FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Revolution (22-5-7; 73 pts.) were eliminated from MLS Cup contention with a penalty shootout loss to fourth-seeded New York City FC (14-11-9; 51 pts.) in the Eastern Conference Semifinal. The matched finished in a 2-2 draw after extra time, featuring goals from both sides in the overtime period following a 1-1 deadlock through 90 minutes, before New York City prevailed in the penalty shootout, 5-3.
The two teams traded goals in the opening minutes of the match, with Santiago Rodriguez firing New York City in front three minutes into the contest before the Revolution’s leading scorer, Adam Buksa, headed home the equalizer in the ninth minute. Carles Gil provided an assist on Buksa’s tally.
Gil added a second assist on Tajon Buchanan’s equalizer late in extra time, giving him five career playoff assists to set a new club record. Buchanan tallied his second career goal in the MLS Cup Playoffs goal in the 118th minute, equalizing for the hosts eight minutes after the Bronx Blues pulled ahead on a goal from Valentín Castellanos. Castellanos, the MLS Golden Boot winner, was sent off in the 113th minute after being shown a second yellow card.
New England’s trio of Designated Players – Adam Buksa, Gustavo Bou, and Carles Gil – have factored into the last nine postseason goals for the Revolution, dating back to the start of the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs.
New England closes the 2021 campaign with a 22-6-7 record across both regular and postseason competition. The Revolution won the Supporters’ Shield for the first time with an MLS-record 73 points, while setting club records for wins (22), fewest regular season losses (5), goals (65), and goal differential (plus-24).
POSTGAME NOTES: Eastern Conference Semifinal
New England Revolution 2 (3), New York City FC 2 (5)
November 30, 2021 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Team Notes:
- The New England Revolution fell in a penalty shootout on Tuesday night to New York City FC, 2-2, with a 5-3 result for NYCFC in the penalty shootout.
- New England has not lost at home in regulation or extra time of a playoff match since the 2002 MLS Cup final, a 14-game streak.
- This marked the third consecutive playoff trip for the Revolution since 2019. The Revolution are 3-3-0 in the playoffs under Bruce Arena.
- The Revolution’s all-time record in the MLS Cup Playoffs moves to 20-19-9.
- Bruce Arena’s Starting XI featured one change from New England’s regular season finale vs. Inter Miami CF on Nov. 7, with forward Adam Buksa returning to the lineup, replacing Teal Bunbury.
Individual Notes:
- Carles Gil, a finalist for the Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player Award and the 2021 MLS Comeback Player of the Year, recorded a pair of assists, giving him five helpers in six career playoff games to pass Lee Nguyen, Steve Ralston, and Jose Cancela (4) for the most postseason assists in club history.
- Gil, who had a team-high six chances created, provided the primary assist on Adam Buksa’s opening goal and a secondary assist on Tajon Buchanan’s extra time equalizer. The Revs’ captain also drew a team-high seven fouls.
- Adam Buksa tallied his second career MLS Cup Playoffs goal, tying the match in the ninth minute with a header off a Carles Gil free kick. Buksa had a team-high two shots on target and won nine duels, including five aerials.
- Tajon Buchanan scored his second career postseason goal, recording team highs in shots (5) and interceptions (4).
- Emmanuel Boateng played six minutes, recording a game-tying assist on Buchanan’s 118th minute strike. Boateng completed all eight of his passes in a short shift.
- Matt Polster made his sixth career MLS Cup Playoffs appearance, playing 90 minutes to surpass 500 for his postseason career.
- Andrew Farrell played all 120 minutes for New England, recording a team-high four tackles to go along with nine recoveries, seven duels won, and three clearances, .
- DeJuan Jones recorded two key passes and led the team in passes completed (47), touches (101) and recoveries (14).
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Drew Fischer.
Assistant Referees: Cory Rockwell (AR1); Jason White (AR2).
Fourth Official: Fotis Bazakos.
Video Assistant Referee: Tim Ford.
Assistant VAR: Andrew Bigelow.
Attendance: 25,509
Weather: 34 degrees and cloudy.
Scoring Summary:
NYC – Santiago Rodriguez (Tayvon Gray, Jesus Medina) 3’
NE – Adam Buksa (Carles Gil) 9’
NYC – Valentin Castellanos (Gudmundur Thórarinsson) 110’
NE – Tajon Buchanan (Emmanuel Boateng, Carles Gil) 118’
Penalty Shootout:
NYC – Alfredo Morales – Goal
NE – Carles Gil – Goal
NYC – Thiago – Goal
NE – Adam Buksa – Saved
NYC – Ismael Tajouri-Shradi – Goal
NE – Teal Bunbury – Goal
NYC – Maxi Moralez – Goal
NE – DeJuan Jones – Goal
NYC – Alexander Callens – Goal
Misconduct Summary:
NYC – Valentín Castellanos (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 19’
NE – Matt Polster (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 27’
NE – Adam Buksa (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 54’
NYC – Santiago Rodriguez (Yellow Card – Persistent Infringement) 58’
NYC – Alfredo Morales (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 84’
NYC – Valentín Castellanos (Second Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 113’
New England Revolution: Matt Turner; DeJuan Jones, Andrew Farrell, Henry Kessler (Emmanuel Boateng 114’), Brandon Bye; Matt Polster (Maciel 90’), Tommy McNamara (Arnór Traustason 90’ [Teal Bunbury 114’]), Tajon Buchanan, Carles Gil ©; Adam Buksa, Gustavo Bou.
Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Jon Bell, A.J. DeLaGarza, Wilfrid Kaptoum, Justin Rennicks.
New York City FC: Sean Johnson ©; Tayvon Gray, Maxime Chanot, Alexander Callens, Malte Amundsen (Gudmundur Thórarinsson 101’); Alfredo Morales, James Sands (Tony Rocha 82’); Jesús Medina (Thiago 101’), Maximiliano Moralez, Santiago Rodríguez; Valentín Castellanos (Red Card 113’).
Substitutes Not Used: Luis Barraza, Héber, Andres Jasson, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, Gedion Zelalem, Talles Magno.
Full statistics available HERE.
