Adam Buksa, Carles Gil and Gustavo Bou all scored after halftime as the New England Revolution continued their pursuit of history in a 3-2 victory over D.C. United at Audi Field on Wednesday night while blunting the hosts' Audi 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs hopes.
Bou and Buksa also added assists to go with their respective 15th and 14th goals, and Tommy McNamara had a pair of assists as the Revs rallied to close in on the Supporters' Shield and the MLS single-season points record.
With four matches remaining, New England are now three points shy of the 72 LAFC earned to set the league record during the 2019 campaign. If they break the mark, they'll have Wednesday's scoring trio to thank; Gil scored a rare goal this time but leads MLS with 17 assists.
Nigel Robertha gave D.C. a deserved lead in the 51st minute, and the hosts were the better side for the opening hour before the Revs sparked to life.
Substitute Ramon Abila added a stoppage-time header off Kevin Paredes' cross for D.C. But in falling short of an equalizer, the Black-and-Red dropped to the seventh and final East spot in the playoffs race, ahead of New York City FC on the first tiebreaker of total wins per match.
Goals
Year |
Club |
Pts |
Win % |
|---|---|---|---|
2019 |
LAFC |
72 |
.750 |
2018 |
RBNY |
71 |
.721 |
2021 |
NE* (Arena coach) |
69 |
.774 |
2017 |
TOR |
69 |
.721 |
2018 |
ATL |
69 |
.706 |
1998 |
LA |
68 |
.750 |
2011 |
LA (Arena coach) |
67 |
.706 |
* New England have three matches remaining in the 2021 MLS regular season
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: D.C. United have exceeded expectations under first-year manager Hernan Losada, but they've earned only eight points in 11 matches against other teams above the East playoff line, which may yet doom them to finish below it. As for New England, Wednesday's victory already made history in one sense: The Revs' 69 points are the most ever earned by five-time MLS Cup-winning manager Bruce Arena.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: This wasn't Gil's best match, and yet he scored one of his best MLS goals, breaking multiple D.C. defender ankles before picking out the bottom left corner with a shot that left 'keeper Bill Hamid with no chance.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Adam Buksa. No one was exceptional early for the Revs. But Buksa was ruthless with New England's first real chance of the game (below), and his back-heel to set up Bou's goal was exquisite.
Up Next
- DC: Saturday, Oct. 23 at New York City FC | 7:30 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+)
- NE: Sunday, Oct. 24 at Orlando City SC | 7:30 pm ET (FS1)
