After a lengthy delay due to nearby lightning, the New England Revolution and Toronto FC would take the pitch at Gillette Stadium for a Wednesday night matchup. The Revolution would look to continue their unbeaten run at home, while the struggling Toronto searched for a result to spark their season. A sloppy start for the Revolution would be enough of a setback to give Toronto their second win of the season and give the Revs their first home loss.
It only took Toronto nine minutes to get on the board and start the scoring. A loose ball found it’s way towards goalkeeper Brad Knighton. A slight hesitation gave Yeferson Soteldo a chance to pounce. He rounded the stranded Knighton and placed the ball into the back of the net giving them a 1-0 lead.
In a span of 15 minutes, Toronto was able to triple their lead with goals from Kemar Lawrence and Tsubasa Endoh. A combination of errors and mistakes would give the Revolution their biggest challenge of the season so far. Right before halftime, it seemed Toronto had scored a fourth, but the play was ruled offside, disallowing Alejandro Pozuelo’s goal.
The Revs would come out firing in the second half, looking to make their comeback. As he has all season, Carles Gil would lead the Revs, returning to the scoresheet in an important way. In the 56th minute, Gil would curl a free kick, up and over the Toronto wall and into the back of the net.
The Revolution would claw their way closer with Adam Buksa scoring his 5th goal of the season. In the 78th minute, a cross by Ema Boateng was headed home by Buksa, pulling the Rev’s deficit to one.
A strong push by the Revolution would ultimately fall short. A 3-2 defeat gives the Revs their first home loss of the 2021 campaign. Up next for the Revolution (7-3-3) is a July 17 matchup at Atlanta United. For now, The Revolution remain a top the Eastern Conference with a three point lead over Orlando SC.
