FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (July 26, 2023) – The New England Revolution defeated LIGA MX side Atlético de San Luis, 5-1, on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium in their Leagues Cup 2023 group stage finale. Giacomo Vrioni netted the first hat trick of his Revolution career, while Gustavo Bou tallied a goal and two assists to clinch New England a spot in the Leagues Cup Round of 32.
Vrioni opened the scoring in the 15th minute, tallying his first goal of the match with a left-footed shot from the center of the box, set up by a give-and-go between Bou and Ian Harkes. Mateo Klimowicz evened the score for Atlético de San Luis seven minutes later, firing a volleyed shot past Djordje Petrović.
New England retook the lead in the 29th minute when Gustavo Bou blasted home a shot into the upper corner after collecting a turnover at the top of the box. The Revolution carried the play for the remainder of the match, quickly doubling its lead in the 32nd minute with an own goal by Atlético de San Luis defender Julio Domínguez.
Vrioni and Bou combined again in the 39th minute. Following a fast break led by Carles Gil, Bou crossed the ball to the center of the box where the Albanian striker sent a left-footed shot into the bottom-left corner. Vrioni completed the hat trick in the 60th minute, finishing a cross from Brandon Bye with a finish from close range. It marked New England’s first hat trick in an international competition and raised Vrioni’s total to eight goals on the year in all competitions.
The Revolution also earned valuable contributions in midfield from newcomers Ian Harkes and Mark-Anthony Kaye. The latter made his Gillette Stadium debut and his second consecutive start for New England.
With the victory, New England advances to the Round of 32 and will await the result of Sunday’s East 4 finale between Atlético de San Luis and New York Red Bulls to decide the group. New England will face an opponent from the East 3 group, which features Club Atlas, Toronto FC, and New York City FC. Watch every Leagues Cup match on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV in English or Spanish.
POSTGAME NOTES
- New England advances to the Leagues Cup 2023 Round of 32 with Wednesday’s victory, finishing group play with four points (1-0-1).
- The Revolution will learn their final group placement, Round of 32 opponent, and match venue based on the result of Sunday’s Leagues Cup group stage matches.
- With the victory, New England improves to 9-2-1 all-time against LIGA MX opponents, including a 9-1-1 mark at Gillette Stadium.
- The Revolution scored four goals in the opening 45 minutes, marking the 14th time across all competitions New England has tallied four times in a single half. It was New England’s first four-goal half since July 21, 2021 at Inter Miami CF.
- New England scored five goals in a match for the first time since May 11, 2022 against FC Cincinnati in U.S. Open Cup play.
- Giacomo Vrioni notched his first hat trick with the Revolution, scoring twice in the first half and again in the second half. The hat trick was a first by a New England player in international competition.
- Gustavo Bou notched his first multi-assist game as a member of the Revolution, also tallying the go-ahead goal in the first half. The Argentine had a team-high five shots with four on target.
- Brandon Bye recorded an assist on Vrioni’s third goal, his 21st for the club across all competitions.
- Carles Gil made his 125th appearance across all competitions for New England, finishing with a team-high four key passes.
- Mark-Anthony Kaye started a second straight match for New England, making his home debut for the club.
- Ian Harkes continued his run of starts and tallied an assist on Vrioni’s opening goal.
- Nacho Gil logged 27 minutes off the bench, making his season debut after missing the opening five months of the season with a knee injury.
GAME CAPSULE
Leagues Cup 2023 – Group Stage Matchday 2
New England Revolution 5, Atlético de San Luis 1
July 26, 2023 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Referee: Rubiel Vazquez
Assistant Referees: Arfa Lyes (AR1), Jesus Lorenzo Soto Davila (AR2)
Fourth Official: Melvin Matamoros
Video Assistant Referee: Erick Yair Miranda Galindo
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Benjamin Whitty
Weather: 82 degrees and partly cloudy
Attendance: 12,327
Scoring Summary:
ASL – Ángel Zaldívar (Yellow Card – Tactical Foul) 7’
ASL – Mateo Klimowicz (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 36’
NE – Carles Gil (Yellow Card – Dissent) 79’
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Giacomo Vrioni 1 (Gustavo Bou 1) 15’
ASL – Mateo Klimowicz 1 (Unai Bilbao 1) 22’
NE – Gustavo Bou 1 (Unassisted) 29’
NE – Julio César Domínguez (Own Goal) 32’
NE – Giacomo Vrioni 2 (Gustavo Bou 2) 39’
NE – Giacomo Vrioni 3 (Brandon Bye 1) 61’
New England Revolution: Djordje Petrović; DeJuan Jones, Dave Romney, Andrew Farrell, Brandon Bye; Ian Harkes (Joshua Bolma 72’), Mark-Anthony Kaye (Matt Polster 72’), Noel Buck (Nacho Gil 63’), Carles Gil ©; Gustavo Bou (Emmanuel Boateng 79’), Giacomo Vrioni (Bobby Wood 63’).
Substitutes Not Used: Earl Edwards Jr., Jacob Jackson, Esmir Bajraktarević, Omar Gonzalez, Justin Rennicks, Ryan Spaulding, Ben Sweat.
Atlético de San Luis: Andrés Sánchez (Diego Urtiaga 66’); Juan Sanabria, Unai Bilbao, Julio César Domínguez, Ricardo Chávez; Javier Güémez ©, Rodrigo (Uziel Garcia 46’); Mateo Klimowicz (Benjamín Galdames 62’), Dieter Villalpando, Vitinho (Jürgen Damm 62’); Ángel Zaldívar (Léo Bonatini 62’).
Substitutes Not Used: César López, Juan David Castro, Andrés Iniestra, Sébastien Salles-Lamonge, Jordan Silva, Iker Moreno, Eduardo Águila.
Full statistics available HERE.
