Brandon Bye’s late header leads New England to victory

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FOXBOROUGH, MA– The New England Revolution (9-4-17, 31 pts.) were victorious 1-0 over Nashville SC (8-9-13, 33 pts.) on Saturday afternoon.

The match kicked off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium to a crowd of 42,000.

The team started their lineup in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Aljaž Ivačič starting in net with a backline of (left back) Peyton Miller, (center backs) Dave Romney, and Xavier Arreaga, along with (right back) Brandon Bye. The midfield spots were manned by Matt Polster (left defensive midfield) and Alhassan Yusuf (right defensive midfield), with Carles Gil appeared ahead of them (central attacking midfield). The forward roles were manned Emmanuel Boateng (left wing), Luca Langoni (right wing), and Giacomo Vrioni as the lone striker.

Head Coach Caleb Porter was suspended for tonight’s match due to Yellow Card Accumulation.

The match began with Nashville SC starting from the center circle and swiftly advancing the ball into New England’s defensive third.

Nashville had the first chance in the 7th minute of the match when midfielder #19 Alex Muyl’s close range effort was saved by Aljaž Ivačič.

New England’s first chance came five minutes later when Xavier Arreaga’s close range volley went wide of the net.

Foxboro, Massachusetts: Revolution head coach Pablo Moreira watches the action during a MLS game between the New England Revolution and Nashville SC at Gillette Stadium on September 28, 2024. (c) Burt Granofsky

Just two minutes later, New England had yet another chance when Luca Langoni sent his effort over the bar.

New England had another opportunity in the 22nd minute when Carles Gil’s left-footed effort went just wide of the right post.

Forward #9 Sam Surridge of Nashville had a chance in the 25th minute that was met with a point-blank save by Aljaž Ivačič.

In the 40th minute, Nashville SC defender #18 Shaq Moore was issued a yellow card for thwarting a counterattack.

Just two minutes later, in the 43rd minute, Revolution midfielder Matt Polster was issued a yellow card.

After the initial 45+1 minutes, the match entered halftime with the scoreline level at 0-0.

The match began with New England starting from the center circle and elected to build out of the back to begin the match.

Nashville had the first chance of the second half when midfielder #18 Alex Muyl had a chance that was blocked away in the 47th minute.

Just five minutes later, Nashville had yet another chance when midfielder #10 Hany Mukhtar’s long distant chance was saved away for a corner by Aljaž Ivačič.

Foxboro, Massachusetts: Nashville SC midfielder Tah Anunga (27) makes an acrobatic play in a MLS game between the New England Revolution and Nashville SC at Gillette Stadium on September 28, 2024. (c) Burt Granofsky

In the 62nd minute, both teams made changes. Revolution interim head coach Pablo Morreira made his first change of the match by replacing midfielder Emmanuel Boateng with midfielder Esmir Bajraktarević. Nashville SC head coach BJ Callaghan replaced midfielder #20 Anibal Godoy and forward #12 Teal Bunbury with midfielder #15 Patrick Yazbek and forward #14 Jacob Shaffelburg.

New England had a clear chance in the 73rd minute when Peyton Miller managed to take on two players and win a corner for New England.

In the 79th minute, both teams once again made changes. Revolution interim head coach Pablo Morreira made his second change of the match by replacing forward Giacomo Vrioni with forward Bobby Wood. Nashville SC head coach BJ Callaghan replaced midfielders #27 Brian Anunga and #19 Alex Muyl with midfielders #54 Sean Davis and #8 Randall Leal.

Entering the 86th minute, New England gained the late lead.

Midfielder Luca Langoni managed to loft the ball into the penalty area to find the head of defender Brandon Bye for the goal past goalkeeper #1 Joe Willis to make it 1-0 to New England.

In the 89th minute, Revolution interim head coach Pablo Morreira made his final change of the match by replacing midfielder Luca Langoni with defender Tim Parker.

Nashville’s biggest chance of the match came from a volley attempt in the 90+2 minute when midfielder #8 Hany Mukhtar cleanly struck the ball towards the net, which was met by a fantastic diving stop by goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič. The ball fell back to Mukhtar and was scored; however, midfielder #14 Jacob Shaffelburg was offside, and the goal was chalked off.

After the 90+4 minutes, the match concluded with New England holding on for the 1-0 victory.

With the result, New England moves to 14th in the MLS Eastern Conference. They currently sit 5 points below the playoff line with one game in hand.

The New England Revolution (9-4-17, 31 pts.) are on the road where they are set to face MLS Western Conference side Houston Dynamo FC (13-9-9, 48 pts.) on Wednesday, October 2nd. The match kicks off in Shell Energy Stadium at 7:30 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.

(Editor’s Note: For more of Burt Granofsky’s photos, click on the link)

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About Author

Hello! My name is Caleb Pongratz. I am a 22-year-old journalist that covers Major League Soccer, MLS NEXT Pro, USL, USL Championship, USL League One, USL League Two & the United States Men's National Team. I'm originally from Hanover, Massachusetts and currently reside in Boston, Massachusetts. Schooling: • Hanover High School (2016-2020) • Suffolk University (2020-2024) - Graduated cum laude with a Bachelor's Degree in Communications - Broadcast Journalism. Career within Soccer: • Played club soccer from U6-U18 (Select FC, Boston Bolts, Liverpool International Academy) • Captain of Hanover High School Boys' Soccer (High School) • Played NCAA Division 3 Soccer for Suffolk University in the Coastal Commonwealth Conference for 4 seasons • C Licensed US Soccer Coach • Licensed US Soccer Referee • SafeSport & Intro to Safe & Healthy Playing Environments Certified

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