FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (7-12-9; 30 pts.) defeated the Colorado Rapids (11-5-10; 43 pts.), 2-0, at Gillette Stadium on Saturday. With the win, New England moves within two points of D.C. United for the sixth slot on the Eastern Conference table with six matches remaining in the regular season.
Juan Agudelo opened the scoring for the Revolution in the 12th minute with his fourth goal of the season, which would also prove to be the game winner. Lee Nguyen, making his first career MLS start at forward, registered his eighth assist of the season on the goal, while Gershon Koffie set a personal season-high with his fourth assist. In the 49th minute, Chris Tierney doubled New England’s lead with a clinical left-footed finish, a goal set up by strong combination play from Kelyn Rowe, Diego Fagundez, and Scott Caldwell. Goalkeeper Brad Knighton submitted a pair of spectacular saves to preserve his second shutout of the season.
As part of Concussion Awareness Night, the Revolution welcomed club legend and current ESPN analyst Taylor Twellman back to Gillette Stadium. Taylor spoke to fans at halftime about his foundation, ThinkTaylor, and its efforts to raise awareness of concussions and severe head injuries. During his address, Twellman announced the week of September 12-16, 2016 will be recognized as Concussion Awareness Week in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The Revolution return to MLS action on Saturday, Sept. 10, when the club hosts New York City FC at Gillette Stadium for the third and final meeting between the two sides this season. The match kicks off at 8:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast locally on Comcast SportsNet with Brad Feldman, Paul Mariner, and Jessie Coffield calling the action. The game can also be heard locally on the radio on 98.5 The Sports Hub in English and on WMVX 1570 AM “Nossa Radio” in Portuguese.
New England Revolution 2, Colorado Rapids 0
September 3, 2016 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Revs Defeat Colorado; Continue Success against Western Conference Opponents
The Revolution defeated the Colorado Rapids, 2-0, improving the club’s record to 7-12-9 (30 pts.) on the season.
The Revs are now 6-4-4 in home matches and 3-2-4 against Western Conference teams on the year.
New England improves to 15-19-9 in the all-time series against Colorado and 11-6-5 at home. The Revs are 3-0-1 against the Rapids since 2011, and improve to 4-1-0 against Colorado under Head Coach Jay Heaps.
Agudelo Nets Fourth Goal of 2016
Forward Juan Agudelo opened the scoring for the Revolution in the 12th minute of tonight’s contest, banking in his right-footed shot off the far post. Agudelo now has four goals and two assists on the year.
Agudelo has now scored 29 career MLS goals, 18 of which have come as a Revolution player.
Tierney Scores Second Goal of Year
Defender Chris Tierney recorded his second goal of the 2016 campaign in the 49th minute of tonight’s match. Tierney’s first goal of the season came on a free kick on March 26 at New York City FC.
Tierney’s two goals this season tie a career high and give him multiple goals in four of the last six seasons. The defender also tallied twice in 2011, 2012, and most recently in 2015.
Tierney has now recorded 11 career MLS goals, all of which have come as a Revolution player.
Nguyen Records Team-Leading Eighth Assist
Midfielder Lee Nguyen registered his eighth assist of 2016 on Juan Agudelo’s 12th minute goal. His eight assists are tied for eighth most among MLS players this season.
The helper gives Nguyen 32 career MLS assists, all of which have come with the Revolution. Nguyen remains in fifth place in club history for career assists and is now two shy of matching Shalrie Joseph (34) for fourth place.
Eight assists also marks Nguyen’s second highest assist total in a single season. Last season, Nguyen recorded a personal-best 10 assists.
Koffie Registers Career-High Fourth Assist of 2016
Midfielder Gershon Koffie notched his fourth assist of the season on Juan Agudelo’s 12th minute goal. Four assists marks a new career high for the Ghanian midfielder, who previously recorded three assists in 2013 with Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
The assist marks Koffie’s 11th career MLS helper. Prior to this season, Koffie recorded seven assists over five seasons (2011-15) with Whitecaps FC.
Rowe Extends Five-Year Streak with Fifth Assist, Ties Pat Noonan for Sixth in Club History
Midfielder Kelyn Rowe posted his fifth assist of the season on Chris Tierney’s 49th minute goal. Rowe has now recorded at least five assists in each of his first five MLS seasons.
The assist was the 29th helper of Rowe’s MLS career, all of which have come with the Revolution. The fifth-year midfielder is now tied with Pat Noonan for the sixth most assists in club history.
Fagundez Finds Tierney for Third Assist
Midfielder Diego Fagundez recorded his third assist of the season on Chris Tierney’s 49th minute goal.
Fagundez now has 21 career MLS assists and is four shy of joining teammates Lee Nguyen and Kelyn Rowe as the third active Revolution player and eighth Revolution player overall to record at least 25 career goals and 25 career assists with the club.
Hello, Neumann
Midfielder Steve Neumann made his first MLS appearance of 2016 in tonight’s match when he replaced Kelyn Rowe in the 86th minute. The former first-round MLS SuperDraft selection has now recorded 33 career appearances.
Neumann’s last MLS appearance was on Sept. 19, 2015 at Montreal.
Femi Returns after Long Layoff
Forward Femi Hollinger-Janzen made his first appearance since July 16 at Real Salt Lake when he replaced Juan Agudelo in the 73rd minute of tonight’s match.
Femi has now made 15 appearances on the year, including one start. The former Indiana Hoosier has recorded two goals and an assist in his first MLS campaign.
Revolution Make Three Lineup Changes
Revolution Head Coach Jay Heaps made three changes to the starting lineup from New England’s most recent MLS match on Aug. 28 at New York Red Bulls. Defender London Woodberry, midfielder Diego Fagundez, and forward Juan Agudelo replaced defender Je-Vaughn Watson, forward Teal Bunbury, and forward Kei Kamara, respectively.
Watson and Kamara missed tonight’s match on international duty with their respective national teams. Kamara started and scored the lone goal for Sierra Leone in its 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match, while Watson started and played 90 minutes for Jamaica in its 2018 World Cup qualifying contest.
Midfielder Lee Nguyen started as a forward for the first time in his MLS career, as the Revs played in a 4-1-3-2 formation.
Goalkeeper Cody Cropper was available on the bench in tonight’s match, marking his first appearance in the 18-man matchday squad since joining the Revolution and MLS on Aug. 17, 2016.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- 12th minute (GOAL) – Juan Agudelo gives the Revolution an early lead with a curling, right-footed shot that he banks in off the far post. Gershon Koffie and Lee Nguyen executed a smooth one-two passing sequence before Koffie led Agudelo into the shot (WATCH HERE).
- 18th minute (SAVE) – Brad Knighton makes a spectacular diving save to preserve New England’s 1-0 lead, swatting away a powerful, close-range shot from Colorado Rapids midfielder Dillon Powers (WATCH HERE).
- 33rd minute (PENALTY) – New England is awarded a penalty after Rapids goalkeeper Zach MacMath trips up Kelyn Rowe and robs him of a clear scoring chance inside of Colorado’s 18-yard box (WATCH HERE). Lee Nguyen takes the PK attempt, but he smashes it off the right crossbar (WATCH HERE).
- 41st minute (POST) – Minutes after he hits the post on a penalty kick attempt, Lee Nguyen finds the woodwork again, this time with a right-footed shot from the center of the box (WATCH HERE).
- 49th minute (GOAL) – Chris Tierney doubles the Revolution’s lead with his second goal of the season, reeling in a perfect through-ball from Diego Fagundez and beating Zac MacMath with a clinical left-footed finish (WATCH HERE).
- 60th minute (SAVE) – Brad Knighton makes a submission for MLS Save of the Week, fully extending to his left to left to swat away a headed shot from Dillon Powers that was on track to the upper corner of the net (WATCH HERE).
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Alan Kelly
Assistant Referees: Joe Fletcher (AR1), James Conlee (AR2)
Fourth Official: Jaime Herrera
Weather: 69 Degrees and Partly Cloudy
Attendance: 15,046
Scoring Summary:
NE – Juan Agudelo 4 (Gershon Koffie 4, Lee Nguyen 8) 12’
NE – Chris Tierney 2 (Diego Fagundez 3, Kelyn Rowe 5) 49’
Misconduct Summary:
COL – Sam Cronin (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 22’
COL – Dominique Badji (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 29’
COL – Zac MacMath (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 32’
COL – Bobby Burling (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 90’+3’
New England Revolution: Brad Knighton; Chris Tierney, José Gonçalves, London Woodberry, Andrew Farrell; Gershon Koffie; Kelyn Rowe (Steve Neumann 86’), Scott Caldwell (Daigo Kobayashi 90’+1’), Diego Fagundez; Juan Agudelo (Femi Hollinger-Janzen 73’), Lee Nguyen ©
Substitutes Not Used: Cody Cropper, Darrius Barnes, Donnie Smith, Zachary Herivaux
Colorado Rapids: Zac MacMath; Marc Burch, Axel Sjoberg, Bobby Burling, Eric Miller; Micheal Azira (Caleb Calvert 79’), Sam Cronin; Sébastien Le Toux (Marlon Hairston 58’), Dillon Powers, Dominique Badji, Kevin Doyle
Substitutes Not Used: John Berner, Dennis Castillo, Jared Watts, Conor Doyle
