Recap: Revolution 2 - Crew 2

The New England Revolution returned to action Saturday evening as they paid their first visit to Lower.com Field as they took on the reigning MLS Cup champions, the Columbus Crew.

New England came into Saturday’s match looking to get back on track after having a five-game win streak broken by a 2-1 loss to F.C. Dallas in their previous outing.

Columbus Crew opened the doors to their 314 million dollar stadium as the Crew hosted their first game since leaving the historic Crew Stadium. The Crew came into Saturday’s match looking to overcome a two-game skid which saw a loss to Philadelphia and a scoreless draw against Austin FC in their previous outing.

Two changes were made to the starting XI from their previous match against Dallas as Henry Kessler returned to the backline as Jon Bell went to the bench. Tommy McNamara earned his 6th start of the season as Arnór Traustason also went to the bench.

Columbus started hot as Luís Diaz and Harrison Afful looked to find goals in the opening minutes. Luckily, both shots were wide and went out for Revolution goal kicks.

Tajon Buchanan would then make history as he became the first player to score a goal in Lower.com Field history in the 13th minute. Buchanan would leap in the air inside the 6-yard-box and connected beautifully with a perfectly-weighted cross from DeJuan Jones. Buchanan would ricochet the ball off the bottom of the crossbar and into the net.

Gustavo Bou would go on to double the lead in the 30th minute and would bring a once-rocking Lower.com Field crowd to a stunned silence. Buchanan would advance the ball inside the box, where he guided a pass past the Crew defense and to an awaiting Bou, who would extend his left foot and tap the ball into a wide-open net.

Gyasi Zardes would revive the Crew in the 39th minute as he maneuvered his way from the center of the box to his left-hand side while avoiding a hoard of navy jerseys. Zardes would send a shot from the top left corner through a heap of Revs defenders and to the right side, where it snuck past a diving Matt Turner.

Maciel came close to scoring in the 45th minute as his volleyed shot looked to sneak past Eloy Room. However, Room was able to get his hands on it and kept the Crew’s hopes alive. Luís Diaz would then look to sneak a goal by Turner at the lower right corner of the net. Diaz’s shot again would be a tad right of the net and out for a Revs goal kick.

Defender DeJuan Jones would receive a yellow card in the 53rd minute after committing a bad foul on Luís Diaz.

The Revs first substitution would come in the 64th minute as Teal Bunbury would make his 300th MLS appearance as he came on for McNamara.

The crowd would be elated in the 69th minute as a defensive error would see Andrew Farrell score an own goal. A cross was sent into the Revolution defensive third, and the ball would take an unfortunate bounce off the veteran defender’s head and veered towards the Revs goal. Turner was caught off guard as he positioned himself to deal with the incoming cross.

With the ball rolling towards the net, both Farrell and Turners darted back attempting to clear it off the line. Zardes was right behind giving chase. The duo would not be able to get back in time as the ball rolled into the back of the net.

The play would not come without controversy as it appeared that Zardes would push on the duo, preventing them from clearing the ball. The play would not be reviewed as the goal was awarded to Columbus, making it even two goals apiece.

A triple substitution came for the Revs in the 78th minute as Adam Buksa, Wilfried Kaptoum, and Arnór Traustason would come on for Bou, Maciel, and Buchanan.

Turner and the Revolution defense would come up big in second-half stoppage time as the team would work together to make a series of blocks and saves that prevented Columbus from finding a late winner.

The Revs walked away with a point as the final whistle ended the game in a 2-2 draw. The Revs still sit atop the Eastern Conference with 24 points.

The Revs return to action on Wednesday as they host a struggling Toronto FC at 7:00 PM EST.