FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (20-4-6; 66 pts.) battled Chicago Fire FC (7-16-7; 30 pts.) to a 2-2 draw on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium. Wilfrid Kaptoum delivered the opening goal of the match on an unassisted tally from the top of the box in the 47th minute. After Chicago’s Álvaro Medrán netted the equalizer for the visitors in the 49th minute, Gustavo Bou converted on Carles Gil’s assist for the in the 76th minute. Chicago closed the scoring in the 88th minute behind Ignacio Aliseda’s goal from Brian Gutierrez’s assist.

New England’s lead in the Supporters’ Shield standings grew to nine points over Seattle Sounders FC, as the Revolution’s 66 points through 30 games are the most in MLS history at this stage of the season. With tonight’s result, New England extends its unbeaten streak to seven matches. The Revs have not lost in their last nine home contests, moving to 6-0-3 in Foxborough since July 7. Against Chicago, the Revs move to 3-0-3 in the last six meetings.

Kaptoum’s unassisted strike early in the second half marked the Cameroonian midfielder’s first MLS goal. The 25-year-old FC Barcelona product owns one goal and one assist in his last two appearances.

Bou reclaimed the team’s scoring lead with his 14th tally of the season, fourth best in the MLS Golden Boot race. The Argentinian striker has delivered two goals and three assists over the last four games. Bou’s 40 combined goals and assists lead all MLS players since he entered the league in July 2019.

Carles Gil added his MLS-best 17th assist on Bou’s goal to move within two helpers of tying the club’s single-season record. The Spanish midfielder registered five chances created on the night, giving him a career-high 113 chances created on the season – also a new club mark. Gil needs only 11 more chances created over the final four games to set a new MLS record (124).

New England returns to action with a visit to D.C. United on Wednesday night at Audi Field. The midweek match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on WSBK-TV38, myRITV, 98.5 The Sports Hub HD2, and 1260 AM Nossa Radio.

POSTGAME NOTES
New England Revolution 2, Chicago Fire FC 2
October 16, 2021 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

Team Notes: 

• The New England Revolution drew at home with Chicago Fire FC on Saturday night, 2-2, moving their record to 20-4-6 (66 points) on the season.
• The Revolution maintain an 18-point lead in the Eastern Conference and grow their lead to nine points in the Supporters’ Shield standings over Seattle Sounders FC.
• New England extended its home-unbeaten streak (6-0-3) to nine matches. The Revs’ 2.40 points per home game remains best in MLS.
• The Revolution’s 66 points are the most in MLS history through 30 games. New England needs seven points from the final four games to set a new single-season points record (72 – LAFC, 2019). 
• The Revs’ 59 goals and 31 first-half tallies both lead the league. The club’s 59 goals are a club record. 
• With only four losses on the season, the Revolution remain on course to set a new club mark for fewest losses in a season (7 – 2005). 
• Bruce Arena made two changes from the club’s most last match on September 29 at CF Montreal. Midfielder Wilfrid Kaptoum and forward Teal Bunbury start in place of Tajon Buchanan and Adam Buksa, respectively.

Individual Notes:   

• Gustavo Bou scored his team-leading 14th goal in the second half, chipping Chicago goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina after a long-range pass from Carles Gil. Bou led the team with six shots, including three on target, and added a pair of key passes.
• Bou now has 40 career goals and assists in the regular season, most in MLS since he debuted on July 17, 2019. 
• Bou moves ahead of Adam Buksa for the team’s scoring lead. They constitute the first pair of Revolution players with 13-plus goals in the same season. 
• Carles Gil recorded his league-leading 17th assist of the season on Bou’s tally. His 17 assists are two shy of tying the club record (Steve Ralston – 19, 2002). 
• Gil added five chances created to set a new career high and club record with 113 on the season. Gil is now 11 chances created away from matching Diego Valeri’s MLS record (124) set in 2019.
• Wilfrid Kaptoum scored his first MLS goal from outside the box in the 47th minute. The midfielder, who appeared in his 20th match of the season on Saturday, finished his night with two shots and three tackles.
• Adam Buksa returned from international duty with Poland, playing 32 minutes off the bench and registering a team-high three shots on target. Buksa is three shots shy of 100 on the year and needs five more to set a new club record for a season (101 – Wolde Harris, 2000).
• Emmanuel Boateng played 22 minutes as a second-half substitute, creating a pair of chances and completing 14 of his 16 passes.
• Matt Turner made three saves to remain unbeaten at home this season, moving to 10-0-3 at Gillette Stadium.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Joseph Dickerson
Assistant Referees: Cory Richardson (AR1); Gianni Facchini (AR2)
Fourth Official: Robert Sibiga
Video Assistant Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero|
Attendance: 28,414
Weather: 68 degrees and cloudy

Scoring Summary:
NE- Wilfrid Kaptoum 1 (Unassisted) 47’
CHI- Álvaro Medrán 2 (Jhon Espinoza 1) 49’ 
NE- Gustavo Bou 14 (Carles Gil 17) 76’
CHI- Ignacio Aliseda 4 (Brian Gutierrez 2) 88’

Misconduct Summary:
CHI- Federico Navarro (Yellow Card- Hard Foul) 60’
NE- Tajon Buchanan (Yellow Card- Dissent) 90+3’ 
CHI- Miguel Navarro (Yellow Card- Hard Foul) 90+4’ 

New England Revolution: Matt Turner; DeJuan Jones, Henry Kessler, Andrew Farrell, Brandon Bye; Matt Polster, Wilfrid Kaptoum (Emmanuel Boateng 67’), Tommy McNamara (Tajon Buchanan 58’), Carles Gil ©; Teal Bunbury (Adam Buksa 58’), Gustavo Bou            

Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Jon Bell, A.J. DeLaGarza, Christian Mafla, Luis Caicedo, Arnór Traustason

Chicago Fire FC: Gabriel Slonina; Jonathan Bornstein ©, Mauricio Pineda, Johan Kappelhof; Jhon Espinoza (Wyatt Omsberg 77’), Stanislav Ivanov (Brian Gutierrez 69’), Federico Navarro (Elliot Collier 81’), Álvaro Medrán, Miguel Ángel Navarro; Ignacio Aliseda, Robert Beric (Chinoso Offor 69’)

Substitutes Not Used: Bobby Shuttleworth, Luka Stojanovic, Javier Casas, Alex Monis

Full statistics available HERE.