With little more than pride on the line, the New England Revolution closed out their 2025 MLS season with a wild 2-2 tie against longtime rivals Chicago Fire FC on Saturday night.
Late drama stole the show at Gillette Stadium as emotions swung from frustration to elation and back again.
The Revolution held a 1-0 lead for much of the match before Chicago equalized in the 82nd minute. But deep in second half stoppage time, the Revolution appeared to have done the job: Carles Gil’s free kick found Dor Turgeman for a dramatic header that briefly put New England back in front. The assist marked a milestone for Gil, who became just the second player in club history to record 50 goals and 50 assists, joining Steve Ralston.
The celebration was short-lived.
Seconds after taking back the lead, the Revolution conceded an attacking free kick and failed to clear the ensuing delivery. Amid a scrum in the penalty area, Joel Waterman’s shot caromed off the chest of Turgeman, who inadvertently deflected the ball into his own net.
“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,” said interim coach Pablo Moreira. “But then ultimately, we gave one up late.”
Alhassan Yusuf gave New England a dream start, capitalizing on goalkeeper Chris Brady’s errant back pass to Dje D’Avila and scoring just 44 seconds into the match, the fourth-fastest goal by a Revolution player in Gillette Stadium history.
New England (9-16-9, 36 points) struggled to maintain control in what was, for the majority of the game, a cagey and dull contest. Chicago’s first equalizer came in the 82nd minute through Philip Zinckernagel, who powered a shot past Matt Turner after a clever buildup involving Hugo Cuypers and Maren Haile-Selassie.
It has been a stuttering and frustrating campaign for the Revolution, who failed to reach the playoffs for the second consecutive year, fired their head coach, and suffered long streaks of futility.
Many of the Revolution’s struggles mirrored Saturday night’s regular season finale: inconsistent, Jekyll-and-Hyde-type performances marked by squandered leads and costly lapses in focus, especially at home, where they finished 4-9-4 this season.
The post-mortem on this season started weeks ago, before the club was mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. With competitive play now concluded, the Revolution face major questions going into 2026, starting with who will be the team’s coach when preseason begins next 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 look at the history of this club — not too long ago they were raising the Supporters’ Shield.
“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 recognized three standout performers before Saturday’s game. Gil was named team MVP for the third consecutive season, Brayan Ceballos was named the club’s Defender of the Year, and Andrew Farrell was named Humanitarian of the Year. Farrell, who is retiring after 13 seasons, entered Saturday’s game as a 71st-minute substitute to a standing ovation.
