FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution advanced to the Eastern Conference Final of the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs with a 3-1 win against fourth-seeded Orlando City SC at Exploria Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Revolution will visit the winner of tonight’s Eastern Conference Semifinal match between Columbus Crew SC and Nashville SC.

New England’s Carles Gil opened the scoring by converting a penalty kick in the 17th minute, after Tajon Buchanan won a foul on the right side of the 18-yard box. Gustavo Bou doubled the lead eight minutes later when a shot from Adam Buksa hit the post and rolled to Bou in front of goal. Bou later combined with Gil to add New England’s third and final goal on the afternoon in the 86th minute.

Júnior Urso pulled one back for Orlando in the 33rd minute, but Mauricio Pereyra’s 60th-minute red card gave the Revs a one-man advantage for the remainder of the match. The hosts had an opportunity to equalize in the 74th minute, when Daryl Dike won a penalty kick – but Nani’s bid from the spot was saved by Revs goalkeeper Matt Turner to preserve the lead and the club’s first ever victory at Exploria Stadium. Turner made two saves in his third career playoff win, and his stop on Nani’s attempt marked the first time a Revolution goalkeeper has turned away a penalty kick in a playoff game since Matt Reis on Oct. 31, 2004.

New England’s appearance in next Sunday’s Eastern Conference Final will be the club’s eighth all-time appearance in the conference championship round, and its first since 2014. The club’s all-time postseason record improves to 20-17-9, while Sporting Director & Head Coach Bruce Arena registered his 35th career MLS Cup Playoff win this afternoon, which is 20 more than any active head coach. Arena’s career postseason record improves to 35-12-6 as his bid for a sixth MLS Cup title continues.

Gil and Bou have factored into all seven of the Revolution’s postseason goals through three games. Gil, whose successful penalty kick in today’s contest marked New England’s first in the MLS Cup Playoffs since Steve Ralston on Nov. 6, 2004, has contributed two goals and three assists. His three assists are tied for the most by a Revs player in a single postseason, and only one shy of the club’s all-time playoff record. Bou has scored three times this postseason, and recorded an assist in the Play-In Round win against Montreal. He is the first Revolution to register a brace in a playoff match since Charlie Davies did so in the second leg of the 2014 Eastern Conference Final.

POSTGAME NOTES
New England Revolution 3, Orlando City SC 1
November 29, 2020 – Exploria Stadium (Orlando, Fla.)

Revolution Defeat Orlando City SC, 3-1, in Eastern Conference Semifinal

• New England advances to the Eastern Conference Finals for the eighth time in club history and the first time since 2014, when the Revolution reached their fifth MLS Cup Final. The Revolution also registered multiple postseason wins on the road for the first time since 2014.
• The Revolution have three wins in the same MLS postseason for the third time in 15 trips to the playoffs, matching the club’s win total in 2002 and 2008.
• New England became the first team in MLS Cup Playoffs history to score twice within the first 30 minutes of two consecutive postseason matches, according to Opta, with Gil and Bou’s first-half tallies.
• Forward Gustavo Bou scored two goals, logging the Revolution’s first postseason brace since 2014, while midfielder Carles Gil scored one goal and recorded one assist. Forward Adam Buksa also registered one assist. New England’s Designated Player trio has accounted for six of the club’s seven goals this postseason.
• Sporting Director and Head Coach Bruce Arena’s all-time postseason record improves to 35-12-6, including an unbeaten 29-0-3 mark when his teams score first. Arena is 3-1-0 in the MLS Cup Playoffs with New England. In the Conference Semifinal round, Arena’s record improves to 16-5-5.

Gustavo Bou Nets Club’s First Postseason Brace Since 2014

• Forward Gustavo Bou scored two goals in today’s victory, registering New England’s third-ever postseason brace and the club’s first since Charlie Davies netted two goals against the New York Red Bulls in the second leg of the 2014 Eastern Conference Final on Nov. 29, 2014 -- exactly six years ago.
• Bou’s first goal of the afternoon, a right-footed strike in the 25th minute, doubled the Revolution’s lead to 2-0. The Argentine striker capped New England’s scoring with assists from Gil and Buksa in the 86th minute.
• Bou owns three goals and one assist in four postseason games played. He has scored four goals in three career appearances against Orlando across all competitions.

Carles Gil Scores Second Postseason Goal

• Midfielder Carles Gil converted on a penalty kick in the 17th minute, giving the Revolution a 1-0 lead. Gil’s goal marked the first time New England converted on a penalty kick in the playoffs Nov. 6, 2004, when Steve Ralston did so against D.C. United in Eastern Conference Final.
• Gil finished today’s win with one goal, one assist and two shots, while completing 34 of 41 pass attempts. With two goals and three assists this postseason, Gil, who wore the captain’s armband, has been directly involved in six of New England’s seven playoff goals.
• Gil’s three assists this postseason are tied for the most by a Revs player in a single playoff campaign, matching Jose Cancela (2003) and Lee Nguyen (2014). With his next playoff assist, he’ll match Cancela and Nguyen for the most ever in a Revolution shirt at four.

Turner Preserves Lead with Penalty Save

• Goalkeeper Matt Turner’s postseason record improved to 3-1-0 with his two-save effort.
• Turner’s save on Nani’s penalty kick attempt in the 74th minute was New England’s first PK denial in the playoffs since Oct. 31, 2004, when Matt Reis saved a pair of Columbus Crew attempts in the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Andrew Farrell, Lee Nguyen Eclipse 1,000 Minutes Played in MLS Cup Playoffs

• Defender Andrew Farrell and midfielder Lee Nguyen eclipsed 1,000 minutes played in the MLS Cup Playoffs in today’s contest. They join defender Seth Sinovic and forward Teal Bunbury, who surpassed the mark in the Nov. 20 Play-In Round win over Montreal, as the four current Revolution players to have eclipsed the milestone.
• Farrell, who owns 11 postseason appearances, all starts, finished with a team-best six clearances, three possessions gained and two interceptions over a full 90-minute performance.
• Nguyen entered today’s match as a substitute and played 12 minutes in his 13th postseason appearance- his 10th with New England.
• Bunbury made his 15th career postseason appearance today, passing Sinovic for the most among active Revolution players.

Revolution Deploy Unchanged Starting Lineup

• Bruce Arena deployed an unchanged Starting XI from Tuesday’s Round One win at Philadelphia, marking the first time since July 17 that New England’s lineup featured no changes from the previous contest.
• Tajon Buchanan made his third straight start at right back after playing primarily as a winger in 23 regular season appearances. Buchanan recorded a team-best nine tackles, four possessions gained, two clearances and two interceptions over a 67-minute shift.
• Defender Brandon Bye came off the bench for the first time this postseason, replacing Tajon Buchanan who exited the game with a leg injury. Bye played 23 minutes and registered two clearances and one interception in his second MLS Cup Playoffs appearance.
• Kelyn Rowe, Tommy McNamara and Michael Mancienne all made their second straight appearances off the bench in today’s match.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Alex Chilowicz
Assistant Referee: Jason White (AR1), Ian McKay (AR2)
Fourth Official: Joe Dickerson
Video Assistant Referee: Chris Penso
Weather: 80 degrees and sunny

Scoring Summary:
NE - Carles Gil (Penalty Kick) 17’
NE - Gustavo Bou (Unassisted) 25’
ORL - Junior Urso (Unassisted) 33’
NE - Gustavo Bou (Carles Gil, Adam Buksa) 86’

Misconduct Summary:
NE - Adam Buksa (Yellow Card - Unsporting Behavior) 28’
ORL - Antonio Carlos (Yellow Card - Unsporting Behavior) 47’
ORL - Daryl Dike (Yellow Card - Unsporting Behavior) 53’
ORL - Mauricio Pereyra (Red Card - Serious Foul) 60’
ORL - Nani (Yellow Card - Dissent) 63’
ORL - Junior Urso (Yellow Card - Unsporting Behavior) 75’

New England Revolution: Matt Turner; DeJuan Jones, Henry Kessler, Andrew Farrell, Tajon Buchanan (Brandon Bye 67’); Matt Polster (Lee Nguyen 78’), Scott Caldwell (Tommy McNamara 90’); Teal Bunbury (Kelyn Rowe 67’), Carles Gil ©, Gustavo Bou, Adam Buksa (Michael Mancienne 90’)

Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Kekuta Manneh, Justin Rennicks

Orlando City SC: Brian Rowe; Robin Jansson, Kyle Smith (Benji Michel 78’), Antonio Carlos, Kamal Miller; Chris Mueller (Tesho Akindele 78’), Mauricio Pereyra, Junior Urso (Robinho 88’), Uri Rosell (Andres Perea 66’); Nani ©, Daryl Dike

Substitutes Not Used: Alex De John, Rodrigo Shlegel, Alexander Alvarado, Mason Stajduhar, Joey DeZart