FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (March 23, 2024) – The New England Revolution (0-4-1; 1 pt.) played to a 1-1 draw with Chicago Fire FC (1-2-2; 5 pts) in a rainswept match on Saturday afternoon at Gillette Stadium. Nacho Gil provided the scoring for New England – his first career MLS goal – heading home a rebound in the dying moments of first-half stoppage time as the two sides shared the spoils on the day.
Chicago opened the scoring in the 20th minute, capitalizing off a Revolution turnover at midfield. Maren Haile-Selassie won the ball for Chicago before jumpstarting a counterattack up the right wing to Fabian Herbers, who fed in a cross to Hugo Cuypers to give the visitors an early lead. Seven minutes later, New England nearly equalized off a corner. Henry Kessler found space near the penalty spot, but looped his volley over the bar.
Nacho Gil evened the proceedings just before the intermission, heading home a rebound off older brother Carles Gil’s shot with the last action of first-half stoppage time. The tally was his second across all competitions this season and his first in MLS league play. Nacho Gil nearly added a second goal in the 69th minute, firing a one-time shot from the top of the penalty area that was deflected into the hands of Chicago goalkeeper Spencer Richey.
Earl Edwards Jr. earned the start in net for New England, his 2024 season debut, replacing Henrich Ravas who is away on international duty with Slovakia. Edwards made one save, denying Georgios Koutsias in the 67th minute. Following a giveaway, Edwards, with help from substitute Ryan Spaulding, forced Koutsias into a narrow angle before getting a hand to the low shot to keep the game tied.
New England is off next weekend before resuming the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup campaign in the Quarterfinal Round, hosting LIGA MX side Club América in Leg 1 on Tuesday, April 2 at 9:00 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium (FS2, TUDN). The MLS regular season slate then continues on Saturday, April 6, with the Revolution hosting Charlotte FC in Foxborough to close the three-match league homestand. The 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Gillette Stadium is available to watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV in English and Spanish. Listen to the Revolution’s local radio calls on 98.5 The Sports Hub (WBZ-FM) and on 1260 AM “Nossa Radio USA” in Portuguese.
MATCH NOTES
- With the draw, New England extended its unbeaten streak vs. Chicago Fire FC to 11 consecutive matches, including their last seven meetings in Foxborough.
- New England and Chicago have played to six straight draws, the first time that has happened between two opponents in MLS history.
- Saturday marked Head Coach Caleb Porter’s 300th game in Major League Soccer, only the 13th coach to reach the milestone, as his record against Chicago moved to 5-1-9.
- Nacho Gil tallied his first MLS goal, and second across all competitions this season. The Spaniard finished with a team-high three chances created.
- Dave Romney made his 125th MLS start and marked his 40th straight 90-minute performance in MLS regular season play since October 2022. Romney finished the day with a team-high five clearances.
- Giacomo Vrioni recorded three shots in his 25th Revolution start in all competitions.
- Matt Polster returned to the Revolution lineup and logged the full 90 minutes after missing last week’s match with a hamstring injury. Polster won 11 of his 16 duels, including six of his seven aerial duels.
- DeJuan Jones surpassed 12,000 career minutes played with the Revolution across all competitions. The defender marked the occasion by winning all six of his tackles, a team high, along with 11 duels won and 10 recoveries.
- Earl Edwards Jr. made his 2024 season debut, notching one save in Saturday’s contest.
GAME CAPSULE
New England Revolution 1 vs. Chicago Fire FC 1
March 23, 2024 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Referee: Kyle Johnston
Assistant Referees: Eric Del Rosario (AR1), Derek Guerrier (AR2)
Fourth Official: Kevin Morrison
Video Assistant Referee: Greg Barkey
Weather: 44 degrees and rain.
Attendance: 15,269
Scoring Summary:
CHI - Hugo Cuypers 2 (Fabian Herbers 2) 20’
NE - Nacho Gil 1 (Unassisted) 45’+4’
Misconduct Summary:
CHI – Fabian Herbers (Yellow Card – Hard Foul) 18’
CHI – Brian Gutierrez (Yellow Card – Simulation) 44’
CHI – Allan Arigoni (Yellow Card – Time Wasting) 45’+2’
NE – Ian Harkes (Yellow Card – Hard Foul) 60’
NE – Matthew Polster (Yellow Card – Hard Foul) 81’
CHI – Tom Barlow (Yellow Card – Hard Foul) 90’
NE – Carles Gil (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 90’+5’
New England Revolution: Earl Edwards Jr.; Dave Romney, Henry Kessler, Andrew Farrell (Ryan Spaulding 61’); Ian Harkes, DeJuan Jones, Carles Gil ©, Nacho Gil, Mattew Polster; Tomás Chancalay, Giacomo Vrioni.
Substitutes Not Used: Jacob Jackson, Emmanuel Boateng, Nick Lima, Tommy McNamara, Jonathan Mensah, Jack Panayotou.
Chicago Fire FC: Spencer Richey; Rafael Czichos, Tobias Salquist, Jonathan Dean (Chase Gasper 77’, Carlos Teran 84’), Allan Arigoni; Maren Haile- Selassie, Brian Gutierrez (Georgios Koutsias 65’), Fabian Herbers ©, Kellyn Acosta, Gaston Gimenez (Mauricio Pineda 77’); Hugo Cuypers (Tom Barlow 77’).
Substitutes Not Used: Arnaud Souquet, Chris Mueller, Jeffrey Gal, Federico Navarro.
