Luca Langoni scores in home debut and Will Sands tallies two assists
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (8-15-3; 27 pts.) battled St. Louis CITY SC (5-10-13; 28 pts.) to a 2-2 draw on Saturday night with 30,512 fans on hand at Gillette Stadium. Forward Luca Langoni tallied his second goal with the club in his first MLS start, while Carles Gil scored his sixth goal of the campaign. Defender Will Sands registered his first career multi-assist game as he helped set up both New England goals.
Former Revolution defender Henry Kessler, in his return to Foxborough, opened the scoring for St. Louis in the 23rd minute, looping a header off a Marcel Hartel corner over New England goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič. Kessler, who spent the first four-and-a-half seasons of his MLS career in New England, was traded to St. Louis in August in exchange for Tim Parker. Parker made his Revolution debut in the match, as the 2023 MLS Best XI defender made his first start for the club.
Despite the early setback, the Revolution kept their composure and equalized only five minutes later off the foot of Langoni. The 22-year-old Argentine, making his Gillette Stadium debut after arriving from Boca Juniors in a club-record transfer, touched a driven pass from Will Sands around Kessler before slotting home the finish from a tight angle through the legs of St. Louis goalkeeper Roman Bürki.
After setting up the first goal, Sands helped create the go-ahead strike in the 40th minute. The left back fed a lateral pass to Carles Gil, who kissed a shot from 20 yards off the post and into the net for the Revs’ second of the night. Gil’s goal, his sixth of the season, was the captain’s 125th goal contribution for the club across all competitions. Sands finished the night with a team-high three key passes.
Leading by a goal, the Revolution and St. Louis dueled throughout an evenly matched second half, before Simon Becher tied it up in the 72nd minute. Becher tucked a low shot past Ivačič, who registered nine saves on the night to match his career high. The Revolution nearly had an opportunity to answer when the referee went to the monitor to review a potential handball against St. Louis, though the penalty was not given and the two teams were forced to split the points.
The Revolution head back on the road next Saturday, September 14 to face Orlando City SC. The 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Inter&Co Stadium is available to watch on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app in English and Spanish. Listen to the Revolution’s local radio calls on 98.5 The Sports Hub (WBZ-FM) and 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA (Portuguese).
| MATCH NOTES |
| Luca Langoni made his first MLS start and home debut, tallying his second goal for the club. Langoni now has two goals and one assist in only 118 minutes played. Before Langoni, the last Revolution player to score in his home debut was Bobby Wood on March 4, 2023. Will Sands registered the first multi-assist game of his MLS career with a pair of assists in the first half, his first two helpers with the Revolution. Carles Gil scored the go-ahead goal in the first half, his 125th goal contribution for the club in all competitions and sixth of the season. Ian Harkes recorded his third assist in as many games and his fourth of the campaign, a new MLS career high. Aljaž Ivačič matched his single-game high with nine saves on the night. Dylan Borrero returned to the Revolution’s starting lineup for the first time since July 3. Tim Parker made his Revolution debut, starting in place of Xavier Arreaga who is away on international duty with Ecuador. Nacho Gil entered as a substitute for his first action since April 27, when he suffered a knee injury. Emmanuel Boateng made his 100th appearance for New England across all competitions. Scoring Summary: STL – Henry Kessler 1 (Marcel Hartel 4) 23’ NE – Luca Langoni 2 (Will Sands 1) 28’ NE – Carles Gil 6 (Will Sands 2, Ian Harkes 4) 40’ STL – Simon Becher (Unassisted) 72’ Misconduct Summary: NE – Giacomo Vrioni (Yellow Card – Tactical Foul) 15’ STL – Jannes Horn (Yellow Card – Tactical Foul) 20’ STL – Henry Kessler (Yellow Card – Tactical Foul) 49’ STL – Eduard Löwen (Yellow Card – Hard Foul) 57’ STL – Kyle Hiebert (Yellow Card – Hard Foul) 59’ New England Revolution: Aljaž Ivačič; Will Sands, Dave Romney, Tim Parker, Peyton Miller; Matt Polster, Ian Harkes, Carles Gil ©; Dylan Borrero (Emmanuel Boateng 84’), Luca Langoni (Nacho Gil 72’), Giacomo Vrioni (Bobby Wood 84’). Substitutes Not Used: Earl Edwards Jr., Andrew Farrell, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Nick Lima, Tommy McNamara, Jonathan Mensah. St. Louis CITY SC: Roman Bürki ©; Jake Nerwinski, Henry Kessler, Kyle Hiebert, Jannes Horn (Joao Klauss 57’); Chris Durkin, Eduard Loewen, Marcel Hartel; Simon Becher (Jayden Reid 86’), Indiana Vassilev (Nokkvi Thorisson 46’), Cedric Teuchert (Rasmus Alm 66’). Substitutes Not Used: Ben Lundt, Jake Girdwood-Reich, Tomas Totland, Josh Yaro, Akil Watts. |
