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3 takeaways from the Revolution’s 3-0 win over CF Montreal
The Revolution's young left back scored his first MLS goal.
The Revolution scored a trio of second half goals to get a 3-0 win over CF Montreal on Saturday. It extends New England’s unbeaten run in MLS to nine games, ending a run of four straight league draws.
The evening was punctuated by the (temporary) presence of former Revolution striker Giacomo Vrioni, who started for Montreal but was shown a red card in the 36th minute for kicking New England center back Keegan Hughes.
Gifted a numerical advantage, the Revolution took until the second half to leverage it properly. But thanks to a starring night from wing-backs Peyton Miller and Ilay Feingold, New England notched its most lopsided win of the season to improve to 6-4-5.
Here are a few takeaways:
The return of the Giacomo Vrioni experience.
One of the inevitable pregame plot lines was Montreal’s decision to start Vrioni, the former New England Designated Player who had been traded in the offseason as head coach Caleb Porter and the Revolution front office sought a fresh start at the striker position.
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Ironically, Vrioni has actually outpaced any of the Revolution’s forwards in goal-scoring so far in 2025 with the still modest total of three (Leo Campana has two, while Ignatius Ganago, Maxi Urruti, and Tomas Chancalay all have one league goal each).
But in the opening half hour, Revolution fans pining for the days of Vrioni got a quick reminder of why New England was willing to deal him for just $50,000 in General Allocation Money in January. His effort and industry remains strong, as he worked hard to get into good positions and even force a Revolution turnover. Once he was in possession of the ball, or was asked to shoot, things fell apart.
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Admittedly, his night was not helped by the fact that he sustained a cut on his right foot while contesting a ball headed in his direction in the third minute. Revolution center-back Mamadou Fofana won the ball, but also appeared to make contact with Vrioni’s leg in the process. By the 30th minute, the Montreal forward had already been off the field three times as he sought treatment.
Yet whatever additional drama Vrioni might have brought to the game was cut short by a single bad decision in the 36th minute. While shielding the ball on the sideline against Hughes, Vrioni tried to turn before getting pushed out of bounds. He fell, with Hughes tangled and landing on top of him. In frustration, Vrioni lashed out, kicking Hughes.
It was a fraction of a second, but the transgression was clear to see on replay, and Vrioni was given a red card.
The Revolution struggled to make the most of the advantage, but the wing-backs delivered.
Minus Vrioni, Montreal offered less in the attack, but managed to get organized defensively. Revolution possession was often forced backward, with center-backs accounting for three of the team’s four most involved players (captain Carles Gil remained the focal point, as the only player to total more than 100 touches throughout the game).
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The eventual breakthrough came from an exciting source: Miller, the Revolution’s 17-year-old Connecticut-born academy graduate. Bolting in from his left wing-back position, he jumped in front of Montreal winger Dante Sealy and volleyed Feingold’s looping cross into the corner of the net. It was his first career MLS goal, and given his ability, will likely not be the last.
Less than ten minutes later, Feingold got his own name on the scoresheet, sweeping into the Montreal penalty box from the right, cutting onto his left foot and curling a shot that wound its way into the goal (taking a midflight deflection).
He doubled his tally near the end of the game, with the two wing-backs adding an exclamation point to their impressive performance: Miller caught up to a Carles Gil through-ball and clipped a cross to the back post where Feingold patiently dispatched it into the far corner.
Is this repeatable?
It can sound harsh to offer anything other than praise to a team on a nine-game unbeaten run celebrating a 3-0 win, but Saturday’s win comes in context. Montreal is the worst team in the Eastern Conference, and Vrioni’s moment of madness handed New England a huge advantage after barely half an hour.
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Prior to Vrioni’s red card, Montreal looked arguably even, if not slightly better, than the Revolution. Neither side seemed to be especially dangerous, but New England totaled just one shot during that part of the game.
As unique and helpful as it can be to have two wing-backs like Miller and Feingold, they have also proven that young players can be inconsistent. In previous weeks, both have had up and down performances—along with the games in which both were fairly muted.
Expecting younger players in wide roles to make difference-making goal contributions on a weekly basis seems unrealistic. The pressure continues to build on the team’s forwards (currently Ganago and Chancalay while Leo Campana remains out with a hamstring issue). The Revolution will need higher level play from the two striker roles if they expect to challenge against opposition perched farther up the standings.
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