Recap | Revs take home a point following back-and-forth 2-2 draw with Atlanta United

5_15_22 PolsterVsAtlanta

ATLANTA – The New England Revolution (3-5-3, 12 pts.) played Atlanta United FC (4-4-3; 15 pts.) to a 2-2 draw at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Adam Buksa scored two goals for the second time this week as his scoring streak improves to six games in all competitions, while Carles Gil and Sebastian Lletget picked up assists on the two goals.

Matt Turner made a world-class save in the 11th minute, leaping to deny Thiago Almada’s free kick from the top of the penalty area. However, Almada got his revenge in the 15th minute as his curling right-footed shot tucked just inside the back post to put Atlanta ahead 1-0. Turner and defender Brandon Bye both made their 100th MLS regular season starts, while Henry Kessler earned his 50th career league start – all with New England.

Adam Buksa equalized for New England in the 30th minute as he scored in a career-best sixth straight game in all competitions. Carles Gil recorded the assist on Buksa’s goal, marking his fourth consecutive league game with a helper, the longest streak in MLS this season.

In the 55th minute, Buksa chested down a pass from Sebastian Lletget and roofed a shot past Bobby Shuttleworth for his second goal of the game. Buksa now has back-to-back braces after he scored a pair in the Revolution’s U.S. Open Cup win on Wednesday night. Buksa has tallied 24 goals from open play since arriving in New England, most in MLS by two since 2020, as he increases his totals to six league goals and 10 in all competitions.

Atlanta pulled level via Luiz Araujo’s goal in the 63rd minute, forcing the two sides to split the points. Tommy McNamara had an opportunity to win it for the visitors late, bus his shot rang off the post in the 87th minute.

The Revolution are back on the road next Saturday, May 21 for a rematch with FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium. Saturday’s match kicks off at 6:00 p.m. ET locally on WSBK-TV38 and myRITV (Rhode Island), as well as on the radio via 98.5 The Sports Hub and 1260 AM Nossa Radio.

POSTGAME NOTES
New England Revolution 2, Atlanta United FC 2
May 15, 2022 – Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, Ga.)

  • New England has scored multiple goals in seven consecutive games, including Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup win vs. FC Cincinnati.
  • The Revolution move to 0-3-2 on the road this season as their record in the all-time series with Atlanta United shifts to 2-4-3. 
  • New England is now unbeaten in four straight games in all competitions (2-0-2), including Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup win vs. FC Cincinnati. 
  • Adam Buksa’s career-best scoring streak improves to six games, including five consecutive league matches. Buksa has eight goals in the last six games across all competitions.
  • Buksa leads MLS with 24 goals scored from open play since 2020, surpassing LA Galaxy’s Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez (22). His 28 league goals are tied with Ola Kamara for third-most during that span. 
  • Buksa leads the Revolution with 10 goals in all competitions and six in MLS play, which is tied for fourth most in MLS this season.  
  • Carles Gil registered an assist for the fourth consecutive league game, the longest streak in MLS this season, and the fifth straight match overall. The Spaniard now has four goals and six assists in his last seven games in all competitions. 
  • Gil now has 45 assists since the start of 2019 (inc. playoffs), the most in MLS by a margin of four over NYCFC’s Maxi Moralez (41). 
  • Gil’s sixth assist of the MLS season moves him one behind Austin FC’s Diego Fagundez (7) for the league lead. 
  • Gil’s 40th league assist moves him into a tie with Kelyn Rowe for fourth most in Revolution history. 
  • Sebastian Lletget delivered a pinpoint cross to Buksa on the Revs’ second goal, his third assist of the campaign and his 30th in MLS play.
  • GK Matt Turner and D Brandon Bye both made their 100th MLS regular season start today, while D Henry Kessler recorded his 50th league start, all with New England.
  • Bruce Arena made one change to the starting lineup from the Revolution’s last MLS match on May 7, as Emmanuel Boateng started in place of Damian Rivera.

GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistant Referees: Adam Garner (AR1), Logan Brown (AR2) 
Fourth Official: Alyssa Nichols 
Video Assistant Referee: Jair Marrufo 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Jonathan Johnson 
Weather: 72 Degrees & Indoors (Roof Closed) 
Attendance: 42,516

Scoring Summary:
ATL – Thiago Almada 2 (Unassisted) 15’
NE – Adam Buksa 5 (Carles Gil 6) 30’
NE – Adam Buksa 6 (Sebastian Lletget 3) 55’
ATL – Luiz Araujo 2 (Thiago Almada 2, Marcelino Moreno 4) 63’

Misconduct Summary:
ATL – Andrew Gutman (Yellow Card) 68’
NE – Tommy McNamara (Yellow Card) 87’
NE – Matt Polster (Yellow Card) 90+3’ 

New England Revolution: Matt Turner; DeJuan Jones, Henry Kessler, Andrew Farrell, Brandon Bye; Matt Polster, Tommy McNamara (Justin Rennicks 90+1’); Emmanuel Boateng (Maciel 63’), Carles Gil ©, Sebastian Lletget (Arnór Traustason 79’); Adam Buksa

Substitutes Not Used: Djordje Petrović, Wilfrid Kaptoum, A.J. DeLaGarza, Omar Gonzalez, Damian Rivera, Ryan Spaulding

Atlanta United FC: Bobby Shuttleworth; Alex De John, Alan Franco, Brooks Lennon, Franco Ibarra, Andrew Gutman, Thiago Almada, Matheus Rossetto © (Dom Dwyer 85’), Marcelino Moreno, Luiz Araujo, Ronaldo Cisneros (Emerson Hyndman 71’)

Substitutes Not Used: Rocco Rios-Novo, Ronald Hernandez, Amar Sejdic, Tyler Wolff, George Campbell, Mikey Ambrose, Jackson Conway

Full statistics available HERE.