“Revolutionary Work” is a series that highlights the people who make the New England Revolution tick behind the scenes, from the equipment room to the boardroom.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Twelve years ago, Caroline Gaughan landed an internship with the New England Revolution working in ticket sales and customer service. Fast forward more than a decade, and Gaughan is still representing the club, having worked her way up from intern to manager, now leading the Revolution’s hospitality and events team.
Over the course of her dozen years in Foxborough, Gaughan has learned a lot about being a leader while seeing plenty of changes within the organization, but there’s one thing she still hasn’t quite mastered despite working hundreds of games: that pesky offside rule.
“I played soccer when I was a kid, but it wasn't really something I was great at. I was a butterfly chaser,” she said with a laugh. “Twelve years later, I still don't really know much about soccer. I always joke that I like to go to sports events for the snacks and the vibes, and that totally speaks to what I do on match days. I’m in all the spaces where the good snacks and the good vibes are. But you don't need to love soccer to work here – you just have to love the environment and the impact you can make.”
In her time with the club, Gaughan has certainly made a lasting impact. As the Revolution’s hospitality and administration manager, she focuses on creating meaningful events for Season Members and the broader Revolution community, all while overseeing a large team of part‑time staff and ensuring every hospitality space leaves a strong impression on guests.
Her early days as a part‑time staffer inform her leadership style. Having once held the same roles she now supervises, Gaughan carries an added respect for her team and a firsthand understanding of the challenges they face.
“I have such respect for the part-time staff and what they do, because I was in that position, so I think about how I wanted to be treated when I was in that role and that's how I like to treat them,” she explained.
The Johnson & Wales University graduate looks at every aspect of her job as more than just work. In fact, she tends to say she doesn’t just work in the sports industry, she works in the memory-making business.
“Every time I work an event or a matchday, I have the opportunity to create a memory for a fan. Whether that be a single-game ticket purchaser who's just coming out to one game, or a long-standing season member who's been here for 30 years. You never know when someone's coming out to a game how you could be impacting them,” said the Attleboro native, who takes inspiration from her own childhood memories attending Red Sox games with her father.
For Gaughan, the connections she has built with fans stand above everything else. She has watched families grow, celebrated milestones with Season Members, and had countless matchdays where she can’t take 10 steps without running into someone she knows. For her, those relationships are the real heartbeat of the job.
“There are fans that I’ve known for over a decade. It’s such a cool thing, watching their kids grow up or seeing them go to college. We celebrated a Season Member’s fifth birthday, and I remember when he was born,” she said. “When you get to build these relationships with so many people, for me it's less about what happens on the field and more about what's going on off of it.”
Admittedly, 12 years ago, Gaughan didn’t know she would still be with the Revolution more than a decade later. But that’s the thing about New England – many come for a job, but stay for the people. Co-workers become family, matchdays become tradition, and there is never a dull moment at Gillette Stadium.
While she still can’t say much about what’s happening on the pitch, Gaughan has become a go‑to source for just about everything else related to the Revs, and that’s something she’s proud of. In the end, it may not matter if she ever masters the offside rule, because she’s already creating the moments fans will never forget.
