FOXBOROUGH, MASS. – The New England Revolution (5-5-5; 20 pts.) defeated Toronto FC (8-2-5; 29 pts.), 3-0, before a crowd of 21,764 fans at Gillette Stadium on Saturday evening. Newcomer Benjamin Angoua opened both his MLS account and the scoring in tonight's match with a header in the 13th minute, while Diego Fagundez added his fourth goal in as many games and Juan Agudelo tallied his team-leading seventh goal on the other side of halftime to help the Revolution hand Supporters' Shield-leading Toronto FC its second loss of the season.
Benjamin Angoua found the back of the net via a corner kick from Lee Nguyen, marking the second consecutive match New England has converted on a set piece. Nguyen tallied his seventh assist on the goal, which is tied for second most among all MLS players this season. Fagundez found the back of the net for a third consecutive home game in the 66th minute after executing a give-and-go with Juan Agudelo, who was credited with his first assist of 2017. Agudelo would later add an insurance tally of his own, cleaning up a rebound from Fagundez’s chipped shot in the 85th minute that bounced off the crossbar twice.
Goalkeeper Cody Cropper and New England's backline submitted their fourth clean sheet of the season, helping the team extend its unbeaten run at Gillette Stadium to 11 matches. During that stretch, New England has posted a record of 9-0-2 at home.
New England returns to action on June 14, when it opens 2017 U.S. Open Cup play against the Rochester Rhinos at Providence College's Anderson Stadium. The Revolution return to MLS play three days later on June 17, when the club hosts the Chicago Fire at Gillette Stadium. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast locally on CSN New England, where Brad Feldman, Paul Mariner, and Naoko Funayama will be on the call. Fans can also listen on the radio in English on 98.5 The Sports Hub and in Portuguese on 1570 WMVX Nossa Radio.
New England Revolution 3, Toronto FC 0
June 3, 2017 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Revolution Go Unbeaten in 11th Consecutive Home Match, Defeat Toronto FC 3-0
- The Revolution defeated Toronto FC, 3-0, on Saturday night, bringing New England's record to 5-5-5 (20 pts.) through the first 15 matches of the season.
- New England extended its home unbeaten streak to 11 matches with tonight's win. The Revs are now 5-0-2 in matches at Gillette Stadium this season and improve to 9-0-2 in home matches dating back to Sept. 3, 2016.
- New England entered the match averaging 2.50 goals per home game, third best in MLS behind the Houston Dynamo (3.00) and Atlanta United FC (2.60) and second among Eastern Conference teams. Following tonight's match, the Revs’ average climbed to 2.57 goals per home game.
Nguyen Continues Hot Streak, Adds Assist
·Midfielder Lee Nguyen recorded the 41st assist of his career on Benjamin Angoua's 17th minute goal. Nguyen has been directly involved in a goal or an assist in seven of New England's last eight matches, and has five assists in his last five games.
·Nguyen has directly been involved in 13 goals this season (six goals, seven assists), which is currently tied with Columbus Crew SC's Justin Meram (eight goals, five assists) for second this season among all MLS players and trails only New York City FC's David Villa (eight goals, six assists).
·The McKinney, Texas native matched his season high with five chances created in tonight's match. Nguyen also created five chances in New England's 5-2 victory over Minnesota United FC on March 25.
·Nguyen now has 40 chances created this season, which currently ranks second in MLS behind the New York Red Bulls’ Sacha Kljestan.
Fagundez Scores in Third Consecutive Home Match, Doubles Revolution Lead
·Midfielder Diego Fagundez scored his fourth goal of the season in the 66th minute of tonight's contest. After being held scoreless through the first 10 matches of the season, Fagundez has recorded four goals in the team's last 5 matches.
·Fagundez has been finding the back of the net consistently at Gillette Stadium. The Homegrown midfielder has registered four goals in the Revolution's last three home matches.
·Forward Juan Agudelo recorded his first assist of the season on Fagundez's goal. Agudelo's career high in assists was achieved in 2016, when he recorded five assists.
Agudelo Pulls Ahead in Team Lead for Goals, Ties Revolution-Career High
·Forward Juan Agudelo added New England's third goal of the match in the 85th minute of tonight's contest. The forward now has seven goals on the season, which ties the mark he set in 2013, 2015, and 2016 with the Revolution.
·Agudelo is now just two goals shy of his career high of nine, which he recorded with Chivas USA and the Revolution in 2013.
Angoua Registers First MLS Goal
·Forward Benjamin Angoua scored his first career MLS goal in the 17th minute of tonight's contest with a headed finish off a screaming delivery from a corner kick by Lee Nguyen.
·For a second consecutive match, a Revolution player has scored his first career MLS goal. Midfielder Xavier Kouassi opened his MLS account in the 85th minute on May 31 at New York City FC. Those two goals represent the first two scored by natives of Côte d’Ivoire in club history.
Pair of Revs Surpass Minute Milestones
·Forward Kei Kamara became the 18th active MLS minutes to reach 20,000 career MLS minutes in the 10th minute of tonight's contest. Outside of New England (2016-17), Kamara has played for Columbus (2006-07, 2015-16), San Jose (2008), Houston (2008-09), and Kansas City (2009-13).
·Forward Juan Agudelo reached 5,000 career minutes as a Revolution player in the 80th minute of tonight's contest. The forward has registered 27 goals and added 10 assists in 83 career appearances with the Revolution.
Revolution Make Two Changes to Starting XI
·Revolution Head Coach Jay Heaps made two changes to the club’s starting lineup from its most recent match on May 31 at New York City FC, with Cody Cropper and Chris Tierney replacing Brad Knighton and Daigo Kobayashi, respectively.
·Forward Teal Bunbury was unavailable for selection in tonight's match after being issued a two-match suspension by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for a foul on May 27 at New York. He will be available in New England’s next MLS match on June 17 vs. Chicago.
·Defender Donnie Smith and midfielder Zachary Herivaux were both unavailable for selection in tonight's match as they are currently on loan with the Charlotte Independence and San Antonio FC, respectively.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- 3rd minute (SHOT) – Kelyn Rowe looks to get the Revolution on the board shortly after kickoff, unleashing a right-footed shot from distance that forces a save from TFC goalkeeper Alex Bono (WATCH).
- 17th minute (GOAL) – Benjamin Angoua opens his MLS account and puts the Revolution ahead early, tucking a headed shot under the cross bar via a corner kick from Lee Nguyen (WATCH).
- 36th minute (CHANCE) – Diego Fagundez slaloms through Toronto FC's back line and puts a left-footed shot on net, but Alex Bono is positioned well to make the save (WATCH).
- 36th minute (CHANCE) – Lee Nguyen plays Kei Kamara into a one-on-one with Alex Bono, but Kamara's curled, right-footed shot just barely misses the frame and hits the side netting (WATCH).
- 41st minute (OFFSIDE) – Kelyn Rowe appears to double New England's lead as reels in a through ball from Diego Fagundez and beats Alex Bono with a left-footed shot, but the goal is disallowed for offside (WATCH).
- 43rd minute (CHANCE) – Kei Kamara delivers a picturesque, left-footed cross that finds Diego Fagundez in front of the goal mouth, but Fagundez's volley sails over the net (WATCH).
- 65th minute (SHOT) – Four minutes after entering the match as a substitute, Juan Agudelo gets in alone with Alex Bono, but the TFC goalkeeper makes a diving save to keep the score at 1-0 (WATCH).
- 66th minute (GOAL) – Moments later, Agudelo tees up Diego Fagundez, who scores his fourth goal of the season with a clinical finish inside of the far post (WATCH).
- 85th minute (GOAL) – Juan Agudelo ices the game for New England, cleaning up a rebound after a chipped shot from Diego Fagundezhits the crossbar twice (WATCH).
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Armando Villarreal
Assistant Referees: Jason White (AR1), Daniel Belleau (AR2)
Fourth Official: Caleb Mendez
Weather: 63 Degrees and Cloudy
Attendance: 21,764
Scoring Summary:
NE – Benjamin Angoua 1 (Lee Nguyen 7) 17'
NE – Diego Fagundez 4 (Juan Agudelo 1) 66'
NE – Juan Agudelo 7 (Unassisted) 85'
Misconduct Summary:
TOR – Armando Cooper (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 26'
NE – Benjamin Angoua (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 27'
NE – Andrew Farrell (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 71'
New England Revolution: Cody Cropper; Chris Tierney, Antonio Delamea, Benjamin Angoua, Andrew Farrell; Scott Caldwell, Gershon Koffie; Diego Fagundez (Femi Hollinger-Janzen 90'+2'), Lee Nguyen ©, Kelyn Rowe; Kei Kamara (Juan Agudelo 61')
Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Josh Smith, Je-Vaughn Watson, London Woodberry, Daigo Kobayashi
Toronto FC: Alex Bono; Chris Mavinga, Drew Moor, Eriq Zavaleta (Jonathan Osorio 64'); Justin Morrow, Victor Vázquez (Jordan Hamilton 69'), Raheem Edwards, Benoit Cheyrou ©, Steven Beitashour; Sebastian Giovinco, Armando Cooper (Jay Chapman 82')
Substitutes Not Used: Clint Irwin, Tsubasa Endoh, Jason Hernandez, Ben Spencer
