August 8, 2021 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – New England Revolution News Release
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (12-3-4; 40 pts.) extended their unbeaten streak to six games with a 2-1 win against the Philadelphia Union (7-5-7; 28 pts.) at Gillette Stadium on Sunday evening. Matt Polster opened the scoring and his Revolution account in the 10th minute when he combined with Tommy McNamara and scored with his right foot. Philadelphia’s Paxten Aaronson equalized in the 31st minute, but Gustavo Bou responded with the game-winning goal eight minutes later – moving him into the co-lead for Major League Soccer’s Golden Boot.
With the win, New England has reached the 40-point threshold in fewer than 20 games for the first time in club history. New England’s six-game unbeaten run matches its best of the season as the Revs have claimed 16 out of a possible 18 points since July 17. The Revolution also went 5-0-1 between May 8 and June 23. With the three points tonight, the club extends its lead in the Eastern Conference to a season-high 10 points and its Supporters’ Shield advantage to six points.
Defender Andrew Farrell set a new club record for most MLS games started in tonight’s match with his 255th selection, eclipsing Shalrie Joseph’s mark of 254. He also surpassed Matt Reis for second-most minutes played in Revolution history and is now 115 minutes away from topping Joseph’s club record of 22,867. With four more appearances, Farrell will also break New England’s all-time games played record of 261, a mark jointly held by Joseph and Diego Fagundez.
Gustavo Bou’s goal in the 39th minute was his 11th tally of the season, which moves the 2021 MLS All Star into a tie with Seattle Sounders FC’s Raúl Ruidíaz for the league lead. Bou finished the night with four shots, two on target, and four key passes. The Argentinian now owns 25 goals in 49 league appearances, and 28 goals across all competitions – both the second most in MLS since he entered the league in July 2019.
Polster’s goal marked his first with the Revolution, and his first in MLS since Aug. 5, 2017 when he was a member of Chicago Fire FC. Tommy McNamara recorded his third assist of the season on Polster’s tally.
In net, Matt Turner made five saves in his second game back with New England from the Concacaf Gold Cup, where he was named the tournament’s Best Goalkeeper.
New England will hit the road next Saturday, Aug. 14 to face Toronto FC at BMO Field, marking New England’s first trip to Ontario since March 2019. The 8:00 p.m. ET match will air locally on WSBK-TV38, myRITV, 98.5 The Sports Hub, and WBIX 1260 AM Nossa Radio.
POSTGAME NOTES
New England Revolution 2, Philadelphia Union 1
August 8, 2021 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Team Notes:
The New England Revolution defeated Philadelphia Union, 2-1, on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium. The result improves New England’s record to 12-3-4 (40 pts.) this season and extends their unbeaten streak to six games (5-0-1), tying their longest such streak of the season.
The Revolution have reached the 40-point mark in fewer than 20 games for the first time in club history. The club’s previous fastest season to 40 points came in 2005 (22 games). The Revolution remain the lone team to average more than two points per game this season (2.11).
The win lifts New England 10 points above second-place Orlando City SC in the Eastern Conference standings and stretches the club’s Supporters’ Shield lead to six points over Sporting Kansas City.
New England’s home record this season improves to 7-1-1, tied for the most wins at home this year with LA Galaxy. The win was New England’s 200th regular season home win in club history.
New England’s all-time record against Philadelphia shifts to 7-17-7, including a 4-6-4 mark at Gillette Stadium. The win was New England’s first over Philadelphia in the regular season since July 29, 2017 – a 3-0 victory at Gillette Stadium.
Bruce Arena’s career record improves to 230-134-109, including a 28-13-20 regular season mark with New England. Arena is the second coach to win 230 career games in MLS (Sigi Schmid – 240).
Individual Notes:
Tonight’s Starting XI featured two changes from the club’s most recent match on Wednesday vs. Nashville. Maciel started in the midfield in place of Wilfrid Kaptoum, while Tommy McNamara replaced Arnór Traustason.
Andrew Farrell made his 255th MLS start tonight, surpassing Shalrie Joseph (254) for the most regular season starts in a Revolution uniform. In the first half tonight, Farrell also jumped leap Matt Reis (22,699) for the second-most minutes played in Revs history. The defender finished his 90-minute performance with a team-high two interceptions, eight recoveries, and 93.8 percent passing accuracy.
Gustavo Bou scored his 11th goal of the season, tying him for the lead in the MLS Golden Boot race with Seattle’s Raúl Ruidíaz. Bou has scored 25 regular season goals for the club and 28 goals including the postseason – both the second-highest totals since he entered MLS in July 2019.
Bou has now scored 10 goals in his last 12 games. His 11 goals on the year mark an MLS career high. The Argentine added a team-high four key passes on the night.
Matt Polster scored his first goal in a Revolution uniform, finishing off a give-and-go exchange with Tommy McNamara in the 10th minute. The goal was Polster’s first in MLS play since Aug. 5, 2017 with Chicago Fire FC. Polster played 45 minutes and completed 24 of his 25 passes while adding five recoveries and two clearances.
Tommy McNamara added his third assist of the season on Polster’s tally and closed his 75-minute outing with two chances created, 46 of 49 passes completed, and three tackles.
Henry Kessler and Matt Turner also played for the second time this week after helping the United States to victory at the Concacaf Gold Cup. Kessler completed 96 percent of his passes and recorded four recoveries and four clearances.
Turner made five saves to log his eighth win of the season – matching his career high. Turner’s 32 wins with the Revolution rank third in club history.
Tajon Buchanan saw action for the second time since returning from international duty with Canada at the Concacaf Gold Cup. The third-year pro won 10 of 14 duels on the night.
DeJuan Jones set a new career high with 107 touches on the night, breaking his previous mark set last Wednesday vs. Nashville SC. Jones won a team-best 11 duels and also won four tackles.
Maciel returned to the starting lineup for the first time since July 21, finishing the night with a team-high 10 recoveries to go with one key pass.
GAME CAPSULE
REFEREE: Armando Villarreal
Assistant Referees: Kevin Klinger (AR1); Matthew Nelson (AR2)
4th: Joshua Encarnacion
Video Assistant Referee: Jorge Gonzalez
Weather: 79 degrees and cloudy
Attendance: 17,054
Scoring Summary:
NE – Matt Polster 1 (Tommy McNamara 3) 10′
PHI – Paxten Aaronson 1 (Jakob Glesnes 2) 31′
NE – Gustavo Bou 11 (Unassisted) 39′
Misconduct Summary:
PHI – Olivier Mbaizo (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 22′
PHI – Jack Elliott (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 54′
NE – Tommy McNamara (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 69′
PHI – Kai Wagner (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 84′
NE – Teal Bunbury (Yellow Card – Time Wasting) 90’+3
New England Revolution: Matt Turner; DeJuan Jones, Henry Kessler, Andrew Farrell, Brandon Bye; Matt Polster (Arnór Traustason 46′), Maciel, Tommy McNamara (Scott Caldwell 75′), Tajon Buchanan; Gustavo Bou © (Teal Bunbury 90′), Adam Buksa
Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Earl Edwards Jr., Christian Mafla, A.J. DeLaGarza, Emmanuel Boateng, Wilfrid Kaptoum
Philadelphia Union: Andre Blake ©; Olivier Mbaizo (Alejandro Bedoya 57′), Jakob Glesnes, Jack Elliott, Stuart Findlay; Jack McGlynn, Jose Martinez (Ilsinho 57′), Leon Flach (Kai Wagner 46′); Paxten Aaronson, Quinn Sullivan (Daniel Gazdag 76′), Sergio Santos (Kacper Przybylko 46′)
Substitutes Not Used: Matt Freese, Aurélien Collin, Nathan Harriel, Cole Turner
New England Revolution Team Statistics Philadelphia Union
14 (4)
Shots (on Target) 13 (6)
5
Blocked Shots 3
5 Saves 2
9 Corner Kicks 7
2 Offsides 1
11 Fouls 12
483 (89.4%) Passes Attempted (% Completed) 418 (83.0%)
53.6% Possession 46.4%
POSTGAME QUOTES
New England Revolution Sporting Director & Head Coach Bruce Arena
On the injury status of Carles Gil:
Arena: “He has a muscle tissue injury. However you want to define it. The timeline remains to be seen. We played a game, by the way, if anyone’s interested in the game we just played.”
On the performance of Tajon Buchanan and if he seemed to be playing Carles Gil’s role:
Arena: “No. He wasn’t in Carles’ role. We played him a little bit more on the right side of the field tonight, which is his more natural position. He did well and obviously he drew the penalty. I think, first of all, this has been a long week. I don’t think many teams in the league are going to get seven points out of a possible nine in this week. And I think teams are tired. And I think in the case of Tajon [Buchanan], he’s tired. He’s tired physically and mentally. This has been a really challenging couple of months for him and I think he’s worn out a little bit, but he played well. I thought Philadelphia did a good job sending two or three players at him at times. Overall, I thought Tajon had a good performance and it’s nice to have a week off and get ready for Toronto.”
On if Tajon Buchanan tried to create chances and take on defenders more tonight:
Arena: “He goes at guys, yes. I don’t agree that he plays like Carles [Gil] or took Carles’ role, but that’s okay. You’re entitled to an opinion. Everyone is, right? They’re obviously different players. Tajon is a good player. Still a bit inexperienced, but he’s making a lot of good process.”
On the significance of the win against a conference rival:
Arena: “I think the three points is very important. I haven’t been here that long, but I do remember last year and 2019 – I don’t think we won too many of these types of games. This is game 18 tonight? 19? 19. So, we’re 7-1-1. Nine [games played] at home, 10 on the road. So, we’ve done well, and we have a lot of wins, which is important. That’s a tiebreaker at some point. Our goals are to make the playoffs, one, and then have home field advantage, which is two. So, we’re moving in that direction. That’s a positive.”
On DeJuan Jones’ performance tonight:
Arena: “He was dangerous. I think the final product wasn’t there with some of his crosses and all, but defensively and getting into the attack and being threatening down the left side, was real good. I thought tonight’s performance was much improved over the performance we saw against Nashville. He’s growing into that position and he played very well tonight.”
On what Tommy McNamara and Maciel added to the team after being inserted into the starting lineup:
Arena: “Tommy [McNamara] set up the first goal and Maciel had a good 90 minutes. They did well. It’s good that we can rotate those positions. We also had [Wilfrid] Kaptoum as a possibility tonight. I think that’s a position that’s been good for us. I thought Arnór [Traustason] played very well in the second half and perhaps could’ve been a little bit more composed on a few of his chances, but he gave us a good 45 minutes.”
On Andrew Farrell setting a new team record for starts made and what makes him so consistent:
Arena: “Andrew [Farrell] is not the most gifted player, but he’s mentally and physically suited to be a durable player. He’s a great competitor, he’s a great teammate, and he’s playing a position that’s still relatively new for him. And to have that kind of longevity and quality, he’s well respected by his teammates as a leader. To have the club record is great. I hope we give him like a Rolex watch, as opposed to a jersey that says how many games in a row he’s played. I think that would be nice. It’s certainly nice, in that the guy that he replaced for that record [Shalrie Joseph] was a hell of a player and person as well. I congratulate Andrew on his accomplishment.”
On if he was disappointed that Gustavo Bou had his initial penalty kick saved:
Arena: “Well, he did score on the penalty kick. Yeah, [Andre] Blake is a very good goalkeeper. Gustavo [Bou] hasn’t taken one in regular season for us. I think he had one when we played in a preseason last year, but he hasn’t taken one [in MLS play]. We designated him to take penalties. He’s taken a couple in training, and they’re not easy. You can take 100 in training and they’re nothing like taking one in a game. We’re pleased in the fact that he was able to score. I think that was similar to the penalty Harry Kane had for England [in Euro 2020], right? It wasn’t a particularly good penalty, but he knocked in the rebound. So, we’re going to count that as a good penalty.”
On if Carles Gil will require surgery for his muscle injury:
Arena: “Whoever is giving you your information, he has a muscle injury and he’s rehabilitating it. He’s not having surgery as far as I know.”
On the status of Matt Polster:
Arena: “I think he just got his knee knocked. Hopefully he’ll be fine.”
Revolution Defender DeJuan Jones
On recent transfer rumors regarding a potential move to Europe:
Jones: “Yeah, I think it’s great. It’s obviously one of my goals to get over to Europe someday and play, or play the national team. So, to get those looks is really exciting and I know I have a lot of work to do. So just for now, I’m just focusing on continuing to get better every day and winning games for the Revs.”
On closing out tonight’s match:
Jones: “It was a fight. Philadelphia is a good team. They had a lot of good moments at the end game, so obviously a lot to improve on. They had a few chances, but I think just to get the result at home against a good Philly team is positive.”
On leading the Supporters’ Shield standings:
Jones: “It’s a great feeling. First time I’ve been up here. When I first got to the Revs, we were usually on the bottom of the leaderboard. So to be on top, it’s a great feeling. We have a target on our backs though, so we have to make sure we push every single game and start really well, because everyone’s gunning for the top team.”
On Andrew Farrell setting the club record for games started:
Jones: “I’m so happy for Andrew [Farrell]. Like you said, he’s a great leader, a great friend, great teammate. His communication and leadership are kind of unsung, I would say. He’s always talking to us younger guys and giving us that leadership. Whether it’s putting his head on the line, making the game-saving tackle, he’s always going to be there encouraging us. When we make mistakes, he’s right there to pick us back up. Farrell’s a great guy. I couldn’t be happier for him.”
On the key to the team’s current six-game unbeaten streak:
Jones: “I would say just not settling and just pushing ourselves every game. We know it’s a long season, we have a good lead right now in the east, but again, it can change quickly. So, we just got to continue to work hard every single game, and for 90 minutes, and then focus on the next game. We can’t look too far in the future.”
On how he would grade his own performance this season:
Jones: “Yeah, I would say technically I’ve been better. I think my left foot has gotten better this year as well, and just making better decisions, playing quick. Today, I thought I was pretty good. A couple of passes I want back, a couple decisions I wish I could have back, but it’s all part of the game. I’ll watch film and try to correct them for next game.”
Revolution Goalkeeper Matt Turner
On Philadelphia pressing for an equalizer in the second half:
Turner: “Absolutely. Any time you’re in a game you have to expect the worst, right? Especially as a goalkeeper, your plan is to pick things up when the worst things happen. They were pushing pretty hard at the end. We were able to bend but not break. I think, overall, what we’ll take from this game is we got our first goal early, then we were way too casual. This is an MLS game. This is a professional soccer game. Everybody that’s out there wants to win. And we got punished – they scored. We were able to battle back, get the goal, and be solid enough to grind out the three points.”
On the difference between this year’s team and those of years’ past:
Turner: “I think you just look at experience around the team. Guys that have been on the team for a number of years, veteran players – you got Scotty Caldwells, the Teal Bunburys, Andrew Farrells. It’s just a culture in the locker room right now. It’s a mindset of wanting to win. That’s not only out on the game field, but also on the training pitch week in and week out. Obviously, this season it’s been a lot of quick turnaround. So, when things are going good, it feels really good and games are coming thick and fast, and you’re getting results. But we understand we’re only 19 games in, and the last 15 games is the MLS season, so we got to continue to play well.”
On Andrew Farrell setting a new Revolution record for most games started:
Turner: “It’s amazing. It’s amazing. This guy is a true professional. He loves this club. He loves playing soccer. He’s a great guy to have around, not only for what he brings on the field, but also off the field. He’s a really important player to our locker room. And he’s a really important friend to me. Our relationship is very, very special to me. He’s helped me from the time that I was playing as a third string, and then we were living together, and I was sort of learning from him day in and day out about what it takes to get your mind right every day for training. This guy just shows up every single week, every single game, every single practice. It’s been great to learn from him for years, and I look forward to not only the rest of this season, but the rest of our lives being buds.”
On if Tajon Buchanan has stepped up his game since the Gold Cup:
Turner: “100 percent. He’s definitely playing at a higher level. But he’s still a young player. He’s 22 years old. What did he sign with the Revs when he was 19 or 20, or something like that? He’s just been progressively getting better and better, and that’s been really fun to watch. You see when he’s on the ball he’s getting more confidence to take players on, consistently getting in good spots, drawing obviously the penalty tonight. He’s a great player with a super, super bright future.”
On the message from Bruce Arena at halftime:
Turner: “I think the message was that we were far too casual. It wasn’t a very pleasant halftime team talk. I won’t really elaborate too much on that. But it wasn’t just from him – it was from the players as well. I think that’s the difference from this year to years’ past. The players are holding each other accountable in the locker room. That makes it a lot easier for the coaching staff. They don’t have to necessarily be the bad guys. And no one takes things personally. It’s just about getting the job done. So, how are we going to do it? I think our goal for the second half was to come out for the first 15 minutes and make sure that it was either 2-1 or 3-1. We were able to do that, and we were really front footed for those 15 minutes. After that, the game sort of ebbed and flowed, and both teams had a flurry of chances. I think, overall, it’s probably a fair result.”
On if he feels the Revolution are disrespected by the media:
Turner: “Absolutely not. I think that stuff is just noise. We’ll just keep taking care of business the way we’ve been doing, or as best we can. We’ll go forth that way. Hopefully, by the end of the season they’ll be writing about us like they write about the other teams.”
On feeling more settled in net tonight having been home from Gold Cup for a nearly a week:
Turner: “For sure. I never lie to you guys – Wednesday was a quick turnaround for me after all that emotionally [winning Gold Cup with the U.S. Men’s National Team in Las Vegas on Sunday night]. To go from the high to, what do they say? Can you do it on a rainy Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium? I don’t know if that’s a saying in MLS. To go from that to playing that game against Nashville was a quick turnaround. It was a whirlwind of emotions, getting my feet on the ground. It was tough, but I caught up on my sleep. Felt really good out there tonight. Felt like I was seeing the ball well. All that really matters – I don’t really care how I play – as long as this team wins, I’m going to be the happiest guy out there.”
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