COLUMBUS, Ohio (April 15, 2023) – The New England Revolution (5-1-2; 17 pts.) played to a 1-1 draw against the Columbus Crew (4-2-2; 14 pts.) on Saturday night at Lower.com Field. Goalkeeper Djordje Petrović made six saves as New England played the final 25 minutes with 10 men after Dylan Borrero was shown a second yellow card in the second half. 

After a strong first-half performance that saw the New England outshoot Columbus 10-5, the Revolution broke the deadlock in the 58th minute via an own goal after a Borrero cross deflected off Columbus defender Milos Degenek and into the net. Borrero was then sent off in the 65th minute after receiving a second yellow card and will miss next Saturday’s match against Sporting Kansas City. After a valiant effort to preserve the lead, Columbus equalized at the death deep into second-half stoppage time, as Sean Zawadski headed home a cross from Lucas Zelarayán.

The Revolution backline held strong for much of the night, with center backs Dave Romney and Andrew Farrell starting together for the first time this season. Farrell collected his first start of the season and his 307th regular season appearance – the fourth-most games played entirely for one club in MLS history. Romney collected a season-high 11 clearances.

New England made three changes to the starting lineup from last week, with Farrell, Esmir Bajraktarević, and Giacomo Vrioni all slotting in on Saturday. Vrioni replaced an injured Bobby Wood for his second start of the season, tallying a team-high four shots. Bajraktarević, an 18-year-old Homegrown Player, suited up for his second start of the season and logged 63 minutes.

New England returns home to Gillette Stadium next Saturday, when the Revolution host Sporting Kansas City for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff, available to watch free on the Apple TV app in English and Spanish. Listen to Brad Feldman and Charlie Davies on 98.5 The Sports Hub (WBZ-FM) and 1260 AM Nossa Radio in Portuguese. 

MATCH NOTES

TEAM NOTES

• New England is now unbeaten in six straight games (4-0-2) against Eastern Conference opponents to begin the 2023 campaign. 
• New England matched the second-best start through the first eight matches of a season in club history, last achieved during the record-setting 2021 campaign. The team’s 17 points after eight games are tied for the second-most most since 2005 (6-0-2, 20 pts.).
• New England’s seven goals conceded this year are tied for seventh fewest in MLS as of the conclusion of tonight’s match. 
• The last five meetings between Columbus and New England have ended in draws. Only three other matchups in MLS history have played five successive draws, with one involving each the Crew (vs. Chicago in 2008-09) and Revolution (vs. Portland in 2016-22).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Dylan Borrero created New England’s opening goal as his cross into the box deflected off Crew defender Milos Degenek in the 58th minute. 
• Carles Gil surpassed 10,000 minutes played for the Revolution across all competitions with his 90-minute effort on Saturday. Gil registered a season-high five chances created to go along with two shots on target. 
• Giacomo Vrioni earned his second start of the season – his first since Feb. 25 – slotting in for the injured Bobby Wood. Vrioni notched a team-high four shots, with two on target while hitting the cross bar late in the first half. 
• Djordje Petrović made six saves on the evening giving him 36 for the season, most in MLS.
• Andrew Farrell earned his first start and third appearance of 2023. Saturday was Farrell’s 307th game in regular season play for the Revolution, passing Cobi Jones (306) for fourth-most games played entirely for one club in MLS history. 
• Latif Blessing started and played 83 minutes, marking his 175th MLS appearance. Blessing marked the occasion with team highs in duels won (7), tackles won (2), and possessions won (10).
• Esmir Bajraktarević made his second start of the season in place of an injured Gustavo Bou.
• Dave Romney started and played 90 minutes for the eighth straight match to begin the season and his Revolution tenure, recording a season-high 11 clearances. 

GAME CAPSULE
New England Revolution 1, Columbus Crew 1
April 15, 2023 – Lower.com Field (Columbus, Ohio)

Referee: Chris Penso
Assistant Referees: Nick Uranga (AR1), Eduardo Jeff (AR2)
Fourth Official: Meghan Mullen
Video Assistant Referee: Daniel Radford
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Tom Supple
Weather: 73 degrees and partly cloudy

Scoring Summary: 
NE – Milos Degenek (Own Goal) 58’
CLB – Sean Zawadski 1 (Lucas Zelarayán 2) 90+8’

Misconduct Summary: 
CLB – Alexandru Mățan (Yellow Card – Simulation) 23’
CLB – Milos Degenek (Yellow Card – Dissent) 43’
NE – Dylan Borrero (Yellow Card – Dissent) 56’
NE – Dylan Borrero (Red Card – Hard Foul) 65’
NE – Bruce Arena (Yellow Card – Dissent) 90+8’

New England Revolution: Djordje Petrović; DeJuan Jones, Dave Romney, Andrew Farrell, Brandon Bye; Latif Blessing (Emmanuel Boateng 83’), Matt Polster, Dylan Borrero, Carles Gil ©, Esmir Bajraktarevic (Noel Buck 63’); Giacomo Vrioni (Jozy Altidore 76’)

Substitutes Not Used: Earl Edwards Jr., Josh Bolma, Omar Gonzalez, Christian Makoun, Jack Panayotou, Damian Rivera

Columbus Crew: Patrick Schulte; Steven Moreira, Milos Degenek, Gustavo Valecilla (Jacen Russell-Rowe 79’); Mohamed Farsi, Aidan Morris (Yaw Yeboah, 79’), Darlington Nagbe © (Sean Zawadski 90+2’), Will Sands (Jimmy Medranda 88’); Alexandru Mățan, Lucas Zelarayán; Christian Ramírez

Substitutes Not Used: Evan Bush, Max Arfsten, Keegan Hughes, Isaiah Parente, Philip Quinton

Full statistics available HERE.