Revolution Give Up Late Ahead Goal in 1-0 Loss to NYCFC
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (May 25, 2024) – The New England Revolution (2-10-1; 7 pts.) were defeated, 1-0, by New York City FC (8-5-2, 26 pts.) on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium with 26,625 fans in attendance. Despite the Revolution holding an edge in shots and possession, with an eight-to-four advantage in shots on target, NYCFC claimed all three points after an 81st-minute header from midfielder Keaton Parks provided the difference.
New England controlled the play during the first half, staving off an early push from the visitors thanks to two blocked shots by Henry Kessler in the opening five minutes. Kessler was cautioned in the 13th minute and will be suspended for next weekend’s contest at Nashville for yellow card accumulation. The Revolution were also forced to dip into their bench early, as Tomás Chancalay, who returned to the starting lineup after missing last week’s match through suspension, picked up a right leg injury 10 minutes into the match. He was replaced by Homegrown midfielder Esmir Bajraktarević for the remainder of the match and recorded five shot attempts, even with Giacomo Vrioni for the team lead, with a career-high four shots on target.
The Revolution produced a flurry of chances just shy of the half-hour mark as they pushed to open the scoring. Xavier Arreaga narrowly missed a header wide off a corner kick in the 25th minute. Vrioni then had an effort saved and Dylan Borrero fired a shot high in quick succession. Borrero made his second straight start and fifth appearance of the season, logging 78 minutes in his 25th MLS appearance.
At the start of the second half, Vrioni was again stymied by NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese, who parried away the Albanian’s glancing header. Freese, who finished with eight saves, also denied Borrero and Carles Gil two minutes apart midway through the second half to keep the game scoreless. In addition to his one shot on target, Gil recorded eight key passes in the match, his most in a single game since 2021. In the 81st minute, Parks got separation from his defender and nodded home a cross from Tayvon Gray to put the visitors in front.
New England will look to rebound next weekend when the Revolution hit the road to face Nashville SC on Saturday, June 1. The 8:30 p.m. ET kickoff at GEODIS Park airs live on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app in English and Spanish. Listen to the Revolution’s local radio calls on 98.5 The Sports Hub (WBZ-FM), with Brad Feldman and Charlie Davies, and on 1260 AM “Nossa Radio USA” in Portuguese.
