FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (10-3-3; 33 pts.) defeated CF Montréal (6-5-4; 22 pts.), 2-1, at Gillette Stadium on Sunday evening, becoming the first MLS team to reach 10 victories this season. Gustavo Bou scored both of the game’s two goals, first scoring from beyond the penalty arc with his right foot before doubling the Revolution’s lead in the 73rd minute. Montreal’s Djordje Mihailovic pulled one back for the visitors in the 79’, snapping New England’s shutout streak at 325 minutes.

Bou’s brace gives him nine goals on the season, moving him into sole possession of third place in the Major League Soccer Golden Boot race. The two goals also lift the team’s total to 30 tallies on the year, most in the league. Bou’s nine strikes match his previous single-season career high set in 2019, as he has now scored eight times in his last nine appearances. Only Seattle’s Raul Ruidiaz (11) and LA’s Chicarito (10) have scored more times this season.

Arnór Traustason registered his third assist of the season on Bou’s first goal, while Carles Gil and Brandon Bye were credited with the assists on the second. Gil now owns 13 helpers this year, more than double that of any other MLS player. He remains on pace to smash the club’s single-season assists record of 19 and challenge the MLS single-season record of 26. Bye’s assist was his second of the campaign – matching his previous single-season career high set in 2018 and met in 2019.

In net, Brad Knighton made three saves and improved his record as the Revolution’s starter to 3-1-0 this season. Ahead of him on the backline was Christian Mafla, who logged his second straight start in an 89-minute outing, and center back Andrew Farrell. Farrell made his 255th appearance for the club, moving into third place all-time, and also claimed sole possession of the most minutes played since the start of the 2013 season. The ninth-year defender now owns the most games played, starts, and minutes played since he entered the league. 

New England returns to action on Saturday, July 31, when the club visits the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena. The match kicks off at 6:00 p.m. ET and will air locally on WSBK-TV38, myRITV, 98.5 The Sports Hub, and WBIX 1260 AM Nossa Radio.

POSTGAME NOTES
New England Revolution 2, CF Montreal 1
July 25, 2021 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

Team Notes: 

• The New England Revolution defeated CF Montreal, 2-1, on Sunday night to improve to 10-3-3 (33 points) on the season. 
• New England is the first MLS team to reach 10 wins this year. This is the second-fewest games the club has ever taken to reach the double-digit victories. 
• The win improves New England’s record to 13-10-3 in the all-time series with Montreal, including a 7-4-1 mark at home. 
• New England has been in first place in the Eastern Conference since May 16. With the win, the Revs now lead second-place Nashville by seven points with one game in hand. 
• New England’s 30 goals scored are most in MLS, while the team’s +11 goal differential is tied for second best. The club’s 17 first-half goals are most in MLS. 
• New England improves to 6-1-0 at home this season and own the best home-winning percentage (.857) in MLS. The club’s six home wins are currently tied with Nashville SC for the most in MLS. Nashville has played 11 home games to the Revs’ seven. 
• New England saw its shutout streak of 324 minutes snapped on Sunday in the 79th minute, the fourth-longest streak without conceding in MLS this season. 
• New England took all nine points its three-game week, including wins against Atlanta on July 17, Inter Miami on July 21, and Montreal on July 25. It marks the club’s first nine-point week since 2014, when the Revs won three consecutive games across eight days from Aug. 30 – Sept. 7.

Individual Notes:

• Today’s starting group featured four changes from Wednesday’s 5-0 win at Inter Miami, as Brandon Bye, Matt Polster, Wilfrid Kaptoum, and Gustavo Bou started in place of A.J. DeLaGarza, Maciel, Tommy McNamara, and Teal Bunbury.
• Forward Gustavo Bou scored his first brace in MLS regular season play, and his second with the club including the playoffs. Bou leads the team with nine goals on the year, placing him third in the MLS Golden Boot race this season. Bou also had a team-high four chances created on the night.
• Captain and midfielder Carles Gil provided his league-leading 13th assist of the season, a secondary assist on Bou’s game-winning goal. Gil recorded three shots, including one on target, as well as two chances created and a team high 67 touches. He also had a goal disallowed in the first half for an offside call in the buildup. 
• Midfielder Arnór Traustason picked up his third assist of the season on Bou’s first-half strike, his first helper since May 1. Traustason has now factored into three goals over the past two matches (two goals, one assist) and finished Sunday’s contest with three tackles, three recoveries, two shots, and one interception.
• New England’s trio of Designated Players –Gustavo Bou, Adam Buksa, and Carles Gil – started together for the sixth time this season. The trio of international attackers has combined to total 18 goals and 17 assists through New England’s first 16 games, factoring into 25 of the team’s MLS-best 30 goals this season. 
• Defender Brandon Bye recorded his second assist of the season, his first since May 16, on Bou’s winning goal. Bye finished the contest with team highs in clearances (4) and interceptions (3) to go along with eight recoveries, two tackles, and one blocked shot. Bye also eclipsed 7,000 career minutes played in the victory.
• Defender Andrew Farrell made his 255th appearance for New England on Sunday, passing Matt Reis for the third-most in club history behind Shalrie Joseph and Diego Fagundez (261). Farrell finished the night with team highs in recoveries (11) and blocked shots (3).
• Farrell also surpassed Luis Robles for the most MLS minutes played since the start of the 2013 season. Farrell – who has never missed more than five games in a season – leads all MLS players in appearances, starts, and minutes played since he entered the league as the first-overall SuperDraft pick in 2013. 
• Brad Knighton collected his fourth consecutive start, making three saves as he improved his record to 3-1-0 this season. Knighton is also 3-1-0 in his career against Montreal. 
• Knighton moved past Adin Brown for the fifth-most minutes played in goal in club history (4,425) and also surpassed Walter Zenga for the sixth-most saves in club history (169).
• Midfielder Matt Polster logged his 10th 90-minute outing of the season, completing 89.5 percent of his passes with seven possessions gained. 
• Defender Christian Mafla collected his second straight start at left back and his fourth appearance of the season. Mafla, who owns three starts, played a season-high 89 minutes. 
• Defender Jon Bell and forward Adam Buksa both left Sunday’s game with injuries. Bell played 62 minutes, finishing with four clearances and 93.8 percent of his passes completed. Buksa recorded one shot on target in 36 minutes.

GAME CAPSULE
REFEREE: Alex Chilowicz
Assistant Referees: Nick Uranga (AR1); Brian Dunn (AR2)
4th: Matthew Corrigan
Video Assistant Referee: Malik Badawi
Weather: 73 degrees and cloudy
Attendance: 18,217

Scoring Summary:
NE – Gustavo Bou 8 (Arnór Traustason 3) 29’
NE – Gustavo Bou 9 (Brandon Bye 2, Carles Gil 13) 73’
MTL - Djordje Mihailovic 3 (Joaquín Torres 2) 79’

Misconduct Summary:
NE – Tommy McNamara (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 90’
NE – Christian Mafla (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 90’+4

New England Revolution: Brad Knighton, Christian Mafla (Scott Caldwell 90’+5), Andrew Farrell, Jon Bell (A.J. DeLaGarza 62’), Brandon Bye, Matt Polster, Wilfrid Kaptoum (Maciel 63’), Arnór Traustason (Tommy McNamara 63’), Carles Gil ©, Gustavo Bou, Adam Buksa (Teal Bunbury 29’).  

Substitutes Not Used: Earl Edwards Jr., Emmanuel Boateng.

CF Montreal: James Pantemis; Mathieu Choinière (Ibrahim Sunusi 84’), Joel Waterman, Rudy Camacho, Zorhan Ludovic Bassong (Mustafa Kizza 84’); Victor Wanyama, Djordje Mihailovic, Emanuel Maciel (Ahmed Hamdi 84’), Lassi Lappalainen (Zachary Brault-Guillard 75’); Joaquín Torres, Mason Toye (Bjørn Maars Johnsen 84’).

Substitutes Not Used: Sebastian Breza, Clément Bayiha.

Full statistics available HERE.