FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (July 12, 2023) – The New England Revolution (11-4-7; 40 pts.) defeated Atlanta United FC (9-6-8; 35 pts.), 2-1, on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium to move into second place in the Eastern Conference. Midfielder Matt Polster and forward Giacomo Vrioni scored for New England in the fourth and ninth minutes of the match, respectively, giving the Revolution a swift 2-0 lead, before Atlanta recorded a consolation goal in the final moments. Goalkeeper Djordje Petrović, set to join the 2023 MLS All-Star Team next week, registered a career-best 10 saves in net to help keep New England improve to 8-0-3 at home this season.
Polster opened the scoring just four minutes after kickoff, netting a right-footed shot from long distance for his second tally of the season. New England doubled the lead soon after with Vrioni collecting a through ball from Carles Gil for his fifth goal of the 2023 campaign. The 24-year-old Albanian finished the match with four shots, including a team-best three on target.
Gil’s 10th assist of the season moves him into a tie for the MLS lead and also marks the fourth time the Spaniard has reached double-digit assist since arriving in 2019. The Revolution captain, who returned to action after a one-game suspension, finished the match with a team-best five chances created. Gil will join Petrović for MLS All-Star festivities next week, his third straight selection.
Also in the midfield, Ian Harkes made his Gillette Stadium debut and second straight appearance with the club, registering a 66-minute performance in tonight’s win.
On the defensive end, Petrović highlighted Wednesday’s victory with a career-high 10-save performance. The 23-year-old Serbian becomes the first Revolution goalkeeper to make 10 saves in match since 2010. Petrović has now registered points in 17 of his 19 starts at Gillette Stadium, with a 10-2-7 home record.
New England closes the two-game homestand on Saturday, July 15 vs. D.C. United. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Listen locally on the radio at 98.5 The Sports Hub or 1260 AM Nossa Radio in Portuguese.
TEAM NOTES
- New England remains unbeaten at Gillette Stadium this season (8-0-3), the team’s best home start to a season in club history. The Revs are one of two MLS teams without a loss at home, with FC Cincinnati.
- The Revolution are unbeaten in their last 12 home matches (9-0-3), dating back to last October, equaling the second-longest unbeaten run at home in club history (2004-05).
- New England evened the all-time series with Atlanta, 4-4-4, including a 3-1-2 record at Gillette Stadium. The Revolution are unbeaten in six straight meetings with the Five Stripes (4-0-2).
- New England scored twice in the opening 10 minutes of a match for the first time since May 12, 2018 vs. Toronto FC.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Matt Polster tallied the opening goal of the evening, striking a deflected cross from the top of the penalty area.
- Giacomo Vrioni scored his fifth goal of the campaign, third most on the team, and leads the team with three game-winning goals.
- Carles Gil notched his team-high 10th assist of the season – tied for the MLS lead – while his 17 total goal contributions rank tied for third in MLS this season.
- Gil finished the night with a team highs in chances created (5), dribbles completed (5), and duels won (7).
- Gil’s four seasons of 10-or-more assists are the most in Revolution history, surpassing Lee Nguyen (3 – 2015-17).
- Gustavo Bou tallied a team-high seven shots, including five in the first half.
- Ian Harkes made his first start for New England in his home debut for the club. The midfielder completed 36 of his 38 passes along with two interceptions.
- Djordje Petrović set a new career high with 10 saves on the night, the first Revolution goalkeeper to record double-digit saves in a match since Preston Burpo on May 1, 2010.
GAME CAPSULE
New England Revolution 2, Atlanta United FC 1
July 12, 2023 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Referee: Alex Chilowicz
Assistant Referees: Adam Wienckowski (AR1), Jason White (AR2)
Fourth Official: Adam Kilpatrick
Video Assistant Referee: Sorin Stoica
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: T.J. Zablocki
Weather: 84 degrees and partly cloudy
Attendance: 17,615
Scoring Summary:
NE – Matt Polster 2 (Unassisted) 4’
NE – Giacomo Vrioni 5 (Carles Gil 10) 9’
ATL – Machop Chol 2 (Unassisted) 90’+3
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Matt Polster (Yellow Card – Tactical Foul) 69’
ATL – Edwin Mosquera (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 80’
NE – Jack Panayotou (Yellow Card – Tactical Foul) 82’
New England Revolution: Djordje Petrović; Ryan Spaulding, Dave Romney, Andrew Farrell, Brandon Bye; Matt Polster, Carles Gil ©, Ian Harkes (Jack Panayotou 66’); Justin Rennicks (Emmanuel Boateng 66’), Gustavo Bou (Omar Gonzalez 88’), Giacomo Vrioni (Bobby Wood 84’).
Substitutes Not Used: Earl Edwards Jr., Esmir Bajraktarević, Joshua Bolma, Damian Rivera, Ben Sweat.
Atlanta United FC: Brad Guzan; Luis Abram, Juan Purata, Ronald Hernández; Caleb Wiley (Edwin Mosquera 77’), Amar Sejdić (Osvaldo Alonso 69’), Santiago Sosa (Matheus Rossetto 45’), Brooks Lennon; Thiago Almada, Tyler Wolff (Derrick Etienne Jr. 45’), Miguel Berry (Machop Chol 69’).
Substitutes Not Used: Quentin Westberg, Noah Cobb, Jay Fortune, Aiden McFadden.
Full statistics available HERE.
