FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The Revolution (2-3-7; 13 points) defeated the Chicago Fire (1-4-4; 7 points), 2-0, at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night, moving into a tie for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Lee Nguyen opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, banking in a curling shot off the far post. Rookie Femi Hollinger-Janzen delivered the first goal of his professional career in the 84th minute to seal the win for the Revs. Scott Caldwell, Lee Nguyen, and Juan Agudelo all recorded assists, while goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth turned in his third clean sheet of the season.
Kei Kamara, acquired via trade from Columbus Crew SC ahead of Thursday’s MLS trade deadline, made his debut for New England and recorded team highs with six shots and four shots on goal.
Full match highlights and statistics can be found HERE.
The Revolution are back in action at Gillette Stadium next Saturday, May 21st, at 7:30 p.m. ET, when the club hosts FC Dallas for the second leg of its three-game homestand. The match will be broadcast locally on Comcast SportsNet, and can be heard locally on the radio on 98.5 The Sports Hub in English and WMVX 1570 AM “Nossa Radio” in Portuguese.
New England Revolution 2, Chicago Fire 0
May 14, 2016 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
GAME NOTES
Revolution Win, Climb Eastern Conference Table
With today’s win, the Revolution are now 2-3-7 on the season. With the result, the club is now tied for fourth place in the Eastern Conference and is level with New York City FC and D.C. United with 13 points.
Kei Kamara Makes Revolution Debut
After being acquired from Columbus Crew SC on May 12, Revolution forward Kei Kamara made his Revs debut, earning the start and playing all 90 minutes.
Kamara had six shots, four of which were on goal. His four shots on target tie the most shots on goal by a Revs player in a single match this season. Kelyn Rowe recorded four shots on goal on May 8 at LA.
Introduction of Kamara Spurns Lineup Shifts
The New England Revolution made one switch to its Starting XI, with Kei Kamara getting the start at forward, while Jose Goncalves did not play.
Je-Vaughn Watson shifted to center back, while Kelyn Rowe shifted to right back for the Revolution.
Midfielder Lee Nguyen wore the captain’s armband in Goncalves’ absence, marking the first time Nguyen has been named captain in his Revolution career.
Femi Scores First Career Goal
Forward Femi Hollinger-Janzen recorded his first career goal in the 84th minute. Femi is the first of the Revs’ 2016 MLS SuperDraft picks to record a goal. Femi has now made eight appearances, including one start, and has scored one goal with one assist.
Juan Agudelo registered an assist on Femi’s goal. He now has recorded either an assist or a goal in three consecutive matches.
Lee Nguyen also assisted on the goal, giving him three assists on the season . Nguyen now has 27 career assists, all of which have come with the Revolution, placing him at eighth all-time in Revolution history.
Nguyen Records Goal and Assist in Same Match
For the first time in the 2016 MLS Regular Season, Lee Nguyen recorded both a goal and an assist in the same match.
This marks the first time Nguyen recorded both a goal and an assist in the same game since Aug. 30, 2014 at Toronto FC.
Lee Nguyen Scores First Goal from Open Play
Revolution midfielder Lee Nguyen put the Revs on the board in the 22nd minute. The goal was Nguyen’s first from open play this season. Nguyen previously scored on a penalty at Orlando City SC on April 17.
With the goal, Nguyen now has 36 career goals, all of which have come with the Revolution. He is just one goal shy of tying Shalrie Joseph and Pat Noonan for fourth-most goals in club history.
Kelyn Rowe Makes 100th Career Start, First at Right Back
Revolution midfielder Kelyn Rowe recorded his 100th career start, all of which have come with the Revolution. Rowe has made 135 appearances, scoring 24 goals, and adding 25 assists.
Rowe notably started on the Revs’ backline for the first time in his career, making the start at right back. Following halftime, Rowe moved to left back while London Woodberry shifted to right back. Rowe played left back at LA on 5/8.
Bobby Shuttleworth Notches Second Shutout of 2016
Goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth registered his third shutout of the season. The Revs’ keeper made one save to keep the clean sheet. Shuttleworth now has 32 career MLS shutouts, all of which have come with the Revolution.
Scott Caldwell Makes 100th Career Appearance
Revolution midfielder Scott Caldwell made his 100th career appearance, all of which have come with the Revolution, in tonight’s match. Caldwell has made 79 starts, scoring two goals and tallying 10 assists.
Success in Tackles
The Revolution recorded a team season-high for best tackle percentage in tonight’s contest. The Revs won 16-of-17 tackles, good for a rate of 94.12 percent.
London Woodberry led all Revolution players in both tackles won and tackle success, recording five tackles, all of which were successful. Five successful tackles ties a Revolution season-high set by Gershon Koffie on April 23 at D.C. United.
Sambinha Makes MLS, Revolution Debut
Defender Sambinha made his first appearance for the New England Revolution when he replaced Juan Agudelo in the 89th minute.
Caldwell Records Second Assist
Midfielder Scott Caldwell added his second assist of the season on Lee Nguyen’s 22nd minute goal. Caldwell now has 11 career assists and is now three shy of his single-season high of five assists.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
13th minute (CHANCE) – Diego Fagundez receives a pass from Juan Agudelo at Chicago’s touch line and immediately turns and connects with Kei Kamara in the middle of the box. Kamara gets a shot off – his first as a Revolution player – but can’t get enough power on it to threaten Fire goalkeeper Matt Lampson (WATCH HERE).
22nd minute (CHANCE) – Kei Kamara and Lee Nguyen execute a perfect give-and-go, with Nguyen sailing a cross over Chicago’s back line, into the box, and onto Kamara’s foot. Kamara puts a powerful shot on net, but Lampson turns it aside.
22nd minute (GOAL) – On the ensuing corner kick, Lee Nguyen plays the ball in to Kelyn Rowe, who connects with Scott Caldwell, who finds Nguyen on the right side of the box. Nguyen banks an incredible curling, right-footed shot off the far post and in for his second goal of the season (WATCH HERE).
31st minute (CHANCE) – Scott Caldwell connects with Kei Kamara on a run into the box. Kamara gets in alone with Matt Lampson, but the goalkeeper makes a sprawling stop on Kamara’s back heel shot attempt (WATCH HERE).
35th minute (CHANCE) – Juan Agudelo draws two defenders in the box with strong hold up play, freeing up Gershon Koffie for a powerful one-timer from outside of the box. Koffie’s shot sails just wide of the net.
52nd minute (CHANCE) – Kei Kamara generates another big scoring chance for the Revs, this time smashing header off a corner kick that’s cleared out by a Chicago defender stationed on the goal line (WATCH HERE).
66th minute (CHANCE) – Kamara gets another chance to open his scoring account with the Revolution, taking an acrobatic bicycle kick that drifts just wide and off the side of Chicago’s net.
68th minute (CHANCE) – Another chance for New England to extend its lead, as Juan Agudelo finds space on the left side of the Fire’s box and fires a shot on net. Lampson makes a clutch save, however, denying Agudelo of his third goal in as many games.
84th minute (GOAL) – Rookie Femi Hollinger-Janzen scores his first professional goal on a headed shot in front of Chicago’s net. Juan Agudelo drew Matt Lampson off his line and fed Femi with a chipped pass (WATCH HERE).
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Jorge Gonzalez
Assistant Referees: Matthew Nelson (AR1); Kyle Longville (AR2)
Fourth Official: Alan Kelly
Weather: Cloudy and 66 Degrees
Attendance: 18,997
Scoring Summary:
NE – Lee Nguyen 1 (Scott Caldwell 1) 22’
NE – Femi Hollinger-Janzen 1 (Juan Agudelo 1, Lee Nguyen 1) 84’
Misconduct Summary:
CHI – Arturo Alvarez (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 19’
NE – Gershon Koffie (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 24’
NE – London Woodberry (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 57’
NE – Juan Agudelo (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 80’
New England Revolution: Bobby Shuttleworth; London Woodberry, Je-Vaughn Watson, Andrew Farrell, Kelyn Rowe; Scott Caldwell, Gershon Koffie (Daigo Kobayashi 64’); Diego Fagundez (Femi Hollinger-Janzen 72’), Lee Nguyen, Juan Agudelo (Sambinha 89’); Kei Kamara
Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Darrius Barnes, Zachary Herivaux, Steve Neumann
Chicago Fire: Matt Lampson; Brandon Vincent, Joao Meira, Jonathan Campbell, Johan Kappelhof, Michael Harrington; Khaly Thiam (Razvan Cocis 64’), Arturo Alvarez (Joey Calistri 77’), Matt Polster; Gilberto (David Accam 45’ – HT), Kennedy Igboananike
Substitutes Not Used: Sean Johnson, Eric Gehrig, Rodrigo Ramos
