Revs Unbeaten Run Reaches Six Games With Hard-Fought Win Over Union
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (NE Revolution) – The New England Revolution (12-3-4; 40 pts.) extended their unbeaten streak to six games with a 2-1 win against the Philadelphia Union (7-5-7; 28 pts.) at Gillette Stadium on Sunday evening. Matt Polster opened the scoring and his Revolution account in the 10th minute when he combined with Tommy McNamara and scored with his right foot. Philadelphia's Paxten Aaronson equalized in the 31st minute, but Gustavo Bou responded with the game-winning goal eight minutes later – moving him into the co-lead for Major League Soccer's Golden Boot.
With the win, New England has reached the 40-point threshold in fewer than 20 games for the first time in club history. New England's six-game unbeaten run matches its best of the season as the Revs have claimed 16 out of a possible 18 points since July 17. The Revolution also went 5-0-1 between May 8 and June 23. With the three points tonight, the club extends its lead in the Eastern Conference to a season-high 10 points and its Supporters' Shield advantage to six points.
Defender Andrew Farrell set a new club record for most MLS games started in tonight's match with his 255th selection, eclipsing Shalrie Joseph's mark of 254. He also surpassed Matt Reis for second-most minutes played in Revolution history and is now 115 minutes away from topping Joseph's club record of 22,867. With four more appearances, Farrell will also break New England's all-time games played record of 261, a mark jointly held by Joseph and Diego Fagundez.
Gustavo Bou's goal in the 39th minute was his 11th tally of the season, which moves the 2021 MLS All Star into a tie with Seattle Sounders FC's Raúl Ruidíaz for the league lead. Bou finished the night with four shots, two on target, and four key passes. The Argentinian now owns 25 goals in 49 league appearances, and 28 goals across all competitions – both the second most in MLS since he entered the league in July 2019.
Polster's goal marked his first with the Revolution, and his first in MLS since Aug. 5, 2017 when he was a member of Chicago Fire FC. Tommy McNamara recorded his third assist of the season on Polster's tally.
In net, Matt Turner made five saves in his second game back with New England from the Concacaf Gold Cup, where he was named the tournament's Best Goalkeeper.
New England will hit the road next Saturday, Aug. 14 to face Toronto FC at BMO Field, marking New England's first trip to Ontario since March 2019. The 8:00 p.m. ET match will air locally on WSBK-TV38, myRITV, 98.5 The Sports Hub, and WBIX 1260 AM Nossa Radio.
