FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (2-3-1; 7 pts.) fell to the Chicago Fire (3-1-2; 11 pts.), 3-0, at Toyota Park on Saturday afternoon. The Fire recorded a pair of goals on both sides of halftime, with midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger opening the scoring in the 45^th minute, and forward Nemanja Nikolic providing the second tally in the 47^th minute. Nikolic completed his brace in the 73^rd minute of action for the final goal of the match.

While both teams controlled the run of play at varying points in the first half, the match changed drastically in the 27^th minute as Revolution midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson was sent off for accumulating a second yellow card for a foul on Chicago's Luis Solignac.

In the match, midfielder Lee Nguyen became the seventh player in club history to eclipse 14,000 regular season minutes. He joins Chris Tierney as the second active Revolution player to accomplish the feat. 

New England returns to action next Wednesday, April 19, when the club hosts the San Jose Earthquakes. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast locally on CSN New England, where Brad Feldman, Paul Mariner, and Naoko Funayama will be on the call. Fans can also listen on the radio in English on 98.5 The Sports Hub and in Portuguese on 1570 WMVX Nossa Radio.

New England Revolution 0, Chicago Fire 3
April 15, 2017 – Toyota Park (Bridgeview, Ill.)
Revolution Fall to Chicago Fire in First Eastern Conference Match of 2017

• The Revolution fell to the Chicago Fire, 3-0, bringing the club’s record to 2-3-1 (7 pts.) through six matches.
• New England's all-time record against Chicago slides to 21-24-11, while its all-time road record in the series drops to 5-15-8.

Nguyen Becomes Seventh Revolution Player to Eclipse 14,000 Minutes

• Midfielder Lee Nguyen became the seventh player in club history to log 14,000 regular season minutes in tonight’s contest. Coming into today’s match with 13,976 career minutes, Nguyen achieved the feat in the 24^th minute of the match. 
• Revolution defender Chris Tierney (17,739) is the only other active player to reach 14,000 minutes as a Revolution player.

Watson Earns First Start of 2017 Season

• Defender Je-Vaughn Watson made his first start of the 2017 season at left back in today’s contest. Prior to today, Watson made three appearances off the bench, recording 71 minutes on the pitch.
• Watson's last start with the Revolution came in last year's U.S. Open Cup Final at FC Dallas on Sept. 13, 2017. The Jamaican international started and played 45 minutes at left back before being replaced by Chris Tierney shortly before halftime.
• Watson most recently earned a League start on Aug. 28, 2016, when he started and played 90 minutes at center back at New York Red Bulls.

Revolution Make One Change to Starting XI

• Revolution Head Coach Jay Heaps made one change to the club’s starting lineup from its most recent match on April 8 vs. the Houston Dynamo. Defender Je-Vaughn Watson moved to the Starting XI, while midfielder Diego Fagundez shifted to the bench.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• 45^th minute (GOAL) – Fire midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger gives the home side the lead just prior to halftime (WATCH).

• 47^th minute (GOAL) – Chicago forward Nemanja Nikolic capitalizes on a rebound opportunity shortly after the start of the second half (WATCH).

• 51^st minute (CHANCE) – Defender Josh Smith's headed effort from a corner kick goes wide of the net (WATCH).

• 73^rd minute (GOAL) – Fire forward David Accam plays a through ball to Nikolic, who completes his brace in the center of the 18-yard box (WATCH).

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Ted Unkel

Assistant Referees: Adam Wienckowski (AR1), Eduardo Mariscal (AR2)

Fourth Official: Fotis Bazakos

Weather: 81 Degrees and Clear

Attendance: 16,914

Scoring Summary:

CHI – Bastian Schweinsteiger 2 (Luis Solignac 1) 45'

CHI – Nemanja Nikolic 3 (Unassisted) 47'

CHI – Nemanja Nikolic 4 (David Accam 2, Bastian Schweinsteiger 1) 73'

Misconduct Summary:

NE – Je-Vaughn Watson (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 21'

NE – Je-Vaughn Watson (Second Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 27'

CHI – Johan Kappelhof (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 77'

New England Revolution: Cody Cropper; Je-Vaughn Watson, c, Josh Smith, Andrew Farrell; Xavier Kouassi; Scott Caldwell, Kelyn Rowe; Lee Nguyen © (Diego Fagundez 52'); Kei Kamara (Teal Bunbury 66'), Juan Agudelo (Chris Tierney 57')

Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Benjamin Angoua, Daigo Kobayashi, Femi Hollinger-Janzen

Chicago Fire: Jorge Bava; Brandon Vincent, Joao Meira, Johan Kappelhof; Michael Harrington (Drew Conner 78'); Dax McCarty, Juninho, Bastian Schweinsteiger; Michael de Leeuw (Daniel Johnson 60'), Nemanja Nikolic, Luis Solignac (David Accam 72')

Substitutes Not Used: Matt Lampson, Jonathan Campbell, Matt Polster, Arturo Alvarez