FOXBOROUGH, MA– The New England Revolution (9-4-19, 31 pts.) were defeated 2-1 versus D.C. United (10-10-13, 40 pts.) on Saturday night.

The match kicked off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium to a crowd of 44,000.

Your starting XI for tonight 👊 pic.twitter.com/eyYivkE5il

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) October 5, 2024

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.

Prior to the start of the match, Revolution team awards were distributed.

Midfielder Carles Gil was named team MVP for a team record 4th time.

Defender Andrew Farrell was named Humanitarian of the Year of his 2nd time.

Midfielder Eric Klein of the New England Revolution II was named UnitedHealthcare Revolution Academy Player of the Year.

The 2024 #NERevs 𝐌𝐕𝐏: our captain Carles Gil! pic.twitter.com/H4iBSGptWH

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) October 5, 2024

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

Entering the 3rd minute, D.C. United took the early lead.

QUE GOLAZO 🤩 pic.twitter.com/mlexIt0KmR

— D.C. United (@dcunited) October 5, 2024

Following a cross to the right flank by midfielder #14 Martín Rodríguez, the ball was not closed down by Brandon Bye and was hit with a rocket of a one-time strike by defender #7 Pedro Santos into the top corner past Aljaž Ivačič to make it 1-0.

Entering the 8th minute, D.C. United added to their lead.

BENTEKE DOING BENTEKE THINGS 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/tC0hqH3NRQ

— D.C. United (@dcunited) October 5, 2024

Defender #3 Lucas Bartlett played the ball in-behind to find Xavier Arreaga lacking defensively which allowed forward #7 Christian Benteke, who was able to easily head the ball past goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič for his MLS leading 23rd goal of the year to make it 2-0 in just under 10 minutes for D.C. United.

D.C. United had yet another chance when midfielder #21 Theodore Ku-DiPietro drove down the left flank and sent his right-footed shot just wide of the right post.

New England’s first chance came in the 21st minute when Giacomo Vrioni found Carles Gil is the 20th minute in a 2v1 scenario, however, Gil’s effort went over the bar.

Entering the 45th minute, New England had thought they leveled the scoreline, however, the ball deflected off of Giacomo Vrioni who was in an offsides position.

After the initial 45+2 minutes, the match entered halftime with the scoreline level at 0-0.

Halftime. #NEvDC | @SantanderBankUS pic.twitter.com/axmNW7M7S3

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) October 6, 2024

At the conclusion of the second half, Revolution goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič got into a short verbal dispute with members of the New England Revolution supporters’ section in “The Fort”. This involved an individual in section 143 & another in 142.

Insensitive verbal language was dictated towards Ivačič by three fans. One was escorted out of the supporter’s section in 74th minute and was later allowed to return for the remainder of the match. That same fan was then forcibly removed at the end of the match.

It has been confirmed that the fan IS NOT a part of either supporter group

Aljaž Ivačič just got in a verbal dispute with members on the Midnight Riders side of The Fort after the halftime whistle.

Earlier today, he was named Midnight Riders Man of the Year.#NERevs | #MLS

— Caleb Pongratz (@CalebPongratz10) October 6, 2024

Prior to the start of the second half, both teams made changes. D.C. United head coach Troy Lesesne replaced midfielder #21 Theodore Ku-DiPietro with forward #11 Cristian Dájome, while Revolution head coach Caleb Porter replaced defender Peyton Miller with midfielder Dylan Borrero.

The second half began with New England starting from the center circle and quickly advanced the ball into D.C. United’s defensive third.

New England had the first chance of the half when Luca Langoni’s cross in the 51st minute just missed the foot of Giacomo Vrioni.

In the 53rd minute, Revolution midfielder Luca Langoni was issued a yellow card for thwarting a counter-attack.

Three minutes later, D.C. United head coach Troy Lesesne made his second change of the match by replacing midfielder #14 Martín Rodríguez with midfielder #5 Boris Enow.

In the 61st minute, Revolution head coach Caleb Porter made his second, third, and fourth change of the match by replacing midfielders Emmanuel Boateng & Esmir Bajraktarevic along with defender Brandon Bye for defender Tim Parker and midfielders Esmir Bajraktarević & Nacho Gil.

Unstoppable 😤

23 goals
7 assists pic.twitter.com/bwIFRfRqcG

— D.C. United (@dcunited) October 6, 2024

Just two minutes later, in the 63rd minute, D.C. United head coach Troy Lesesne made his third and fourth change of the match by replacing midfielder #8 Jared Stroud and forward #10 Gabriel Pirani with forwards #17 Jacob Murrell and #23 Dominique Badji.

Four minutes after those substitutions, Revolution head coach Caleb Porter made his final change of the match by replacing midfielder Carles Gil with midfielder Ian Harkes.

D.C. United had yet another amazing opportunity when midfielder #5 Boris Enow’s long-distant effort struck the crossbar in the 70th minute and was cleared.

In the 72nd minute, D.C. United defender #7 Pedro Santos was issued a yellow card for dissent.

Entering the 74th minute, New England pulled one back.

Cross by Ian and own goal ⚽ pic.twitter.com/s1641PHM2J

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) October 6, 2024

After an attempted cross into the area by midfielder Ian Harkes, the ball was deflected off of D.C. United defender #4 Matti Peltola and into the net past goalkeeper #24 Alex Bono to make it 2-1.

Following the goal, D.C. United defender #3 Lucas Bartlett was issued a yellow card for time wasting & Revolution midfielder Nacho Gil was issued a yellow card for attempting to grab the ball out of the hands of Bartlett forcibly.

New England’s next chance came in the 80th minute when Nacho Gil’s freekick was saved away by goalkeeper #24 Alex Bono.

Just two minutes later, New England had yet another chance when Giacomo Vrioni’s effort was blocked by a sliding D.C. United defender.

In the 85th minute, D.C. United head coach Troy Lesesne made his final change of the match by replacing midfielder #43 Mateusz Klich with defender #16 Garrison Tubbs.

D.C. United’s last chance came in the 90+2 minute when forward #17 Jacob Murrell was denied from close-range by goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič.

After the 90+8 minutes, the match concluded with D.C. United holding on for the 2-1 victory.

Full time.#NEvDC | @SantanderBankUS pic.twitter.com/qqpwaAABqz

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) October 6, 2024

Upon conclusion of the match, goalkeeper approached the Supporters’ Section, pointed out a fan, waved his finger and was one of the first players that walked off the pitch.

Aljaž Ivačič approached The Fort and pointed at a member of the crowd after the match.#NERevs | #MLS https://t.co/d1g0Omf4ay pic.twitter.com/GO4ghRspxb

— Caleb Pongratz (@CalebPongratz10) October 6, 2024

With the result, New England have been eliminated from the 2024 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. The result moves New England to 14th in the MLS Eastern Conference.

The New England Revolution (9-4-19, 31 pts.) are on the road where they are set to face MLS Eastern Conference side Columbus Crew (17-9-6 60 pts.) on Saturday, October 13th. The match kicks off in Lower.com Field 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)