FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (8-12-9; 33 pts.) defeated New York City FC (12-9-8; 44 pts.), 3-1, at Gillette Stadium on Saturday. With the win, New England moves within one point of Orlando City SC for the sixth slot on the Eastern Conference table with five matches remaining in the regular season.
Juan Agudelo opened scoring for the Revolution for the second consecutive match, bringing his goals total on the season to five. The forward paced New England with six shots, including three on target, and added four chances created. Lee Nguyen doubled the lead with his team-high sixth goal in the 42nd minute, finishing off a grounded cross from Kelyn Rowe. New York City FC’s Frank Lampard trimmed the New England lead to one in the 49th minute, but Diego Fagundez answered nine minutes later, securing his fourth goal of the season and three points for New England. Goalkeeper Brad Knighton made his fifth consecutive start in net and has allowed only four goals during his games-started run.
The Revolution return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 13, visiting FC Dallas for the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final at Toyota Stadium at 10:00 p.m. ET. The match will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 in English and UDN in Spanish. New England returns to MLS action on Saturday, Sept. 17, when it visits the Montreal Impact at Stade Saputo at 7:30 p.m. ET. That match will be broadcast locally on Comcast SportsNet with Brad Feldman and Paul Mariner calling the action. Both matches can also be heard locally on the radio on 98.5 The Sports Hub in English and on WMVX 1570 AM “Nossa Radio” in Portuguese.
New England Revolution 3, New York City FC 1
September 10, 2016 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Revs Topple Eastern Conference Power New York City FC
The Revolution defeated New York City FC, 3-1, improving the club’s record to 8-12-9 (33 pts.) on the season.
The victory concluded the regular season series with New York City FC. The Revs finished the series with a 1-1-1 record and improve to 3-1-2 all-time against New York City.
The win raises the Revs’ home record to 7-4-4, including a 5-3-3 mark against Eastern Conference opposition.
Revs Post Season Highs in Chances Created, Shots
The Revs created 19 chances in tonight’s match, surpassing the previous high of 18 chances created at Los Angeles on May 8. Midfielder Kelyn Rowe led all Revolution players with five chances created, while midfielder Lee Nguyen and forward Juan Agudelo each created four chances. Midfielder Diego Fagundez logged three chances created.
Tonight’s match also marked a season high in total shots for the Revolution with 24 shots. Agudelo led all Revolution players with six shots, tying a career high, while Fagundez added five shots.
Nguyen Registers 40th Career Goal, Makes 150th Revolution and MLS start
Midfielder Lee Nguyen recorded his sixth goal of the 2016 MLS regular season in the 42nd minute of tonight’s match. Nguyen’s six goals are the most scored by a player in a Revolution jersey this season.
With the goal, Nguyen became the fourth player in club history to score 40 goals. Taylor Twellman (101), Steve Ralston (42), and Joe-Max Moore (41) are the only other players to accomplish the feat.
Nguyen also started his 150th career match tonight, making him the eighth player in club history to start 150 games for the Revs.
Agudelo Scores Goal in Second Straight Game
Forward Juan Agudelo opened the scoring for the Revolution in the 21st minute of tonight’s contest, curling in his right-footed shot. Agudelo’s five goals are the second most of any player in a Revolution jersey this season. He has also recorded two assists on the year.
The goal was Agudelo’s second goal in as many games and his fourth goal in his last seven MLS starts. The Revolution forward previously recorded goals in consecutive games when he found the back of the net vs. Orlando City on April 30 and at Los Angeles on May 8.
Agudelo has now scored 30 career MLS goals, 19 of which have come as a Revolution player.
Fagundez Registers Goal and Assist for Second Time of 2016
Midfielder Diego Fagundez posted both a goal and an assist in tonight’s victory. The Revolution Homegrown midfielder previously recorded a goal and an assist in the Revs’ season opener at Houston on March 6. Fagundez has recorded eight goal-and-assist performances in his career.
The Leominster, Mass. native posted his fourth goal of the 2016 MLS regular season in the 58th minute of tonight’s match. Fagundez has now scored 32 career goals with the Revolution, seventh most in club history.
Fagundez recorded his fourth assist of the season on Juan Agudelo’s 21st minute strike, giving him assists in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
The Revolution Homegrown now has 22 career MLS assists and is three shy of joining teammates Lee Nguyen and Kelyn Rowe as the third active Revolution player and eighth Revolution player overall to record at least 25 career goals and 25 career assists with the club.
Rowe Registers 30th Career Assist
Midfielder Kelyn Rowe recorded his sixth assist of the 2016 MLS regular season in the 42nd minute of tonight’s match. Rowe’s six assists trail only Lee Nguyen’s eight for the most recorded by a Revolution player this season
Rowe has now recorded 30 career assists, all of which have come as a Revolution player. He surpasses Pat Noonan for sixth place on the club’s all-time assists list.
Farrell Registers First Assist of 2016
Defender Andrew Farrell registered his first assist of the 2016 MLS regular season on Lee Nguyen’s 42nd minute goal.
The former first-overall MLS SuperDraft Selection now has two assists in his MLS career, with his first coming in his rookie season vs. Los Angeles on June 2, 2013.
Knighton Starts in Revolution Career-High Fifth Straight Match
Goalkeeper Brad Knighton started in net for the Revs, giving him five consecutive MLS starts for the first time in his Revolution career.
Knighton previously started in 11 consecutive matches for Vancouver Whitecaps FC from May 18 – July 27, 2013. He also started in seven consecutive matches for Philadelphia from Sept. 11 – Oct. 16, 2010.
In this five-match stretch, Knighton has recorded a 2-2-1 record with a 0.80 goals against average.
Revolution Keep Starting XI Intact
Revolution Head Coach Jay Heaps made no changes to the starting lineup from New England’s most recent MLS match on Sept. 3 vs. Colorado.
Forward Teal Bunbury returned to the matchday 18-man roster after missing the last contest due to injury. He replaced midfielder Zachary Herivaux on the bench.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- 18th minute (SHOT) – Juan Agudelo plays a corner kick short to Lee Nguyen, who quickly squares toward the net and unleashes a curling, right-footed shot that forces a spectacular diving save from NYCFC goalkeeper Josh Saunders (WATCH HERE).
- 21st minute (GOAL) – Juan Agudelo opens the scoring for the Revolution for the second consecutive match, this time reeling in a pass from Diego Fagundez and finishing with a right-footed shot inside of the far post (WATCH HERE).
- 34th minute (SHOT) – Diego Fagundez fires two shots on net from inside the 18-yard box, but both are denied by Josh Saunders. On his second attempt, Fagundez bounces a volley off the turf that is on track for the far corner, but Saunders gets a hand on it and deflects it to safety (WATCH HERE).
- 42nd minute (GOAL) – Lee Nguyen puts the Revolution up, 2-0, minutes before halftime. Kelyn Rowe engineers the scoring opportunity with a patient run down the right wing and delivers a pinpoint, grounded cross to Nguyen, who calmly finishes with his right foot (WATCH HERE).
- 45th minute (SHOT) – Juan Agudelo nearly nets a Goal of the Year candidate, executing a quick give-and-go with Kelyn Rowe before setting himself up for a shot with a terrific touch (WATCH HERE).
- 58th minute (GOAL) – Diego Fagundez answers New York City’s goal and puts the Revs back up by two. He reels in a rebound off a blocked shot, finds space between four NYCFC defenders, and beats Josh Saunders with a powerful, right-footed shot (WATCH HERE).
- 73rd minute (POST) – Juan Agudelo continues hunting for a second goal and comes within inches of finding it as he redirects a free kick from Chris Tierney off the crossbar (WATCH HERE).
- 78th minute (SHOT) – Lee Nguyen also continues his search for a second tally late into the second half. Andrew Farrell delivers a pristine cross to Nguyen inside of NYCFC’s penalty area, but Nguyen’s headed shot is saved by a well-positioned Josh Saunders (WATCH HERE).
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Juan Guzman
Assistant Referees: Kermit Quisenberry (AR1), Anthony Vasoli (AR2)
Fourth Official: Geoff Gamble
Weather: 77 Degrees and Cloudy
Attendance: 23,235
Scoring Summary:
NE – Juan Agudelo 5 (Diego Fagundez 4) 21’
NE – Lee Nguyen 6 (Kelyn Rowe 6, Andrew Farrell 1) 42’
NYC – Frank Lampard 12 (RJ Allen 6, Andrea Pirlo 10) 49’
NE – Diego Fagundez 4 (Unassisted) 58’
Misconduct Summary:
NYC – Jefferson Mena (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 20’
NE – Gershon Koffie (Yellow – Unsporting Behavior) 69’
NYC – RJ Allen (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 72’
NYC – Federico Bravo (Red Card – Serious Foul) 86’
NYC – Steven Mendoza (Yellow Card – Dissent) 86’
New England Revolution: Brad Knighton; Chris Tierney, José Gonçalves, London Woodberry, Andrew Farrell; Gershon Koffie; Diego Fagundez Kelyn Rowe, Scott Caldwell (Steve Neumann 88’); Lee Nguyen © (Teal Bunbury 82’) Juan Agudelo (Femi Hollinger-Janzen 87’)
Substitutes Not Used: Cody Cropper, Darrius Barnes, Donnie Smith, Daigo Kobayashi
New York City FC: Josh Saunders; Ronald Matarrita, Jefferson Mena (Khiry Shelton 63’), Frederic Brillant, Jason Hernandez (RJ Allen 45’ - HT); Andrea Pirlo, Federico Bravo, Frank Lampard; Steven Mendoza, David Villa © (Tony Taylor 63’), Jack Harrison
Substitutes Not Used: Eirik Johansen, Maxime Chanot, Mikey Lopez, Andoni Iraola
