FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (August 6, 2024) – The New England Revolution played to a 1-1 draw with Nashville SC on Tuesday night at Gillette Stadium in their Leagues Cup 2024 group stage finale. New England claimed a 5-4 victory in the subsequent penalty shootout to earn the additional point on the night. Bobby Wood netted his first goal of 2024, while Jack Panayotou registered his first assist this year and second goal contribution of the tournament, clinching New England a place in the Leagues Cup 2024 Round of 32 as the East Group 5 winner.
New England captured the lead early with Wood getting a foot on the end of Panayotou's cross in the third minute. The goal was Wood's first of the season, as the Hawaii native made his fourth straight start. Panayotou, who scored the winner in the first group stage game against Mazatlán FC, has now found the scoresheet in both Leagues Cup 2024 matches. Nashville’s Sam Surridge equalized in first-half stoppage time, evening the score just before halftime.
The Revolution and Nashville battled to a scoreless second half, with Aljaž Ivačič posting three of his four saves on the night in the final 45 minutes. Ivačič had two crucial saves for New England in the second half, including a stop on a deflected Nashville blast in the 61st minute. The Slovenian made another diving save in the 79th minute, before making one stop in the shootout to help secure the win for New England.
The Revolution's defensive line featured Brandon Bye and 16-year-old Homegrown player Peyton Miller on the wings, with Xavier Arreaga and Dave Romney in the middle. Miller, making his third straight start for the club, was replaced in the second half by defender Will Sands, who made his club debut after being acquired from Columbus in a trade on July 31.
The Revolution will host New York City FC, the second-place finishers from East Group 1, in the Round of 32 on Friday, August 9 at Gillette Stadium. The 7:30 p.m. ET match will air on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app in English and Spanish. Listen to the Revolution's local radio call on 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA in Portuguese.
MATCH NOTES
- New England remains unbeaten in regulation during Leagues Cup play (2-0-4) following Tuesday's 1-1 draw, which resulted in a 5-4 victory in the subsequent shootout.
- In Leagues Cup play (since 2023), the Revolution have now played in four shootouts, with two wins and two losses.
- The Revolution move to 2-2-4 in eight all-time meetings against Nashville SC.
- Aljaž Ivačič made four saves in regulation to preserve the draw for New England, along with one additional stop in the shootout.
- Bobby Wood tallied his first goal of 2024 less than three minutes into Tuesday's contest, his first tally since June 24, 2023. Making his fourth consecutive start, Wood finished his 89-minute effort with a team-high two chances created.
- Jack Panayotou found the scoresheet for a second straight game, notching his first Revolution assist and the seventh of his professional career.
- Dave Romney marked his 60th Revolution start with a 90-minute effort.
- Brandon Bye surpassed 14,000 minutes played for New England across all competitions, just the 15th player to do so in club history.
- Will Sands made his Revolution debut with a late substitute appearance after being acquired last week from Columbus in a trade. Tuesday's match also marked his Leagues Cup debut.
GAME CAPSULE
Leagues Cup 2024
Group Stage Matchday #3New England Revolution vs. Nashville SC
August 6, 2024 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Referee: Alyssa Nichols
Assistant Referee: Kyle Atkins
Assistant Referee: Nick Uranga
Fourth Official: Christopher Mason
Video Asst. Referee: Benjamin Pineda
Assistant VAR: Ricardo Montero
Weather: 67 degrees and cloudy
Attendance: 13,538
Scoring Summary:
NE - Bobby Wood 1 (Jack Panayotou 1) 3'
NSH - Sam Surridge 1 (Patrick Yazbek 1) 45'+1
Penalty Shootout:
NE - Tommy McNamara (Goal)
NSH - Hany Mukhtar (Goal)
NE - Matt Polster (Goal)
NSH - Amar Sejdic (Goal)
NE - Ian Harkes (Goal)
NSH - Anibal Godoy (Goal)
NE - Xavier Arreaga (Goal)
NSH - Jonathan Perez (Goal)
NE - Emmanuel Boateng (Missed)
NSH - Alex Muyl (Saved)
NE - Brandon Bye (Goal)
NSH - Daniel Lovitz (Missed)
Misconduct Summary:
NE - Peyton Miller (Yellow Card - Tactical Foul) 14'
NSH - Sam Surridge (Yellow Card - Persistent Infringement) 39'
NE - Ian Harkes (Yellow Card - Unsporting Behavior) 45'+3
NE - Malcolm Fry (Yellow Card - Tactical Foul) 90'+3
New England Revolution: Aljaž Ivačič; Peyton Miller (Will Sands 83'), Xavier Arreaga, Dave Romney, Brandon Bye; Mark-Anthony Kaye, Ian Harkes, Matt Polster ©; Esmir Bajraktarević (Tommy McNamara 45'), Jack Panayotou (Emmanuel Boateng 57'), Bobby Wood (Malcolm Fry 90'+2).
Substitutes Not Used: Earl Edwards Jr., J.D. Gunn, Andrew Farrell, Nick Lima, Jonathan Mensah, Ryan Spaulding.
Nashville SC: Joe Willis; Shaq Moore, Josh Bauer, Brent Kallman (Jordan Knight 81'), Daniel Lovitz; Anibal Godoy, Patrick Yazbek (Amar Sejdic 77'); Jacob Shaffelburg (Jonathan Perez 78'), Hany Mukhtar ©, Teal Bunbury (Forster Ajago 61'); Sam Surridge (Alex Muyl 81').
Substitutes Not Used: Bryan Dowd, Elliott Panicco, Brian Tah Anunga, Fernando Ciceron, Isaiah Jones, Jack Maher, Taylor Washington.
