With little greater than delight on the road, the New England Revolution closed out their 2025 MLS season with a wild 2-2 tie in opposition to longtime rivals Chicago Fireplace FC on Saturday night time.
Late drama stole the present at Gillette Stadium as feelings swung from frustration to elation and again once more.
The Revolution held a 1-0 lead for a lot of the match earlier than Chicago equalized within the 82nd minute. However deep in second half stoppage time, the Revolution appeared to have finished the job: Carles Gil’s free kick discovered Dor Turgeman for a dramatic header that briefly put New England again in entrance. The help marked a milestone for Gil, who turned simply the second participant in membership historical past to document 50 targets and 50 assists, becoming a member of Steve Ralston.
The celebration was short-lived.
Seconds after taking again the lead, the Revolution conceded an attacking free kick and did not clear the following supply. Amid a scrum within the penalty space, Joel Waterman’s shot caromed off the chest of Turgeman, who inadvertently deflected the ball into his personal internet.
“I thought as the game went on, we kept getting deeper and deeper, and we wanted to draw our lines a little higher, but when they got the goal, I loved our response to getting a goal,” mentioned interim coach Pablo Moreira. “But then ultimately, we gave one up late.”
Alhassan Yusuf gave New England a dream begin, capitalizing on goalkeeper Chris Brady’s errant again cross to Dje D’Avila and scoring simply 44 seconds into the match, the fourth-fastest objective by a Revolution participant in Gillette Stadium historical past.
New England (9-16-9, 36 factors) struggled to take care of management in what was, for almost all of the sport, a cagey and boring contest. Chicago’s first equalizer got here within the 82nd minute by Philip Zinckernagel, who powered a shot previous Matt Turner after a intelligent buildup involving Hugo Cuypers and Maren Haile-Selassie.
It has been a stuttering and irritating marketing campaign for the Revolution, who failed to succeed in the playoffs for the second consecutive yr, fired their head coach, and suffered lengthy streaks of futility.
Most of the Revolution’s struggles mirrored Saturday night time’s common season finale: inconsistent, Jekyll-and-Hyde-type performances marked by squandered leads and dear lapses in focus, particularly at house, the place they completed 4-9-4 this season.
The autopsy on this season began weeks in the past, earlier than the membership was mathematically eradicated from the playoffs. With aggressive play now concluded, the Revolution face main questions going into 2026, beginning with who would be the crew’s coach when preseason begins subsequent winter.
“We’re not a club that wants to just compete; we’re a club that wants to win and win trophies,” Moreira added. “You take a look at the historical past of this membership — not too way back they have been elevating the Supporters’ Protect.
“I think the front office has done a lot. You look at how many players were turned over from last year to this year — this is a playoff roster, and I’m not afraid to say that … in terms of the roster, it’s a proper roster that will make the playoffs next year.”
New England acknowledged three standout performers earlier than Saturday’s sport. Gil was named crew MVP for the third consecutive season, Brayan Ceballos was named the membership’s Defender of the Yr, and Andrew Farrell was named Humanitarian of the Yr. Farrell, who’s retiring after 13 seasons, entered Saturday’s sport as a 71st-minute substitute to a standing ovation.
