FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (3-1-2; 11 pts.) defeated Columbus SC, 1-0, in a rematch of the 2020 Eastern Conference Final at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night. New England’s Adam Buksa scored the game’s lone goal in the 86th minute, three minutes after he entered the match as a substitute, improving the club’s home record to 3-0-0 to start the season. The win caps off a stretch of three games in nine days that saw the Revolution take four points and move to the top of the Eastern Conference table.

Buksa’s goal is his second of the season, and his eighth since joining the Revolution ahead of the 2020 campaign. He is the first substitute to score for New England through the first six games of the season. Recording the assists on Buksa’s game-winning goal were Brandon Bye and Carles Gil, their first and third on the year, respectively. Gil’s three combined primary and second assists are good for second most in MLS. He posted game highs with six chances created and 85 touches.

Making his 75th career MLS appearance, goalkeeper Matt Turner made one save in his 18th shutout for the Revolution. The clean sheet marked New England’s second of the season – its first since a 1-0 win vs. D.C. United on April 24.

Tonight’s contest marked the second consecutive match that two Revolution II graduates – midfielder Maciel and defender Jon Bell – were included in the starting lineup. Both players also started in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw against the Philadelphia Union.

New England returns to action on Saturday, May 22, when the clubs hosts the New York Red Bulls at Gillette Stadium. The match kicks off at 8:00 p.m. ET on TV38, myRITV, 98.5 The Sports Hub, and in Portuguese on WBIX 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA.

POSTGAME NOTES
New England Revolution 1, Columbus SC 0
May 16, 2021 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

• The New England Revolution defeated Columbus SC, 1-0, on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Final, behind
• Adam Buksa’s game-winning goal in the 86th minute on assists from Brandon Bye and Carles Gil.
• The Revolution started the night in a 4-2-3-1 for the second consecutive contest with three changes in the Starting XI from last Wednesday’s match at Philadelphia. Matt Polster, Teal Bunbury, and Gustavo Bou started in place of Tommy McNamara, Tajon Buchanan and Adam Buksa.
• With tonight’s victory, New England has registered wins in its first three home contests of the season for the first time since 2005, when the Revolution won their first four matches at Gillette Stadium en route to an appearance in MLS Cup. The clean sheet was New England’s second this season.
• New England’s all-time record against Columbus SC shifts to 24-38-13 with tonight’s win, including a 16-17-6 mark in the regular season in Foxborough.
• Sporing Director and Head Coach Bruce Arena’s regular season record with New England improves to 19-11-18. Arena is now 17-9-4 all-time against Columbus, including 10-1-1 when his team scores first. Tonight’s win was Arena’s 10th at Gillette Stadium with New England.
• Buksa’s left-footed strike from close range was his second goal of the season, breaking a four-way tie for the team lead in goals scored. The 24-year-old Polish striker is the first Revolution player to score as a substitute in 2021. Buksa now owns eight goals in 29 career appearances in MLS.
• Carles Gil’s assist was his team-leading third of the season. Gil logged a team-high six key passes for the third straight game, along with one shot on target while completing 47 of 59 pass attempts.
• Bye registered his first assist of the season on the play, while adding two key passes and two interceptions to his 90-minute performance.
• Goalkeeper Matt Turner made his 75th career MLS appearance on Sunday, improving his career record to 27-22-25 with his 18th clean sheet. Tonight’s victory was Turner’s (1-1-1) first over Columbus SC in three league games.
• Defender Jon Bell made his second MLS start tonight after making his MLS and Revolution first-team team debuts in last Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at Philadelphia. The 23-year-old, who became the second Revolution II product to suit up in a first-team match along with Maciel, registered team-highs in tackles (3) and interceptions (2) in his second straight full 90-minute shift.
• Defender Andrew Farrell made his 245th MLS regular season appearance tonight – and his 17th against Columbus – all with New England and finished his 90-minute effort with a team-best five clearances. The ninth-year defender continues to climb his way up the club’s all-time service ranks, as he is now one appearance shy of matching Chris Tierney (246) for fourth-most games played in Revolution history.
• Midfielders Wilfrid Kaptoum and Tommy McNamara, and forwards Buksa and Tajon Buchanan appeared as substitutes in tonight’s contest. Buksa and Buchanan remain the lone two Revolution players to have appeared in every match since 2020, while McNamara has played in every game this season.

GAME CAPSULE

REFEREE: Robert Sibiga
AR1: Brian Poeschel AR2: Tom Felice
4th: Adam Kilpatrick
Video Assistant Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero
Weather: 65 Degrees and Clear

Scoring Summary:
NE - Adam Buksa 2 (Brandon Bye 1, Carles Gil 3) 86’

Misconduct Summary:
CLB - Waylon Francis (Yellow Card – Hard Foul) 70’
NE - Wilfrid Kaptoum (Yellow Card – Hard Foul) 80’
NE - Jon Bell (Yellow Card – Hard Foul) 83’

New England Revolution: Matt Turner; DeJuan Jones, Andrew Farrell, Jon Bell, Brandon Bye; Matt Polster, Maciel (Wilfrid Kaptoum 68’); Arnór Traustason (Adam Buksa 83’), Carles Gil ©, Teal Bunbury (Tajon Buchanan 68’); Gustavo Bou (Tommy McNamara 90’)

Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Henry Kessler, A.J. DeLaGarza, Scott Caldwell, Edward Kizza

Columbus SC: Eloy Room; Waylon Francis (Saad Abdul-Salaam 78’), Josh Williams, Jonathan Mensah, Harrison Afful; Darlington Nagbe, Artur (Aboubacar Keita 78’); Derrick Etienne Jr. (Liam Fraser 66’), Pedro Santos, Luis Diaz (Alexandru Matan 59’); Gyasi Zardes (Bradley Wright-Phillips 66’)

Substitutes Not Used: Evan Bush, Vito Wormgoor, Isaiah Parente, Miguel Berry