Fagundez sparks Revolution to victory

Diego Fagundez was match MVP for his game-winning assist vs. NYCFC. Photo/Kari Heistad

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution put faith in Diego Fagundez when they signed him to a professional contract at age 15 and when they made a special deal to protect him from getting selected in last winter’s expansion draft.

Fagundez has repaid that faith multiple times, doing so again on Saturday night by setting up Lee Nguyen for the game-winning goal in the 12^th minute of a 1-0 victory over New York City FC at Gillette Stadium. That play was the pinnacle of Fagundez’s performance, helping him win match MVP honors and snap the Revolution’s five-game winless run.

“I just wanted to help out the team as much as possible,” Fagundez said after the game. “We knew how hard this game would be and how important it was. We definitely showed that we wanted it more.”

After weeks of slipping and sliding, the Revolution rallied on Saturday night after holding player-only meetings throughout the week and re-tooling their focus.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the guys for getting out of the rut we were in,” said Charlie Davies, who had four shots on the game, including one that hit the crossbar.

“This was a crucial moment in our season,” Davies said. “There were two ways, either we take the right step or continue down this slippery slope. We decided to take a step forward as a team. The players-only meeting helped us get on the same page, to really galvanize to make a performance like tonight’s possible.”

Each player rose to the occasion to take down NYCFC, which entered the game with four wins in its last six matches and the opportunity to knock the Revolution out of playoff position. Aside from contending with Spanish World Cup and Champions League-winning striker David Villa, the Revolution were without starters Jermaine Jones (groin), Bobby Shuttleworth (concussion), and Jose Goncalves (suspension) and had to make due with a makeshift lineup.

David Villa stopped from a tight angle. Photo/Kari Heistad

Andrew Farrell and London Woodberry made up for Goncalves’ absence while Brad Knighton filled in admirably for Shuttleworth with a three-save, shutout performance. Having Jones would have helped, but Fagundez seemed as though he was going to steal the show anyway.

He certainly showed up David Villa.

Fagundez electrified the Revolution’s attack, running at NYCFC’s back line and creating numerous scoring chances. His moment of brilliance in the 12^th minute involved a back heel give-and-go with Daigo Kobayashi in midfield before firing a pass in between NYCFC’s central defense for Nguyen, who was wide open inside area. Nguyen steered past Mehdi Ballouchy, then slotted the ball past Josh Saunders for his third goal of the season.

“It was a great build-up,” said Nguyen. “Great combinations play in the middle. Diego played a great ball in and I found a little bit of space and tuck it into the corner.”

That goal knocked down New York’s momentum. Patrick Mullins, who NYCFC was able to select in the expansion draft from the Revolution instead of Fagundez, had a header inside the six-yard box saved by Knighton in just the second minute. Angelino rolled a 30-year rip wide of the far post seconds later.

Then Nguyen scored and the tables turned, Teal Bunbury forcing a save out of Saunders after turning and shooting on a Jeremy Hall lay-off (26^th) and Chris Tierney missing the inside of the far post by inches (41^st).

The second half was even more wide open and featured both teams trading offensive blows at each end of the field.

Patrick Mullins made his Gillette Stadium return, but couldn’t help take down his former team. Photo/Kari Heistad

David Villa muscled past Hall on the left wing in the 50^th minute, ran 40 yards toward the end line, then had his tight-angled shot beaten away by Knighton.

Tommy McNamara shot from just as tight of an angle—but on the opposite side of the field— two minutes later, his effort going wide.

Tierney tried again from distance for the Revolution, his volley from 20 yards out palmed over the bar by Saunders in the 54^th.

Then, referee Sorin Stoica handed New York’s Ned Grabavoy a straight red card for recklessly bringing down Kobayashi.

With a man-advantage, the Revolution continued to press and limit NYCFC’s opportunities. The final foray in which both teams came close to scoring occurred in a 60 second span between minutes 70 and 71.

First, Charlie Davies hit the crossbar when he went in alone on Saunders. After switching fields, Villa went in behind for New York, forcing Shuttleworth to come off his line and punch the ball away.

Stoica awarded an additional six minutes of stoppage time—a season-high for a Revolution game—but the makeshift defense managed to hold on for the elusive three points.

“I was really happy with the attitude going in,” said Heaps. “We knew we’d be without [Goncalves] and we took a tough loss with [Shuttleworth] going out this week. We worked really hard this week on our shape and our back four and overall commitment between the lines.

“We’ve had a tough couple of weeks and so getting that first goal was really good. As the game went on we had more chances, but we didn’t do enough to finish the game.

“Tonight for us was getting back to what we we’re really good at and what we’re built to do…We can get into our mid-range break and really turn it on. Tonight was started to get back to that, when we’re sound defensively, able to use our speed, able to get into their half and create some chances.”