Carles Gil scored his 13th goal of the season after contributing his 12th assist, and the New England Revolution earned a 2-1 victory to halt the Philadelphia Union’s 15-match unbeaten run Saturday in Chester, Pa.
Dor Turgeman added his 10th goal of the season shortly before halftime for the Revolution (17-10-4, 55 points), who won their third straight and moved above Miami into second place in the Eastern Conference on the first tiebreaker of total wins.
Matt Turner made six stops, including an exceptional sprawling denial of Agustin Anello’s effort that could’ve leveled the match in the 16th minute of second-half stoppage time.
Neil Pierre scored a consolation tally in the 12th minute of second-half stoppage time for Philadelphia, which lost for the first time since a 6-4 defeat to Miami in the final game before the World Cup break on May 24.
Andre Blake made six stops to keep the sixth-place Union (13-11-7, 46 points) in the match on a night when they were uncharacteristically on the back foot.
Philadelphia was without team assist leader Cavan Sullivan, with the 17-year-old U.S. national team prospect ruled out with an ankle issue.
New England had the stronger first-half chances, with Blake reacting well to deny Daniel Gazdag in the 27th and 33rd minutes.
Turgeman put the Revs in front in first-half stoppage time.
Gil did most of the setup work. After reaching a half-clearance roughly 30 yards from the goal line, he slalomed between two defenders on the dribble before lofting a diagonal ball to the back left post. Peyton Miller headed the service back across the goal, and Turgeman met it with a close-range volley into the net.
Gil forced Blake into another good stop in the 58th minute, and Turgeman narrowly missed connecting with the rebound of Lucas Langoni’s effort off Blake in the 72nd.
Philadelphia finally created more danger late, with Milan Iloski forcing Turner into a stop at his near post in the 78th minute and Malik Jakupovic misfiring on a first-time chance from an excellent position in the 86th.
Gil provided the decisive moment shortly after, reaching an outlet ball and dribbling into the penalty area, where he was hauled down by Pierre’s late challenge. Originally ruled offside, referee Malik Badawi reversed his decision after consulting replay and pointed to the spot, where Gil converted emphatically for his seventh PK tally of the season.
Pierre avenged his error with a firm header of Kai Wagner’s cross in the dying stages, but the Union’s frenetic late push fell short of a leveler.
–Field Level Media
