FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (0-1-1, 1 pt.) played to a 1-1 draw with Chicago Fire FC (0-1-1; 1 pt.) in the club’s 2020 home opener at Gillette Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Forward Adam Buksa opened his MLS account in his home debut, reeling in a cross from Brandon Bye before turning around the center back and scoring with his left foot in the 28thminute. Chicago equalized on the other side of halftime, when Jonathan Bornstein connected with a corner kick from Djordje Mihailovic and floated a header inside of the far post.
Buksa, whom New England acquired via transfer from Polish side Pogón Szczecin in November and signed to a Designated Player contract, became the first Revolution newcomer to score in a home opener since Saer Sene in 2012. He paced the Revs with two shots on target, and played all 90 minutes for a second straight week. Bye’s assist was the fifth of his MLS career, and his first since the last meeting between New England and Chicago on Aug. 24, 2019.
A pair of Revolution players ascended the club’s record book during today’s contest, with Diego Fagundez surpassing Jay Heaps for fourth-most games played and Andrew Farrell eclipsing Chris Tierney for fourth-most minutes played. With one more start, Farrell will also tie Tierney for fourth-most games started in Revolution history.
In net, Brad Knighton started in place of Matt Turner – who missed the match with an injury – and registered five saves, his most in a match since he made seven saves vs. Toronto FC on Sept. 29, 2018.
New England returns to action on Sunday, March 15, when the club hosts the Portland Timbers at Gillette Stadium. The match kicks off at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston, 98.5 The Sports Hub, and in Portuguese on WBIX 1260 AM Nossa Radio.
New England Revolution 1, Chicago Fire FC 1
March 7, 2020 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Revolution Draw Chicago Fire FC, 1-1, in Home Opener
- The Revolution (0-1-1, 1 pt.) played to a 1-1 draw against the Chicago Fire FC (0-1-1; 1 pt.) in their first home game of the 2020 season.
- New England's all-time record against Chicago moves to 22-27-14, including a 17-10-5 record in games played in Foxborough.
- The Revolution have earned points in 13 of the club’s last 14 home openers, posting a 7-1-6 record since 2007.
- Sporting Director & Head Coach Bruce Arena’s career record against Chicago moves to 13-4-5.
Adam Buksa Opens His Account for New England in Home Debut
- Forward Adam Buksa scored his first goal as a member of the Revolution in the 28th minute, giving New England a 1-0 lead with an assist from defender Brandon Bye.
- Buksa’s goal was the first by a first-year Revolution player in a home opener since Saer Sene on March 24, 2012.
- It was the first professional goal for Buksa since Nov. 23, 2019 when he bagged a brace at former club Pogón Szczecin in a 3-1 win over Legia Warsaw.
- Bye collected his fifth career assist, his first since Aug. 24, 2019 also against Chicago at Gillette Stadium.
Diego Fagundez Passes Jay Heaps for Fourth-Most Appearances in Revolution History
·Midfielder Diego Fagundez registered the 244th appearance of his career today, passing defender Jay Heaps for fourth most in Revolution history.
· Fagundez, 25, needs only 18 more appearances to eclipse Shalrie Joseph’s all-time club record of 261.
· Fagundez collected 47 touches on the day and completed 85.3 percent of his passes.
Andrew Farrell Moves Ahead of Chris Tierney in Career Minutes Played
· Defender Andrew Farrell (19,511) passed former teammate and current Revolution Player Recruitment Manager Chris Tierney (19,422) for the fourth-most minutes played in club history.
- Farrell logged his second 90-minute effort of the season and totaled five clearances against Chicago.
- With his next Starting XI selection, Farrell will match Tierney (220) for the fourth-most games started in club history.
Zahibo and Knighton Earn First Starts of the 2020 Season
·Sporting Director & Head Coach Bruce Arena made two changes to his starting XI from last week’s season opener at Montreal, inserting midfielder Wilfried Zahibo and goalkeeper Brad Knighton in place of Scott Caldwell and an injured Matt Turner. .
·For the second straight week, New England’s 18-man roster also featured four Homegrown Players in Diego Fagundez (Leominster, Mass.), Scott Caldwell (Braintree, Mass.), Justin Rennicks (Hamilton, Mass.), and 17-year-old Damian Rivera (Cranston, R.I.), which ties a club record set in the season opener at Montreal.
·Rennicks made his first appearance of the season, and first in MLS play since June 29, 2019 against Houston Dynamo.
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Fotis Bazakos
Assistant Referees: Peter Balciunas (AR1), Brian Poeschel (AR2)
Fourth Official: Sergii Demianchuk
VAR: Alan Kelly
Weather: 43 degrees and clear
Attendance: 15,289
Scoring Summary:
NE – Adam Buksa 1 (Brandon Bye 1) 28'
CHI – Jonathan Bornstein 1 (Djordje Mihailovic 2) 70'
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Henry Kessler (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 40',
CHI – Johan Kappelhof (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 47'
NE – DeJuan Jones (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 90+1'
New England Revolution: Brad Knighton; DeJuan Jones, Henry Kessler, Andrew Farrell, Brandon Bye; Wilfried Zahibo, Diego Fagundez; Teal Bunbury (Justin Rennicks 79') Gustavo Bou ©, Cristian Penilla (Tajon Buchanan 80)'; Adam Buksa
Substitutes Not Used: Jeff Caldwell, Scott Caldwell, Michael Mancienne, Diego Rivera, Kelyn Rowe
Chicago Fire FC: Kenneth Kronholm; Brandt Bronico (Gastón Giménez 63’), Johan Kappelhof, Francisco Calvo ©, Jonathan Bornstein (Miguel Angel Navarro 81’); Mauricio Pineda; Przemyslaw Frankowski, Fabian Herbers, Álvaro Medrán, Djordje Mihailovic; Robert Beric
Substitutes Not Used: Bobby Shuttleworth, Ignacio Aliseda, Micheal Azira, Elliot Collier, Wyatt Omsberg
