COLUMBUS, Ohio – The New England Revolution (6-7-8; 26 pts.) earned a point on the road and their fourth shutout of the season with a scoreless draw against the Columbus Crew (7-5-9, 30 pts.) at Lower.com Field on Saturday night. With the result, New England’s away record moves to 2-5-4 on the season.
The Revolution’s newest Designated Player, forward Giacomo Vrioni, entered the game in the 67th minute to make his MLS debut. Last season’s co-leading scorer in the Austrian Bundesliga, Vrioni recorded nine touches in his first appearance with the club. Forward Jozy Altidore made his fourth start of the season and delivered an 82-minute shift. Altidore was relieved by Homegrown Player Damian Rivera as the midfielder logged his eighth appearance of the year.
Revolution goalkeeper Djordje Petrović finished the match with six saves in his second clean sheet performance, standing tall with four first-half stops including a crucial denial on Pedro Santos’ volley in the 24th minute. Henry Kessler, making his fourth consecutive start, was in position to clear Lucas Zelarayán’s follow-up header off the line. Andrew Farrell, Kessler’s partner in central defense, finished the defensive duel with a game-high six clearances.
The Revolution return to Gillette Stadium on Saturday, July 30 for another critical Eastern Conference matchup against Toronto FC. The 8:00 p.m. ET match airs locally on WBZ-TV and myRITV, with CBS Boston’s “Revolution Kickoff” pregame special kicking off at 7:30 p.m. ET on WBZ. The match also airs on the radio via 98.5 The Sports Hub and 1260 AM Nossa Radio in Portuguese.
MATCH NOTES
- The Revolution’s away record moves to 2-5-4 after tonight’s draw in Columbus.
- New England has now logged points in 11 of the last 13 matches.
- New England was held scoreless for only the third time in 2022, tied for second fewest in the league through 21 games played.
- F Giacomo Vrioni, New England’s newest acquisition, registered his Revolution and MLS debuts with a 23-minute shift off the bench tonight. The 23-year-old Designated Player entered the match as a substitute in the 67th minute and recorded nine touches.
- GK Djordje Petrović made six saves en route to his second shutout of the season. The 23-year-old goalkeeper has collected results in six of his eight appearances as his record moves to 2-2-4.
- New England’s defense logged its fourth clean sheet of the 2022 campaign, with Andrew Farrell pacing the team in clearances (6), and Henry Kessler leading the Revs in tackles won (3).
- M Carles Gil surpassed 7,500 MLS minutes played in tonight’s match. The reigning MLS MVP finished with a team-high three chances created to add to his MLS-leading total.
- F Jozy Altidore suited up for his fourth start of the season. Altidore finished with team highs in duels won (7) and aerial duels won (3) in an 82-minute performance.
- Bruce Arena made three changes to his Starting XI from the club’s previous match. Defender Andrew Farrell returned from suspension to replace Jon Bell, while Arnór Traustason and Jozy Altidore stared in place of Dylan Borrero and Gustavo Bou due to injury.
GAME CAPSULE
Columbus Crew 0, New England Revolution 0
July 23, 2022 – Lower.com Field (Columbus, Ohio)
Referee: Silviu Petrescu
Assistant Referees: Brian Dunn (AR1), Jeffrey Greeson (AR2)
Fourth Official: Tori Penso
Video Assistant Referee: Geoff Gamble
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Matthew Nelson
Weather: 82 degrees and clear
Attendance: 20,383
Scoring Summary: None
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Tommy McNamara (Yellow Card- Hard Foul) 23’
NE – DeJuan Jones (Yellow Card- Hard Foul) 35’
NE – Brandon Bye (Yellow Card- Dissent) 39’
New England Revolution: Djordje Petrović; DeJuan Jones, Henry Kessler, Andrew Farrell, Brandon Bye; Matt Polster, Tommy McNamara (Maciel 67’); Arnór Traustason (Giacomo Vrioni 67’), Carles Gil ©, Sebastian Lletget; Jozy Altidore (Damian Rivera 82’)
Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Jon Bell, Emmanuel Boateng, A.J. DeLaGarza, Omar Gonzalez, Justin Rennicks
Columbus Crew: Eloy Room; Josh Williams, Jonathan Mensah ©, Pedro Santos, Marlon Hairston (Mohamed Farsi 76’); Darlington Nagbe, Lucas Zelarayan, Aidan Morris (James Igbekeme 69’); Cucho Hernandez, Luis Diaz (Kevin Molino 76’), Derrick Etienne Jr.
Substitutes Not Used: Evan Bush, Jalil Anibaba, Milos Degenek, Erik Hurtado, Will Sands, Yaw Yeboah
Full statistics available HERE.
