FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (6-7-9; 27 pts.) battled Toronto FC (6-12-5; 23 pts.) to a 0-0 draw on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium in front of a season-high 29,097 fans. Goalkeeper Djordje Petrović tallied three saves, including a penalty kick denial against Toronto’s Lorenzo Insigne in the 81st minute, to record his third clean sheet in MLS and the club’s second in a row. Forward Giacomo Vrioni made his home debut, coming in as a substitute in the 55th minute, and recorded three shots.
The Revolution extended their home undefeated streak to eight games with tonight’s result as they move to 3-0-5 at home since April 16. New England recorded two shots on net in the opening half coming from Carles Gil in the eighth minute and Brandon Bye in the 19th minute. Petrović stopped the lone shot he faced to send the teams into the intermission scoreless.
In the 55th minute, Vrioni entered the game as a substitute for Justin Rennicks, marking his Gillette Stadium debut and second Revolution appearance. The striker created three scoring opportunities including a header that went just wide in the 74th minute and a chance from close range in second-half stoppage time.
Petrović added two more saves in the second half, including a crucial stop on Insigne’s penalty kick late in the match. The Italian sent his right-footed attempt to Petrovic’s right, but the 22-year-old Serbian guessed correctly and made a confident save to preserve the clean sheet.
New England travels to Orlando City SC next Saturday night for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Exploria Stadium. The match airs on WSBK-TV38, myRITV (Rhode Island), and Cozi TV (Western Mass.), with Brad Feldman and Charlie Davies calling the action. The contest also airs locally on the radio on 98.5 The Sports Hub and 1260 AM Nossa Radio.
MATCH NOTES
- New England’s defense recorded its fifth clean sheet of the 2022 campaign, and its second consecutive shutout.
- The Revolution extended their unbeaten streak at Gillette Stadium to eight consecutive matches. New England is 3-0-5 in Foxborough since April 16.
- F Giacomo Vrioni registered his Gillette Stadium debut in tonight’s match. The 23-year-old Designated Player appeared off the bench and played 35 minutes, with three shots, in his second Revolution appearance.
- GK Djordje Petrović made three saves tonight, including a penalty-kick denial on Lorenzo Insigne’s attempt in the 81st minute. The 23-year-old goalkeeper now has three shutouts and two penalty saves through his first nine MLS starts.
- M Carles Gil added three chances created to his league-leading total (79), in addition to two shots. The 2022 MLS All-Star also tallied eight crosses as he collected his 90th league appearance.
- M Tommy McNamara and M Matt Polster each suited up for their 50th league start in a Revolution uniform tonight. Polster successfully completed 59 of 64 pass attempts with three shot attempts.
- D Brandon Bye guided the backline with a team-high six clearances, while adding eight successful crosses to his performance tonight.
- Bruce Arena made two changes to his Starting XI from last Saturday’s match at Columbus, with forward Justin Rennicks and midfielder Wilfrid Kaptoum starting in place of Jozy Altidore (loan) and Arnór Traustason, respectively.
GAME CAPSULE
New England Revolution 0, Toronto FC 0
July 30, 2022 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Referee: Ismir Pekmic
Assistant Referees: Corey Parker (AR1), CJ Morgante (AR2)
Fourth Official: Adam Kilpatrick
Video Assistant Referee: Carol Anne Chenard
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Corey Rockwell
Weather: 75 degrees and clear
Attendance: 29,097
Scoring Summary: None
Misconduct Summary: None
New England Revolution: Djordje Petrović; DeJuan Jones, Henry Kessler, Andrew Farrell, Brandon Bye; Matt Polster, Wilfrid Kaptoum (Damian Rivera 83’), Tommy McNamara (Emmanuel Boateng 69’), Carles Gil ©, Sebastian Lletget (Arnór Traustason 83’); Justin Rennicks (Giacomo Vrioni 55’)
Substitutes Not Used: Earl Edwards Jr.; Jon Bell, A.J. DeLaGarza, Omar Gonzalez, Maciel
Toronto FC: Alex Bono; Lukas MacNaughton, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, Chris Mavinga (Doniel Henry 86’), Domenico Criscito; Michael Bradley ©, Jayden Nelson, Jonathan Osorio; Jesus Jimenez (Ayo Akinola 69’), Federico Bernardeschi (Deandre Kerr 69’), Lorenzo Insigne
Substitutes Not Used: Greg Ranjitsingh, Jacob Shaffelburg, Shane O’Neill, Luca Petrasso, Kosi Thompson, Ifunanyachi Achara
Full statistics available HERE.
