TUCSON, Ariz. – The New England Revolution opened the first of four Mobile Mini Sun Cup contests in Tucson, Ariz. with a 2-2 draw against FC Dallas. A pair of second-half goals from Cristian Penilla and Diego Fagundez saw the Revs come from behind twice to earn the result. Five different Revolution players—Scott Caldwell, Claude Dielna, Penilla, Kelyn Rowe, and Matt Turner—played a full 90 minutes.
Midfielder Wilfried Zahibo made his preseason debut, but his outing was cut short as he was sent off for a foul in the 9th minute of today's match. In order to keep both teams at full strength, midfielder Diego Fagundez entered the match to fill the position vacated by Zahibo. After goalkeeper Matt Turner stopped an initial attempt from Michael Barrios in the 15th minute, Mauro Diaz capitalized on a rebound opportunity to open the scoring for FC Dallas. Just minutes after the goal, Turner provided a huge stop on a Dallas corner, denying defender Reto Ziegler from adding to the lead in the 18th minute. Near the 30-minute mark of the first half, Teal Bunbury received service from Diego Fagundez, but FC Dallas goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer was able to stop the shot on goal.
The Revs quickly leveled the match in the second half, scoring in 55th minute as Brian Wright found Cristian Penilla for the Ecuadorian's second goal of preseason. Minutes later, defender Andrew Farrell cleared a dangerous ball inside the six-yard box to maintain a level scoreline. FC Dallas regained the lead in the 77th minute, as Santiago Mosquera dribbled nearly three quarters of the pitch before finding Maxi Urruti in the six-yard box. The Revs showed resiliency by leveling the match for the second time in the 85th minute. After Kelyn Rowe gathered possession in the 18-yard box, he found Diego Fagundez, who buried the pass with a first-time effort to equalize.
The Revolution will play three more preseason games in the Mobile Mini Sun Cup before kicking off the regular season at the Philadelphia Union on March 3. The club will return to action in Tucson on Saturday, Feb. 17 against San Antonio FC and will then play Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday, Feb. 21, before closing out the tournament against an opponent to be determined on Saturday, Feb. 24.
Scoring Summary:
DAL – Mauro Diaz (Unassisted) 15'
NE – Cristian Penilla (Brian Wright) 55'
DAL – Maxi Urruti (Santiago Mosquera) 77'
NE – Diego Fagundez (Kelyn Rowe) 85'
New England Revolution: Matt Turner; Gabriel Somi (Chris Tierney 60'), Claude Dielna ©, Antonio Delamea (Jalil Anibaba 45' – HT), Andrew Farrell (Mark Segbers 80'); Wilfried Zahibo (Diego Fagundez 10'); Scott Caldwell, Kelyn Rowe, Cristian Penilla, Femi Hollinger-Janzen (Brandon Bye 45' – HT); Teal Bunbury (Brian Wright 45' – HT)
Substitutes Not Used: Cody Cropper, Brad Knighton, Nicolas Samayoa
FC Dallas: Jimmy Maurer; Anton Nedyalkov, Reto Ziegler, Kris Reaves; Ryan Hollingshead (Tesho Akindele 57'), Carlos Gruezo, Jacori Hayes, Reggie Cannon; Mauro Diaz; Maxi Urruti, Michael Barrios (Santiago Mosquera 45' – HT)
Substitutes Not Used: Kyle Zobeck, Victor Ulloa, Maynor Figueroa, Jordan Cano, Cristian Colmán, Brandon Servania, Amer Sasivarevic
