FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (10-13-11, 41 pts.) closed out the 2018 MLS season with a 1-0 win against the Montreal Impact (14-16-4, 46 pts.) before a crowd of 28,839 at Gillette Stadium on Sunday evening. Midfielder Diego Fagundez became the youngest player in MLS history to score 50 regular season goals when he netted the game-winning goal in the 74th minute.
At 23 years and 254 days old, Fagundez becomes only the third player in league history to score 50 regular season goals before his 25th birthday, joining Landon Donovan (24 years, 175 days) and Carlos Ruiz (24 years, 341 days). The Leominster, Mass. native finished the 2018 season with nine goals – his second highest total in a single campaign – and a career-high 10 assists.
Goalkeeper Matt Turner made four saves and anchored the team to a shutout in his first start since Sept. 1. New England finishes the season with six clean sheets, including back-to-back shutouts at home to close out the campaign.
Prior to the match, the Revolution announced the club's 2018 award winners. Forward Cristian Penilla took home JetBlue Team MVP, Players' Player of the Year, and the club’s Golden Boot Award, while defender Andrew Farrell won Defender of the Year and Humanitarian of the Year honors.
New England Revolution 1, Montreal Impact 0
October 28, 2018 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Revolution Defeat Montreal Impact, 1-0
- The Revolution defeated the Montreal Impact, 1-0, improving to 10-13-11 (41 pts.) on the season and 8-4-5 at home.
- The clean sheet marked the Revolution’s seventh of the season and second consecutive shutout at home. New England also held Orlando scoreless in a 2-0 win at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 13.
- New England improves to .500 all-time against Montreal with a 9-9-2 record, including a 5-3-1 mark against the Impact at home.
Revolution Announce 2018 Award Winners
- The Revolution announced the club's 2018 award winners ahead of Sunday's season finale against Montreal.
- Forward Cristian Penilla was the recipient of the JetBlue Team MVP award (determined by a fan vote) and the Players' Player of the Year (determined by a vote from Revolution players). He also claimed the club’s Golden Boot award following the match with 12 goals on the season.
- Defender Andrew Farrell also took home two trophies, claiming 2018 Defender of the Year (determined by a media vote) and the Humanitarian of the Year (determined by the Revolution front office).
Fagundez Becomes Youngest MLS Player to 50 Regular Season Goals
- Midfielder Diego Fagundez scored the game-winning goal in the 74th minute, his ninth of the season and the 50th of his MLS regular season career.
- Fagundez (23 years, 254 days) is now the youngest player in MLS history to score his 50th regular season goal, per the Elias Sports Bureau. Only two other players have done so before their 25th birthday: Landon Donovan (24 years, 175 days) and Carlos Ruiz (24 years, 341 days).
- With the tally, Fagundez becomes the third member of the Revolution’s 50-goal club, joining Lee Nguyen (51) and Taylor Twellman (101).
Penilla Wins Revolution's Golden Boot
- Forward Cristian Penilla officially secured the Revolution's 2018 Golden Boot award following today's match, finishing his debut MLS campaign with 12 goals.
- Penilla's 12 goals are the most ever by an international signing in his first season with the Revs – one more than French forward Saer Sene, who scored 11 goals in 2012.
- Penilla entered today's match one goal ahead of forward Teal Bunbury, who scored a career-high 11 times in 2018.
Turner Pitches Shutout in First Start since Sept. 1
- Goalkeeper Matt Turner registered a four-save shutout in his first start since Sept. 1. He has backstopped New England to five of its seven clean sheets this season.
- Turner, who made his MLS debut in the season opener on March 11, finishes the year with an 8-10-9 record, 83 saves, and five shutouts.
Homegrown Herivaux Makes Second Career League Start; First at Right Back
- Homegrown Player Zachary Herivaux made his second career MLS start in today's contest. The Brookline, Mass. native played 64 minutes at right back – his first career appearance at the position.
- Herivaux missed the club's last two matches while completing international duty with the Haiti National Team. He played 88 minutes and recorded the game-winning assist in Haiti's 2-1 win against Saint Lucia in a CONCACAF Nations League Qualifying match on Oct. 16.
Revolution Make Four Changes to Starting XI
- Revolution Head Coach Brad Friedel made four changes to the club’s starting lineup from its most recent match at Real Salt Lake on Oct. 18. Matt Turner, Antonio Delamea, Juan Agudelo, and Zachary Herivaux replaced Brad Knighton, Jalil Anibaba, Scott Caldwell, and Wilfried Zahibo.
- Midfielder Isaac Angking was not available for the match due to international duty with the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team at the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Armando Villarreal
Assistant Referees: Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho (AR1), Logan Brown (AR2)
Fourth Official: Marcos DeOliveira
VAR: Caleb Mendez
Weather: 53 Degrees and Cloudy
Attendance: 28,839
Scoring Summary:
NE – Diego Fagundez 9 (Unassisted) 74'
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Kelyn Rowe (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 69'
NE – Diego Fagundez (Yellow Card – Delaying the Restart of Play) 75'
NE – Andrew Farrell (Yellow Card – Time Wasting) 83'
NE – Wilfried Zahibo (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 89'
MTL – Saphir Taider (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 90'+2'
New England Revolution: Matt Turner; Brandon Bye, Antonio Delamea, Michael Mancienne ©, Zachary Herivaux (Andrew Farrell 64'); Luis Caicedo, Kelyn Rowe (Wilfried Zahibo 83'); Cristian Penilla, Diego Fagundez, Juan Agudelo; Teal Bunbury (Brian Wright HT)
Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Jalil Anibaba, Scott Caldwell, Guillermo Hauché
Montreal Impact: Evan Bush; Bacary Sagna, Jukka Raitala, Daniel Lovitz, Rod Fanni; Samuel Piette, Saphir Taider, Michael Azira; Alejandro Silva, Ignacio Piatti ©, Quincy Amarikwa (Mathieu Choiniere 67')
Substitutes Not Used: Clement Diop, Victor Cabrera, Matteo Mancosu, Chris Duvall, Ken Krolicki, Rudy Camacho
