referee: Marco Bisguerra (Mexico)
Fourth Official: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)
Video Assistant Referee: Guillermo Pacheco (Mexico)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Erick Miranda (Mexico)
Weather: 80 degrees and partly cloudy
Attendance: 7,280
Scoring Summary:
LDA – Carlos Mora (Unassisted) 4’
NE – Giacomo Vrioni (Esmir Bajraktarević) 81’
Misconduct Summary:
LDA – Manjrekar James (Yellow Card – Hard Foul) 79’
New England Revolution: Henrich Ravas; Ryan Spaulding, Henry Kessler (Dave Romney 46’) Jonathan Mensah, Andrew Farrell; Noel Buck (Mark-Anthony Kaye 57’), Matt Polster © (Tommy McNamara 84’) Ian Harkes; Esmir Bajraktarević (Emmanuel Boateng 82’), Tomás Chancalay (Giacomo Vrioni 57’), Nacho Gil
Substitutes Not Used: Earl Edwards Jr., Jacob Jackson, Nick Lima, Jack Panayotou, DeJuan Jones, Santiago Suarez
LD Alajuelense: Leonel Moreira; Alexis Gamboa, Manjrekar James, Guillermo Villalobos (Yael Lopez 55’); Celso Borges ©, Diego Campos (Jonathan Moya 55’), Carlos Mora, Kevin Cabezas, Ian Lawrence (Suhander Zuñiga 55’); Johan Venegas (Anthony Hernandez 67’), Joel Campbell (Aaron Suarez)
Substitutes Not Used: Bayron Mora, Duarte, Carlos Martinez, Edward Cedeño, Juan Luis Perez, Michael Barrantes, Fernando Lesme
