FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (5-3-2; 17 pts.) defeated Toronto FC (2-6-1; 7 pts.), 3-2, before a crowd of 19,596 at Gillette Stadium on Saturday evening. Revolution midfielder Cristian Penilla registered the quickest brace in club history by scoring twice in the first seven minutes of the match. Forward Teal Bunbury added his league-leading fourth game-winning goal on the other side of halftime to secure all three points for New England against the defending MLS Cup champions.
With two goals in tonight's contest, Penilla now owns four goals and four assists through 10 appearances. The Ecuadorian newcomer is tied for fourth among all MLS players in combined goals and primary assists on the season with eight. Bunbury brought his goals scored total on the year to five, which is best among Revolution players and the third highest total in the league. He also distributed his first assist of the season on Penilla's first goal in the fourth minute.
Defender Andrew Farrell picked up his first assist of the season as well, playing a well-weighted ball to Bunbury that led to the game-winning goal in the 46th minute. In addition, Homegrown Player Zachary Herivaux played an MLS single-game career-high 23 minutes after replacing Kelyn Rowe as a substitute in the 67th minute. Herivaux won three fouls and recorded 18 touches in his second-half shift.
New England will train in Foxborough this week before returning to action next Saturday, May 19, when the club hosts Columbus Crew SC at Gillette Stadium for the sides’ second meeting of the season. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast locally on NBC Sports Boston. Fans may also listen on the radio in English on 98.5 The Sports Hub and in Portuguese on 1570 WMVX Nossa Radio.
New England Revolution 3, Toronto FC 2
May 12, 2018 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
Revolution Defeat Toronto FC, 3-2
·The Revolution defeated Toronto FC, 3-2, on Saturday, improving the club’s record to 5-3-2 (17 pts.) through 10 matches of the 2018 regular season. New England currently sits in sixth place in the Eastern Conference table.
·New England's all-time record against Toronto FC improves to 13-6-9, including a 10-2-4 mark at home.
·The Revolution are now unbeaten against Toronto FC in seven consecutive home matches (5-0-2) dating back to Oct. 25, 2014.
Penilla Records Fastest Two Goals in Club History Fastest
·Midfielder Cristian Penilla recorded his third and fourth goals of the season in quick succession, scoring just four minutes apart in the fourth and seventh minutes of play.
·According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Penilla’s brace was the fastest in Revolution history to begin a match. He surpasses the previous fastest mark of 18 minutes set by Taylor Twellman vs. Toronto FC on April 14, 2007.
·The two-goal performance marks Penilla's first MLS/Revolution brace. He is the second player to accomplish the feat this season, joining Wilfried Zahibo, who tallied twice in the Revolution's 4-2 loss to Montreal on May 5.
Bunbury Scores Revolution Leading Fifth Goal, Adds Assist
·Forward Teal Bunbury notched his team-leading fifth goal of the season in the 46th minute of tonight's match. The goal is Bunbury's 41st career MLS tally and his 12th in the club's last 26 matches dating back to July 5, 2017 vs. New York.
·Bunbury now has now scored four game-winning goals this season to lead all MLS players. His five goals are tied for the sixth most in MLS to date.
·In addition, Bunbury recorded his first assist of the season on Cristian Penilla's fourth minute goal. Bunbury has now notched 22 assists in his career, including 15 as a Revolution player.
Herivaux Makes 2018 MLS Debut
·Revolution Homegrown midfielder Zachary Herivaux made his 2018 MLS debut in tonight's match when he replaced Kelyn Rowe in the 67th minute.
·Herivaux's 23 minutes played is the longest appearance of his career, edging out his 22 minutes played vs. Philadelphia on Aug. 13, 2016.
·The appearance is Herivaux's first appearance since he played one minute as a substitute on Oct. 23, 2016 vs. Montreal.
Tierney Matches Heaps for Third-Most Revs Appearances
·Defender Chris Tierney made his third appearance of the season and his first start of 2018 in tonight’s match.
·The game marks Tierney’s 243rd regular season MLS appearance, moving him into a tie with Jay Heaps for the third-most games played in Revs history. Tierney and Heaps trail only Matt Reis (254) and Shalrie Joseph (261) on the club’s all-time chart.
Revolution Make Four Changes to Starting XI
·Revolution Head Coach Brad Friedel made four changes to the club’s starting lineup from its most recent MLS match on May 5 at Montreal. Midfielder Scott Caldwellreplaced midfielder Wilfried Zahibo, midfielder Kelyn Rowe replaced forward Juan Agudelo, defender Antonio Delamea replaced defender Claude Dielna, and defenderChris Tierney replaced defender Gabriel Somi at left back.
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Mark Geiger
Assistant Referees: Frank Anderson (AR1), Danny Thornberry (AR2)
Fourth Official: David Barrie
VAR: Luis Guardia
Weather: 51 Degrees and Cloudy
Attendance: 19,596
Scoring Summary:
NE – Cristian Penilla 3 (Teal Bunbury 1) 4'
NE – Cristian Penilla 4 (Unassisted) 7'
NE – Teal Bunbury 5 (Andrew Farrell 1) 46'
TOR – Antonio Delamea (Own Goal) 55'
TOR – Sebastian Giovinco (Penalty Kick) 89'
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Chris Tierney (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 23'
NE – Scott Caldwell (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 39'
NE – Luis Caicedo (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 67'
NE – Diego Fagundez (Yellow Card – Time Wasting) 73'
TOR – Sebastian Giovinco (Red Card – Violent Conduct) 90'
New England Revolution: Matt Turner; Chris Tierney, Antonio Delamea, Jalil Anibaba, Andrew Farrell; Scott Caldwell © (Wilfried Zahibo 85'), Luis Caicedo; Cristian Penilla, Diego Fagundez, Kelyn Rowe (Zachary Herivaux 66'); Teal Bunbury (Krisztián Németh 82')
Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Gabriel Somi, Claude Dielna, Brandon Bye
Toronto FC: Alex Bono; Jason Hernandez, Ryan Telfer, Auro; Michael Bradley ©, Marky Delgado, Ager Aketxe (Chris Mavinga 61'), Jonathan Osorio; Jay Chapman (Victor Vazquez 70'), Jordan Hamilton, Tosaint Ricketts (Sebastian Giovinco 60')
Substitutes Not Used: Clint Irwin, Ashtone Morgan, Liam Fraser, Mariano Mino
