FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution defeated Pumas UNAM, 3-0, in the first leg of the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Quarterfinals on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium. Sebastian Lletget opened the scoring in the first half and Adam Buksa notched a pair of second-half goals to secure the three-goal advantage heading into next Wednesday’s second leg match in Mexico City.

Lletget opened the scoring in the 19th minute, his second goal in three games with New England, to give the Revolution an early lead. Carles Gil notched the assist, his third consecutive game on the scoresheet to open 2022, as New England improved to 23-0-8 across all competitions when Gil records an assist.

Buksa, who recorded a team-high eight shots with four on target, extended New England’s lead in the 72nd minute, taking advantage of a deflection from Alfredo Talavera’s save on the forward’s initial shot. On the third goal, the Polish striker combined with Gil, who recorded eight chances created on the night, to tack on the third goal for New England in second-half stoppage time.

Edwards Jr., making his third consecutive start to begin the season for New England, recorded three saves to pick up his second straight clean sheet. Edwards Jr. was aided by New England’s center back pairing of Andrew Farrell and Omar Gonzalez. Farrell made his 300th appearance for New England across all competitions, third most in club history, while Gonzalez surpassed 2,500 career minutes in Concacaf Champions League play.

The Revolution will carry the three-goal advantage into the second leg of the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Quarterfinals next Wednesday, March 16, in Mexico City. That match kicks off at 10:15 p.m. ET at Estadio Olímpico Universitario on FOX Sports 1, TUDN, and 1260 AM Nossa Radio.

Next up, New England will continue its Major League Soccer campaign on Saturday, March 12 vs. Real Salt Lake at Gillette Stadium. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on WSBK-TV38, myRITV, 98.5 FM The Sports Hub, and 1260 AM Nossa Radio.

POSTGAME NOTES
2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Quarterfinals – First Leg
New England Revolution 3, Pumas UNAM 0
March 9, 2022 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

Team Notes:

• The Revolution made their first appearance in international competition since 2010 and in Concacaf Champions League since 2008, registering a 3-0 win in the first leg of the Quarterfinals over Pumas UNAM (MEX).
• The Revolution improved to 8-1-1 all-time against Liga MX opponents and are now 2-0-0 in two meetings with Pumas UNAM.
• The Revolution extended its unbeaten streak to 35 games (29-0-6) when scoring first across all competitions.
• The victory was New England’s first as a club in Concacaf Champions League play (1-2-0) and first in Concacaf club competition since March 26, 2003 (3-1 vs. LD Alajuelense).
• Today’s Starting XI featured two changes from last Saturday’s MLS home opener against FC Dallas, with defender Omar Gonzalez and midfielder Arnór Traustason starting in place of Henry Kessler and Tommy McNamara.

Individual Notes:

• Bruce Arena improved his record in Concacaf club tournaments to 16-9-6. His record with the Revolution stands at 44-18-25 across all competitions.
• Andrew Farrell appeared in his 300th game across all competitions, becoming the third player in club annals to reach the milestone behind Matt Reis (301) and Shalrie Joseph (305). The defender marked the occasion by completing all 24 of his passes and registering one shot on target.
• Omar Gonzalez, playing in SCCL for the second straight year after featuring in the tournament with Toronto FC in 2021, surpassed 2,500 minutes in the competition with his 90-minute effort on Wednesday. Gonzalez was a member of the C.F. Pachuca side that won the tournament in 2017.
• Sebastian Lletget scored his first career CCL goal in his fifth career appearance, with his second goal in three games as a member of the Revolution.
• Lletget is the first player to tally two goals in his first three games for the club since Gustavo Bou in 2019.
• Carles Gil provided a pair of assists, his third consecutive game finding the scoresheet to begin the 2022 season. Gil, the reigning MLS MVP, provided helpers on goals by Lletget and Buksa and registered eight chances created in the contest.
• With the victory, New England improved to 23-1-8 across all competitions when Gil records an assist.
• Adam Buksa scored two goals, his 25th and 26th for the club across all competitions, to become the first player in Revolution history to notch a multi-goal game in international competition.
• Earl Edwards Jr. recorded his second consecutive clean sheet and extended his shutout streak to 192 minutes across all competitions, making three saves on the night.
• Gustavo Bou registered five shots on the night, twice hitting the woodwork, and won five of his seven duels.
• Arnór Traustason and Emmanuel Boateng both made their season debuts. Traustason started and played 64 minutes before being replaced by Boateng midway through the second half.

GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Said Martinez (HON).
Assistant Referees: Walter Lopez (HON – AR1); Raymundo Feliz (DOM – AR2).
Fourth Official: Melvin Matamoros (HON).
Video Assistant Referee: Carol Anne Chenard (CAN).
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Selvin Brown (HON).
Weather: 32 degrees and snow.

Scoring Summary:
NE – Sebastian Lletget 1 (Carles Gil 1) 19’
NE – Adam Buksa 1 (Unassisted) 72’
NE – Adam Buksa 2 (Carles Gil 2) 90’+2

Misconduct Summary:
PUM – Favio Alvarez (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 67’

New England Revolution: Earl Edwards Jr.; DeJuan Jones, Omar Gonzalez, Andrew Farrell, Brandon Bye; Matt Polster, Arnór Traustason (Emmanuel Boateng 64’), Sebastian Lletget (Tommy McNamara 78’), Carles Gil ©, Gustavo Bou (Jozy Altidore 78’); Adam Buksa.

Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Jon Bell, A.J. DeLaGarza, Maciel.

Pumas UNAM: Alfredo Talavera ©; Alan Mozo, Arturo Ortiz, Ricardo Galindo (Washington Corozo 63’), Nicolas Freire, Jerónimo Rodríguez; Leonel López (Diogo De Oliveira 63’), Higor Meritão (Santiago Trigos 88’), Favio Alvarez, Rogério De Oliveira (Omar Islas 79’); Juan Dinenno.

Substitutes Not Used: Julio González, Álek Álvarez, Jesús Rivas.

Full statistics available HERE.