3 takeaways from the Revolution’s 2-1 loss vs. New York City FC

New England Revolution

New England suffered a third consecutive defeat, avoiding being shut out again only due to a New York own goal.

By Hayden Bird

March 16, 2025 | 7:07 AM

4 minutes to read

The Revolution lost 2-1 to New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on Saturday night. While New England managed to avoid getting shut out for the fourth consecutive week to open the season, the game nonetheless ended with a familiar thud — dropping the team’s record to 0-3-1 in 2025.

The Revolution goal, which broke an almost 300-minute scoreless streak, was the result of a mishit clearance by New York center back Thiago Martins (via a Brandon Bye curled cross) in the 26th minute.

From there, however, the home side grew into the game, with New York forward Julián Fernández leveling the score in the 38th minute on a counterattack.

In the second half, New York took the lead when Alonso Martinez emphatically volleyed a close range rebound into the Revolution net. It came despite a heroic initial stop from New England goalkeeper Aljaž Ivacic, who stretched down to make a snap save to his right.

The defeat piles more pressure on Revolution head coach Caleb Porter, as his team continues to search for a first win in 2025.

Here are a few takeaways:

Up and down play at outside back continues.

While it was Bye (inserted back into the starting lineup at right back) who provided the curled cross that led to the Martins own goal — finally answering New England prayers of at least avoiding another shutout — that was in many ways the highwater mark of the night for Revolution outside backs.

Will Sands got another start at left back, with Peyton Miller still out injured. Sands, 24, is a capable crosser of the ball when given space. In other venues, he might have been able to find more opportunities to deliver such crosses, but in the limited confines of the minimum-sized field of Yankee Stadium, space was at a premium.

On the defensive end, he was beaten multiple times by New York right back Mitja Ilenič and Fernández. The latter was able to get a step clear of Sands during the leadup to the New York equalizer, giving him space to calmly slide the ball far post past the outstretched hand of Ivacic.

Even Ilay Feingold, who was subbed on for Sands in the 76th minute, managed to have a difficult night. Feingold once again showed composure in possession, but committed a poorly-timed foul when trying to regain possession during stoppage time and drew a yellow card.

At some point, Miller will return to the lineup, potentially providing the Revolution with the kind of option at left back that Porter has coveted in his system. But until that happens, New England will have to find a way to (at the very least) stop giving away chances down the left side of the field.

Maxi Moralez won the battle of the No. 10s.

While it was far from a bad game for Revolution captain Carles Gil — he led the contest in touches and looked lively dribbling from his customary inside right positioning — New York’s equivalent No. 10, Maxi Moralez, was the more effective playmaker in the game.

Gil has struggled to connect consistently with New England’s new-look attack in 2025, as evidenced by the lack of goals. And with Miller still out, his usual avenue of finding the left back with a cross-field pass has been less effective.

Moralez, obviously more used to the idiosyncratic demands of the smaller field at Yankee Stadium, looked more comfortable finding his teammates in behind New England’s defense in various sequences. He was also more active defensively, popping up unexpectedly to win back possession on several occasions.

It is certainly not Gil’s fault that the team has gotten off to such a slow start, nor should blame fall mostly on him for the defeat on Saturday (far from it). The New England captain routinely battles from the first minute to the final whistle.

Yet until someone else on the team emerges with a capacity to change the game — even fractionally or momentarily — as Gil can, the burden will continue to fall largely on his shoulders to create chances. It’s not fair to the 32-year-old Spaniard, but it’s the stark reality of the Revolution’s difficult current situation.

Change will come, one way or the other.

While expected goals (known as “xG”) is an occasionally imperfect statistic to discern a team’s attacking output, it can be a useful measuring stick to see how consistently goal-scoring chances are being created.

In New England’s case, xG was once again conspicuously low on Saturday (just 0.39, per FotMob). A more traditional measurement, shots on goal, also confirms this (the Revolution had a single shot on target in the entire game).

It continues a theme that has already become apparent in the opening four games of the 2025 season. The Revolution have not exceeded 0.52 xG or two shots on goal in any game this season.

The attack often looks disjointed and slow, with Gil having to drop too deep (along with taking too much time on the ball) to create much for New England, and no one else has proven able to produce individual moments of brilliance needed to score.

Until the Revolution can find ways to move the ball more quickly, and produce quicker passing sequences in the attacking third, goals could prove hard to find. Should that continue, especially if losses keep piling up, the pressure on Porter will only grow.