VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA – The New England Revolution (4-4-7; 19 points) defeated Vancouver Whitecaps FC (6-7-3; 21 points), 2-1, at BC Place on Saturday. The win marked the Revolution’s first regular season victory on the road in 2016 and puts the Revolution tied for fourth in points in the Eastern Conference.
The Revolution opened scoring in the 31st minute, when defender London Woodberry headed a free kick from midfielder Lee Nguyen into the net for his first career MLS goal. Vancouver responded in the 41st minute with a curling strike on a free kick from Nicolas Mezquida, leveling the score at 1-1. The Revs regained the advantage in the 55th minute, when midfielder Kelyn Rowe took a centering pass from forward Teal Bunbury and smashed it into the net for his third goal of the season, putting the Revs up 2-1.
Full match highlights and statistics from RevolutionSoccer.net can be found HERE.
In addition, video from Revolution Head Coach Jay Heaps’ postgame press conference can be found HERE.
The Revolution will be back in action on Saturday, June 25, when the team travels to Washington, D.C. for the third and final regular season meeting with D.C. United. The match is slated to kick off at 7:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast locally on Comcast SportsNet. The game can also be heard locally on the radio on 98.5 The Sports Hub in English and WMVX 1570 AM “Nossa Radio” in Portuguese.
New England Revolution 2, Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1
June 18, 2016 – BC Place (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
GAME NOTES
Revolution Earn First Away Win
- The Revolution defeated Vancouver Whitecaps FC by a score of 2-1, giving the team its first away win of the 2016 regular season. The Revs are now 1-3-3 on the road this season.
- With the win, the Revs improve to 4-4-7 on the season with 19 points, tied for the fourth most points in the Eastern Conference.
- The win gives New England a victory in its first trip to Canada this season. The team’s last victory in Canada came in a 3-1 win over Toronto FC on Sept. 13, 2015.
- The Revolution are now 3-2-2 all-time against Whitecaps FC and 1-1-1 in Vancouver.
Kobayashi and Bunbury Return to Starting XI
- Midfielder Daigo Kobayashi made his return to the starting lineup in the match, giving him his second start this season. Kobayashi played 63 minutes before being subbed off for Diego Fagundez.
- Kobayashi last started on April 27 vs. Portland Timbers FC, when he played 70 minutes in the 1-1 draw.
- Forward Teal Bunbury made his ninth start of the season and his first since April 23 at D.C. United.
Knighton Makes 2016 Regular Season Debut
- Goalkeeper Brad Knighton made his first regular season in 2016 and earned the victory, making three saves in the match. The win marks Knighton’s fourth with the Revolution, which ranks 10th all-time in club history.
- The game marks Knighton’s 41st career start and his first since July 25, 2015 at Chicago, a 2-2 draw. Knighton now owns 12 career starts with the Revolution, the 10th most among goalkeepers in club history.
- Knighton made his first appearance for the Revolution in 2016 in the team’s U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round victory against Carolina RailHawks FC on Wednesday, June 15. Knighton posted a shutout in the Revs’ 1-0 victory, saving five shots in 120 minutes of action.
Woodberry Scores First Career MLS Goal
- In the 31st minute, defender London Woodberry got his head to a free kick from Lee Nguyen and put it past David Ousted to open the game’s scoring. The goal marks Woodberry’s first career MLS goal.
Nguyen Records Assist in Fourth Straight Game
- Midfielder Lee Nguyen notched his team-leading sixth assist of the season when his free kick found the head of defender London Woodberry, who slotted it into the back of the net to give the Revs’ a 1-0 lead in the 31st minute.
- Nguyen continues to climb the 2016 MLS assist chart, as he is now tied for second in the league with six assists. Entering today’s match, only two other MLS players had recorded at least six assists: Joao Plata (Real Salt Lake, six) and Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls, 10).
- The assist gives Nguyen an assist in four straight games, a career-best streak. Nguyen now has six assists in the Revs’ last six games.
- Nguyen also continues to climb in the Revolution record book, as his 30th career assist gives him sole possession of fifth place on the club’s all-time list.
Rowe Scores Third Goal of Season with Game Winner; Bunbury Earns First Assist
- Midfielder Kelyn Rowe notched his third goal of the season, the game winner in the 55th minute, giving the Revolution a 2-1 lead. Rowe now has three goals in the regular season, tied for the second most on the team, and his first game-winning goal of the season.
- Forward Teal Bunbury provided the assist by centering the ball to Rowe at the top of the 18-yard box. The assist marks the first of the season for Bunbury and gives him 19 helpers in his career, 12 of which have come with the Revolution. His last assist came on Sept. 5, 2015 vs. Orlando City SC.
Rowe and Kamara Each Notch Three Shots
- Forward Kei Kamara and Midfielder Kelyn Rowe each attempted three shots in the match, tying for the team lead. Two of Rowe’s attempts were on target, with the other just missing the net as his header smashed off the crossbar.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- 21st minute (CHANCE) – Nicolas Mezquida chests down a pass from Matias Laba inside the 18-yard box and fires a shot just off target as it hits the side netting.
- 23rd minute (OFF THE CROSSBAR) – Kelyn Rowe takes a cross from Chris Tierney and sends a powerful header smashing off the crossbar (WATCH HERE).
- 25th minute (CHANCE) – Daigo Kobayashi completes a give-and-go with Kelyn Rowe and extends his run all the way inside Vanocuver’s 18-yard box, where his pass across to Kei Kamara leads to a shot over the goal.
- 27th minute (CHANCE) – Matias Laba sends a deep ball into the Revolution’s 18-yard box, where Erik Hurtado brings it down and fires a shot over the goal.
- 31st minute (GOAL) – London Woodberry headed a perfectly placed free kick from Lee Nguyen past Vancouver goalkeeper David Ousted for his first career MLS goal (WATCH HERE).
- 41st minute (GOAL) – Nicolas Mezquida curls an expertly located free kick over the Revolution wall and into the net to level the match at 1-1.
- 45th minute +2 (CHANCE) – Erik Hurtado fires a through ball just wide of the goal with his first touch.
- 55th minute (GOAL) – After Daigo Kobayashi wins the ball along the right sideline, Teal Bunbury centers it to Kelyn Rowe who rockets it first-time into the back of the net for the game-winning goal (WATCH HERE).
- 61st minute (CHANCE) – Andrew Farrell clears the ball from danger twice in a short span after a Vancouver corner kick is headed into the mix from the back post, and then a follow-up shot is headed clear.
- 67th minute (CHANCE) – Jordan Harvey sends a cross into the Revolution’s 18-yard box, where Blas Perez’ first-time volley goes over the goal.
- 70th minute (CHANCE) – Kekuta Manneh receives a pass in plenty of space inside the Revolution’s 18-yard box, but his first time shot sails over the crossbar.
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Ismail Elfath
Assistant Referees: Ian Anderson (AR1); Jeff Hosking (AR2)
Fourth Official: David Gantar
Weather: Indoors
Attendance: 22,120
Scoring Summary:
NE – London Woodberry 1 (Lee Nguyen 6) 31’
VAN – Nicolas Mezquida 1 41’
NE – Kelyn Rowe 3 (Teal Bunbury 1) 55’
Misconduct Summary:
NE – London Woodberry 40’ (Yellow Card – Handball)
VAN – Jordan Smith 35’ (Yellow Card – Foul)
VAN – Andrew Jacobson 36’ (Yellow Card – Foul)
VAN – Matias Laba 82’ (Yellow Card – Foul)
NE – José Gonçalves 88’ (Yellow Card – Foul)
New England Revolution: Brad Knighton; Chris Tierney, London Woodberry, José Gonçalves, Andrew Farrell; Scott Caldwell, Daigo Kobayashi (Diego Fagundez 63’); Kelyn Rowe, Lee Nguyen © (Juan Agudelo 90’+1), Teal Bunbury (Je-Vaughn Watson 74’); Kei Kamara
Substitutes Not Used: Zachary Herivaux, Steve Neumann, Samba, Bobby Shuttleworth
Vancouver Whitecaps FC: Ousted ©; Jordan Harvey, Tim Parker, Andrew Jacobson, Jordan Smith (Marco Bustos 85’); Matias Laba, Russell Teibert; Kekuta Manneh, Nicolas Mezquida (Blas Perez 66’), Cristian Techera (Christian Bolanos 65’); Erik Hurtado
Substitutes Not Used: Sam Adekugbe, Ben McKendry, Cole Seiler, Paolo Tornaghi
