Noel Buck Continues to Grow (And So Does His Goal Song Repertoire)
Noel Buck Continues to Grow (And So Does His Goal Song Repertoire)
"He [Buck] continues to grow as a player."
Noel Buck gave the New England Revolution some much needed life on Saturday against the Chicago Fire.
The young midfielder kicked off the scoring for New England with a beautiful goal from distance that saw the Gillette Stadium crowd roar to life. It’s not necessarily a goal that you would expect out of an 18-year-old. It requires a lot of speed and confidence, something that Buck clearly has.
“Once I hit it, I knew it was going in,” Buck said. “They gave me too much space, and if you give me that much space, I have the ability to do that, and it came up.”
As soon as the ball hit the back of the net, fans noticed that Taylor Swift was not blasting over the speakers of Gillette Stadium. In a nod to his father’s love of all things music, Buck decided to have “Fire” by Kasabian as his goal song.
“My dad's a huge fan of a lot of music,” Buck said. “I think I have a massive music repertoire, but you got to switch up. It can’t be Taylor Swift all the time.”
It indeed can’t be Taylor Swift all the time.
Besides the goal, Buck had an impressive performance overall. He played all 90 minutes and completed 80 percent of his passes, recorded 61 touches, and won three of his five tackles. Add on seven recoveries and three passes into the final third and that is an impressive night for the 18-year-old.
Without Carles Gil in the starting XI, Buck got the chance to play more advanced in a similar role to the captain. Head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena was happy with the performance from the youngster.
“Solid performance. Pretty good over the 90 minutes,” Arena said. “He [Buck] continues to grow as a player. Obviously, the position we played him in, in the first half, certainly isn’t his position. But you know, we are short numbers and he had to do one for the team.”
2023 has been a season to remember for Buck. He has already made 14 appearances this season and Saturday’s goal was his second of the season. The midfielder has etched out what almost seems to be a permanent spot in the starting XI for himself.
If Buck continues to grow, European teams will come knocking and his future as a pro will be bright. With the Revs currently dealing with some key injuries, Buck will be relied upon to pick up the slack and show his worth.
But just like his goal song says, the 18-year-old is on fire.