COLUMBUS, Ohio – The New England Revolution (7-2-3; 24 pts.) played to a 2-2 draw against the Columbus Crew (4-3-4; 16 pts.) in the first ever game at Lower.com Field on Saturday evening. Tajon Buchanan opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a headed shot that banked in off the crossbar – and capped off a 20-pass sequence from the Revolution – before Gustavo Bou doubled New England’s lead in the 30th minute with a left-footed finish of a grounded cross from Buchanan. Columbus’ Gyasi Zardes pulled one back for the hosts shortly before halftime, and then forced a Revolution own goal in the 69th minute that knotted the game at 2-2.

Bou has now scored in five consecutive appearances, which is the longest run of consecutive games with a goal by an MLS player this season. His six goals on the year are tied with Orlando’s Nani, Kansas City’s Alan Pulido, and Houston’s Maxi Urruti for fourth most across MLS this season. The Revolution improve to 13-1-8 all-time in matches when Bou – whose goal today was the 20th of his Revolution career – scores with today’s draw in Columbus.

Buchanan submitted a goal and an assist in the same match for the first time in his professional career today. His three goals are third most among Revolution players this season, while his three assists rank second on the team. Buchanan will depart following today’s match to report for international duty with the Canada Men’s National Team, which he will represent at the upcoming Concacaf Gold Cup. DeJuan Jones collected his second assist of the season on Buchanan’s goal, giving him two on the year – a new single-season career high for the third-year veteran.

Also departing after today’s win is Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner, who will be joining the United States Men’s National Team for the Gold Cup. Turner recorded five saves in the draw, raising his total to 41 on the season, which is tied with Philadelphia’s Andre Blake for third-most in MLS.

In addition, forward Teal Bunbury came off the bench to record his 300th MLS appearance. The 12th-year veteran ranks eighth among active MLS players in games played.

New England returns to action on Wednesday, July 7, when the club hosts Toronto FC at Gillette Stadium. The contest kicks off at 7:00 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 2, Columbus Crew 2
July 3, 2021 – Lower.com Field (Columbus, Ohio) 

• The New England Revolution (7-2-3, 24 pts.) battled the Columbus Crew (4-3-4, 16 pts.) to a 2-2 draw in the first-ever contest played at Lower.com Field on Saturday behind goals from Tajon Buchanan and Gustavo Bou. Buchanan, DeJuan Jones and Tommy McNamara each collected an assist. 
• With the result, New England’s away record shifts to 2-2-3 this season. The Revolution’s all-time record against Columbus moves to 24-38-14. 
• Bruce Arena’s all-time record moves to 225-133-108. The winningest active head coach in MLS and second-winningest all-time, Arena is 23-12-19 since joining New England in 2019. 
• Arena made two changes to New England’s Starting XI from the club’s most recent contest at FC Dallas on Sunday, with defender Henry Kessler and midfielder Tommy McNamara starting in place of Jon Bell and Arnór Traustason. 
• Buchanan’s goal-and-assist performance was his first in MLS. The 22-year-old midfielder’s 13th-minute header was the first goal scored at Lower.com Field. 
• Bou extended his streak to a career-best five consecutive games with a goal scored with his sixth tally of the season. The Revolution’s leading scorer, Bou owns 20 goals and seven assists over 42 MLS appearances. 
• McNamara registered his first assist of the season on Bou’s tally. The helper was McNamara’s first since Sept. 27, 2020, when the Revs logged a 2-0 win at D.C. United, and his 20th in MLS. McNamara, who posted a 64-minute performance, has appeared in every contest this season, including six starts. 
• Jones logged his second assist of the season and the third helper of his career. Jones recorded team-bests in tackles (7), possession gained (7) and clearances (4), along with two interceptions in his seventh consecutive full 90-minute performance. The third-year defender’s next appearance will be his 50th in MLS. 
• Carles Gil, the reigning MLS Player of the Month, collected his 50th start in MLS today. Gil remains one of three Revolution players to start each contest and play every minute this season alongside Turner and Andrew Farrell. 
• Teal Bunbury registered his 300th appearance in MLS in today’s contest, eighth most among active MLS players. Bunbury played 26 minutes in the draw. He has appeared in nine games this season. 
• Matt Turner made five saves in today’s match. Turner’s all-time record against Columbus moves to 1-1-2. 
• Brandon Bye logged his 75th MLS start today. Bye has played all 90 minutes in eight straight games and finished with a team-best four interceptions, in addition to five possessions gained and three clearances. 
• Bunbury, Adam Buksa, Wilfrid Kaptoum and Arnór Traustason appeared off the bench in today’s match. Kaptoum’s 22-minute performance was his first appearance since May 22 and his sixth in a Revolution uniform, while Buksa remains one of two Revolution players to appear in every contest since 2020 along with Buchanan.

GAME CAPSULE

REFEREE: Alan Kelly 
Assistant Referees: Cameron Blanchard (AR1), Jeremy Kieso (AR2) 
4th Official: Sergii Demianchuk 
Video Assistant Referee: Sorin Stoica
Weather: 80 degrees and sunny 
Attendance: 20,371 

Scoring Summary:
NE- Tajon Buchanan 3 (DeJuan Jones 2) 13’ 
NE- Gustavo Bou 6 (Tajon Buchanan 3, Tommy McNamara 1) 30’
CLB- Gyasi Zardes 4 (Harrison Afful, 1 Vito Wormgoor 1) 39’ 
CLB- Andrew Farrell (Own Goal) 69’ 

Misconduct Summary:
NE- DeJuan Jones (Yellow Card - Hard Foul) 53’
CLB- Darlington Nagbe (Yellow Card - Hard Foul) 68’
CLB- Jonathan Mensah (Yellow Card - Hard Foul) 75’
CLB- Pedro Santos (Yellow Card - Unsporting Behavior) 79’

New England Revolution: Matt Turner; DeJuan Jones, Andrew Farrell, Henry Kessler, Brandon Bye; Maciel (Wilfrid Kaptoum 78’), Matt Polster; Tajon Buchanan (Arnór Traustason 78’), Carles Gil ©, Tommy McNamara (Teal Bunbury 64’); Gustavo Bou (Adam Buksa 78’)

Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, A.J. DeLaGarza, Jon Bell, Scott Caldwell, Emmanuel Boateng

Columbus Crew: Eloy Room; Jonathan Mensah ©, Vito Wormgoor, Milton Valenzuela (Waylon Francis 44’), Harrison Afful; Darlington Nagbe, Pedro Santos, Lucas Zelarayan, Luis Diaz (Alexandru Matan 63’), Marlon Hairston (Liam Fraser 64’); Gyasi Zardes

Substitutes Not Used: Perry Kitchen, Waylon Francis, Isaiah Parente, Evan Bush, Saad Abdul-Salaam, Miguel Berry, Aboubacar Keita

Full statistics available HERE.