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3 takeaways from the Revolution’s dramatic 3-3 draw against Orlando City
A clash of the league's two best defenses resulted in a surprisingly high-scoring matchup.
The Revolution earned a 3-3 draw on the road against Orlando City on Saturday, fighting back from multiple deficits in what will likely be seen as one of the more entertaining New England games of the season.
It answered one of the more obscure MLS hypothetical questions: What happens when two teams with shutout streaks spanning more than 1,000 combined minutes face each other? Given the chaotic order of operations within MLS, the answer was naturally destined to be a goal-fest, replete with highlight finishes and even a properly executed short corner kick (that also led to a goal).
Orlando surged to a 2-0 lead, with attacking midfielder Martín Ojeda scoring two very different, but very impressive goals.
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Trailing by multiple goals in the first half, an early iteration of Caleb Porter’s team might have been washed away without much of a response, but New England found its footing and made an inspiring comeback. Central midfield pair Alhassan Yusuf and Matt Polster both scored to level the game heading into halftime.
In the second half, both teams enjoyed spells of dominance, with each side converting a penalty kick to keep the score level at 3-3.
Here are a few takeaways as New England moved to 5-4-2 so far in the 2025 MLS season:
Predictions of a scoreless draw were greatly exaggerated.
Heading into the matchup, Orlando City held the longest active MLS shutout streak while the Revolution were second on the list. Orlando hadn’t allowed a goal since March. New England, despite conceding one in the 2-1 midweek U.S. Open Cup win over Rhode Island, hadn’t yielded a league goal since April 5.
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This probably led prognosticators to reasonably expect a low-scoring, possibly goal-less draw. But after watching for only a few moments, it was clear that the pattern of the game would cut against defensive narratives.
Orlando, determined to bypass the Revolution’s effective marking scheme in the now-familiar 3-4-1-2 system, played on the transition as much as possible. New England, trying to leverage their own system against the home team’s 4-2-3-1, enjoyed lengthy spells of possession as they tried to utilize the playmaking talent of team captain Carles Gil.
Amid all of the expansive open play, it was actually a set piece that led to the first goal. New England failed to mark Orlando central midfielder César Araújo at the back post on a corner kick, but Revolution goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič made a quality diving save at the far post to deny the volley. But after New England also failed to properly clear the rebound, Ojeda eventually reclaimed possession, burst into the penalty area, and buried his finish into the roof of the net with a quality strike to make it 1-0.
Less than 10 minutes later, Ojeda struck again. This time, he timed his vertical run to perfection, waiting for Revolution center-back Mamadou Fofana to commit to try and clear a wayward Polster pass. Though Fofana managed to get a touch on the ball, it squirmed directly into the path of Araujo, who sliced a one-touch pass downfield into Ojeda’s direction. The Orlando No. 10 promptly sprinted in, cut back, and applied a skillful finish to make it 2-0.
Central midfielders met the moment
Trailing by multiple goals on the road, it was a character test for New England. And buoyed by the recent winning streak (and accompanying confidence), the Revolution attack provided a perfect response.
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A prolonged spell of possession five minutes after Ojeda’s second goal — highlighted by Gil finding Revolution forward Ignatius Ganago with a searching pass — culminated with Ganago curling a low pass to the back post. Right wingback Ilay Feingold got there just in time, tipping the ball back in front of goal where Yusuf charged onto it and lashed it home to make the score 2-1.
New England then miraculously brought the score back to level when Feingold and Gil combined on a short corner, and the Spanish playmaker found the head of Polster with his cross to the near-post. Polster flicked the ball just inside the far post with his header, and the Revolution had erased the deficit just in time for the halftime whistle.
Throughout the game, Yusuf and Polster (aside from the goal-scoring) were energetic and dynamic, helping close down Orlando attacks on defense and making themselves available for passes on offense (they finished second and third among all players in the game in passes completed, trailing only the ubiquitous Gil).
It was probably fitting that two of New England’s more industrious players scored on a night when — having surrendered two early goals — tirelessness and resolve were arguably the most important factors.
Ivacic rescued the defense on multiple occasions
With the recent run of good form, compiling the second-longest shutout streak in team history, much of the praise deservedly fell on the back line, which has looked solid since the switch to a back-three formation.
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But Ivačič also warrants praise, and he showed why once again on Saturday against Orlando. He made stops in both halves that prevented clear goal-scoring opportunities, and also managed to avoid spilling any rebounds (or misplace a touch during one of the many times New England defenders passed the ball back to him).
As always with goalkeepers, it can be easy to look past most of their contributions (coming in short sequences), but having Ivačič in net has provided a level of solidity New England needs to have any chance in the kind of dramatic, back-and-forth road games as the one against Orlando on Saturday.
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