TUCSON, Ariz. – The New England Revolution finished the 2017 preseason with a 2-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls in the club’s Desert Diamond Cup finale. Goals from Kelyn Rowe and Lee Nguyen led the way as goalkeeper Cody Cropper earned the start and posted a shutout in 90 minutes of action.
The Revolution opened scoring in the 52nd minute when Diego Fagundez sent a curling pass into the stride of Kelyn Rowe’s run. Rowe hit a first-time shot over New York goalkeeper Rafael Diaz to give the Revs a 1-0 lead. New England kept the pressure on for the remainder of the match, with close-range chances for Kamara in the 61st minute and Nguyen in the 73rd and 82nd minutes just missing the target. Nguyen then capped off the game with a goal in the 89th minute, which was assisted by Je-Vaughn Watson.
Cody Cropper went the full 90 minutes in net for the shutout victory. He preserved the clean sheet with a spectacular double save in the 64th minute. After a loss of possession led to a breakaway for New York, Cropper came off his line to snuff out the attack. The rebound led to another Red Bulls attempt, but the Revs’ keeper stood his ground to clear away the shot. He was aided by the Revs’ new central defense pairing of Antonio Mlinar Delamea and Benjamin Angoua, both of whom started the contest.
The Revolution will return home to Foxborough, Mass. on Sunday ahead of the 2017 regular season opener in Commerce City, Colo. against the Colorado Rapids on March 4. The match begins at 6:00 p.m. ET and will be televised locally on Comcast SportsNet, and can also be heard on the radio on 98.5 The Sports Hub. The club will then open its home slate against Orlando City SC on March 11 at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Scoring Summary:
NE – Kelyn Rowe (Diego Fagundez) 52’
NE – Lee Nguyen (Je-Vaughn Watson) 89’
New England Revolution: Cody Cropper; Donnie Smith (Xavier Kouassi – 82’), Benjamin Angoua (London Woodberry – 57’), Antonio Mlinar Delamea (Je-Vaughn Watson – 88’), Andrew Farrell; Scott Caldwell, Diego Fagundez, Kelyn Rowe (Daigo Kobayashi – 77’), Juan Agudelo (Teal Bunbury – 82’); Lee Nguyen, Kei Kamara (Je-Vaughn Watson – 77’).
New York Red Bulls: Rafael Diaz; Lucas Batista (David Abidor – HT), Tim Schmoll (David Najem – HT), Hassan Ndam, Ethan Butler; Arun Basuljevic, Duane Muckette (Kazu Shigenobu – HT), Vincent Bezecourt, Florian Valot; Zeiko Lewis (Andrew Tinari – 77’), Omir Fernandez (Lucas Terci – 66’).
