FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution players excelled at the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup as goalkeeper Matt Turner (United States) and Tajon Buchanan (Canada) earned honors for their performances at the continental championship. Turner, who lifted the United States’ seventh Gold Cup trophy last night after defeating Mexico, 1-0, after extra time, was named the winner of the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup Best Goalkeeper Award presented by Allstate. Buchanan received the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup Young Player Award presented by Scotiabank.
Turner, 27, started all six games for the United States and posted five shutouts en route to the Gold Cup title. The Park Ridge, N.J. native allowed a tournament-low one goal – and none from the run of play – as he registered 26 saves to lead all goalkeepers at the Gold Cup. The USMNT named Turner the Man of the Match after both the Final against Mexico, in which he made five saves to keep the clean sheet, and the Semifinal against Qatar. Turner also tied for the team lead with a 94 percent passing accuracy rate over the six games.
For his international career, Turner now owns seven caps, six of them shutouts. With the national team, he has allowed 0.14 goals per game, conceding only once from the penalty spot. In MLS this season, Turner has backstopped the first-place Revolution in 12 starts with three shutouts.
Buchanan was the catalyst for Canada throughout the nation’s run to the semifinals. The 22-year-old recorded one goal and five assists while posing a consistent attacking threat for the Reds. The Brampton, Ontario native scored his first international goal in the Semifinal against Mexico. Now the owner of nine international caps, Buchanan made his senior-team debut earlier this summer with four appearances in 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. He notched two assists in his full international debut before adding three substitute appearances.
In March 2021, Buchanan, the 2020 Canadian Men’s Youth Player of the Year, made his first international appearance at any level when he featured for the Under-23 MNT in the Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship. Buchanan has been equally dangerous in MLS this season, as the fourth-year pro owns three goals and three assists in 12 appearances.
In addition to the standout tournaments by Turner and Buchanan, second-year Revolution defender Henry Kessler earned his first international cap with the U.S. Men’s National Team when he appeared as a late substitute in the Gold Cup Final win over Mexico. Henry was called in to the Gold Cup roster by Head Coach Gregg Berhalter as a medical replacement ahead of the knockout phase, appearing on the bench in the Quarterfinal and Semifinal before seeing his first USMNT action to close out the title match.
All three players return to a New England Revolution team that has won four straight games in their absence, lifting the club to first place in the Supporters’ Shield standings at the season’s midway mark. The Revolution return to MLS action on Wednesday, Aug. 4 when the club hosts Nashville SC for a 7:00 p.m. ET kickoff at Gillette Stadium. The match airs locally on WSBK-TV38, myRITV, CoziTV, 98.5 The Sports Hub, and 1260 AM Nossa Radio.
