Player Details

Name

Cristian Penilla

Height

5' 9"

Weight

165 lbs

Date of Birth

5.2.1991 (33)

Birthplace

Esmeraldas, Ecuador

Position

Forward

Player Category

International
Career Summary

Updated September 17, 2020

AT A GLANCE:

  • Named 2018 JetBlue Team MVP and Players’ Player of the Year after pacing the Revolution in goals scored (12), appearances (33), starts (33), minutes played (2,816), shots (95), and shots on goal (38).
  • Permanently transferred to MLS in November 2018 after spending 2018 season with New England on loan from Liga MX club Pachuca.
  • Owns the most goals ever scored by an international signing in his first season with the Revolution, with 12 tallies in 2018, before adding a career-high eight assists in 2019.
  • Before joining MLS, made more than 200 appearances and logged over 12,000 minutes in eight-year professional career across the top divisions of Mexico (Pachuca, Monarcas Morelia), Brazil (Chapecoense), and Ecuador (Barcelona SC, Deportivo Quito).
  • Owns two caps and one goal with Ecuador since debuting on the international stage against the USA on Oct. 11, 2014.

MLS CAREER: Acquired by New England on loan from Liga MX side Pachuca for the 2018 season with a transfer option for the 2019 season on Jan. 23, 2018…Permanently transferred to MLS following debut season on Nov. 2, 2018…Career regular season totals include 74 games played, 60 starts, 18 goals, and 17 assists in 5,416 minutes played…Has made one start in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs…Appeared in each of the first 11 games in 2020, with nine starts and two assists…In 2019, contributed six goals with a career-best eight assists, second most on the team, in 30 games played...Led the club in several categories in 2018, recording 33 starts, 2,816 minutes played, 12 goals, 95 shots, and 38 shots on target…Claimed the club’s Golden Boot Award with 12 goals and seven assists…Voted the 2018 JetBlue Team MVP and the Players’ Player of the Year by teammates…Earned team-high seven MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week nods…Tied for the third most goals among all MLS newcomers in 2018.

2020: Has appeared in each of the first 11 games, starting nine, with two assists…Owns the third most minutes played among Revolution players with 375…Played 90 minutes in MLS is Back Tournament Round of 16 match on July 25 at Philadelphia…(2/29) vs. MTL: Registered first assist of the season…(7/9) at MTL: Started and played 86 minutes in opening MLS is Back Tournament match, a 1-0 win…(7/17) at DC: Registered two shots, including one on target, in an 89-minute outing.

2019: Set personal best with eight assists to go with six goals in 30 games played, including 18 starts…Also made MLS Cup Playoff debut with one start...Tied for the team lead with three game-winning goals and added two game-winning helpers…Played 68 minutes in U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round match on June 19 at Orlando(3/2) at DAL: Started and played 90 minutes in the season opener, a 1-1 away draw…(3/24) vs. CIN: Started and played 90 minutes…(4/6) at CLB: Registered 29 minutes played as a substitute…Submitted two shots, including one on target…(4/13) vs. ATL: Started and played 90 minutes…(4/20) vs. NY: Opened 2019 account with game-winning goal two minutes after entering match as a substitute…(5/11) vs. SJ: Converted a penalty kick and tallied an assist in the 3-1 win…(5/25) vs. DC: Recorded second assist of the season and paced team with four shots in the 1-1 draw…(6/2) at LA: Scored third goal of the season in the 2-1 away win…Tied MLS single-game career high with seven shots and set a new single-game career high with five shots on target…(6/29) vs. HOU: Recorded second game-winning assist of the season after entering match as a substitute in the 2-1 win...Tied for team lead with four shots…(7/17) vs. VAN: Submitted two assists after entering match as a substitute in the 86th minute…Registered 50th career MLS appearance…(7/21) at CIN: Recorded assist for second straight game in the 2-0 away win…Marked first start since June 26…(7/27) vs. ORL: Scored game-winning goal in the 4-1 win…(8/31) vs. TOR: Played 73 minutes in first start since Aug. 3 in the 1-1 draw…(9/14) at ORL: Scored the team’s second goal with a high-arcing, first-time lob over Brian Rowe…(9/25) at POR: Provided the secondary assist on the club’s first goal in the come-from-behind 2-2 draw…(9/29) vs. NYC: Added eighth assist of the season, surpassing his 2018 total…(10/6) at ATL: Scored the club’s lone goal eight minutes into the regular season finale…Postseason: (10/19) at ATL: Made MLS Cup Playoff debut with 90-minute outing in the Round One loss.

2018: Voted JetBlue Team MVP by fans and Players’ Player of the Year by teammates…Started all 33 of his appearances, a team high, in debut season on loan from Liga MX side Pachuca…Scored 12 goals and added seven assists to claim the club’s Golden Boot Award…Led the team with 2,816 minutes and also paced the squad in shots (95) and shots on goal (38)…His 12 goals were third most among all MLS newcomers in 2018 and the most ever by an international signing in first season with New England…Had permanent MLS transfer option exercised on Nov. 2…(3/3) at PHI: Made MLS and Revolution debut…(3/10) vs. COL: Recorded first career MLS and Revolution assist on Diego Fagundez’s second-half goal…(3/24) vs. NYC: Started and recorded an assist for a second straight game…Earned MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week honors…(3/31) at HOU: Garnered Team of the Week honors after scoring first MLS goal and notching an assist for the third straight game…Became the first Revs player with an assist in three straight matches since 2016…Drew a red card in the 35th minute after being denied a goal-scoring opportunity on a fast break by Houston’s DaMarcus Beasley…(4/21) at CLB: Recorded a goal and an assist in an away match for the second time this season…Registered MLS career high of three shots on goals…(5/12) vs. TOR: Recorded the quickest brace in club history with two goals in the first seven minutes of play in the 3-2 win…(5/26) at VAN: Scored fifth goal of the season in the 3-2 draw…Named to MLSsoccer.com's Team of the Week…(6/2) vs. NY: Tallied fifth assist of the season in the 2-1 win…(6/13) at SJ: Netted sixth goal of the season and recorded three shots on goal in the 2-2 draw…Nominated for AT&T Goal of the Week and named to MLSsoccer.com's Team of the Week bench…(6/30) vs. DC: Scored a brace in 3-2 home victory over D.C. United, earning spot on MLSsoccer.com’s Team of the Week…(8/4) at ORL: Started, played 90 minutes and scored a goal in 3-3 draw at Orlando…(10/13) vs. ORL: Tallied season-high seven shots, one assist, and scored 12th goal in 2-0 home win over Orlando City.

CLUB CAREER OUTSIDE OF MLS: Totaled more than 200 appearances, 140 starts, and 12,000 minutes played in eight-year professional career before joining MLS in January 2018…Club career has spanned top divisions of Mexico, Brazil, and Ecuador…Spent time with Ecuadorian sides C.D. Caribe Jr. Under-20s and C.D. ESPOLI Under-20s before joining ESPOLI’s senior squad for the 2010 and 2011 seasons…Played for Serie A club Deportivo Quito in 2012, making a combined 12 appearances with one goal and one assist…Joined Barcelona SC Guayaquil in Ecuador’s first tier ahead of the 2013 campaign…Played in 35 matches across all competitions and contributed six goals with five assists in first season with Barcelona…In 2014 played in 37 matches and tallied seven goals with 10 assists in over 2,700 minutes played…Transferred to C.F. Pachuca in Mexico’s top-division Liga MX in January 2015…Appeared in 14 total matches, starting eight, during the 2014-2015 campaign…Recorded two goals with one assist, and was on the bench for one CONCACAF Champions League contest against the Montreal Impact in February 2015…Made 18 combined appearances for Pachuca in the 2015-16 Liga MX season before returning to Barcelona SC on loan for the remainder of the year, where he played in 14 matches and contributed seven goals…Spent one year on loan with fellow Liga MX side Monarcas Morelia, beginning in July 2016…With Monarcas, saw 1,281 minutes of action in 19 matches across all competitions, including one appearance in Copa MX, and recorded three assists…Loaned by Pachuca to Brazilian top-division club Associação Chapecoense de Futebol, less than a year after the Chapecoense’s tragic plane crash in November 2016...Totaled 511 minutes with the club in 14 total appearances, including 11 in Série A, two in Copa Sudamericana, and one in the Suruga Bank Championship…Returned to Pachuca at end of loan spell on Dec. 1, 2017…Loaned to New England Revolution on Jan. 23, 2018.

NATIONAL TEAM (ECUADOR): Has made two appearances with Ecuador, scoring one goal and adding one assist….Totaled 63 minutes played in a pair of international friendlies…Started at left wing in international debut against the United States on Oct. 11, 2014…Tallied first international goal and added an assist as a substitute against El Salvador on Oct. 15, 2014…Previously made three appearances with the Ecuador Under-20 squad, including one start.

Personal: Full name is Cristian Anderson Penilla...Native Spanish speaker…Played for Chapecoense less than a year after the Brazilian club’s tragic plane crash in November 2016.