Revolution "Over The Moon" After Handing Charlotte Their First Home Loss Of 2025

“We just beat the team that was top of the East, a team that’s putting up quality numbers of goals against opponents, a team that has scored a lot of goals in the second half. We shut them down.”

Photo Courtesy of J. Alexander Dolan

The New England Revolution became the first team to defeat Charlotte FC at home in 2025 when they earned a 1-0 win on Saturday night.

Charlotte were previously 5-0 at Bank of America Stadium, having only conceded two goals. A late strike by Carles Gil changed that.

The Revs have now won four of their last five games.

“We’re over the moon,” head coach Caleb Porter said. “We just beat the team that was top of the East, a team that’s putting up quality numbers of goals against opponents, a team that has scored a lot of goals in the second half. We shut them down.”

The Revolution have allowed seven goals in their first nine games, which matches the club record set in 2005. They’ve compiled three consecutive clean sheets for the first time since August 2022.

“Those are big things that show how hard it is to defend as well as we’re defending right now,” Porter said. “It takes organization, it takes a good mentality, it takes grit.”

After a 0-3-1 start to the season where their only goal was scored by New York City FC defender Thiago Martins, the Revs have been trending upward.

The club has scored in four of their last five games, with the outlier being the 1-0 road loss to FC Cincinnati.

Captain Gil has been the offensive catalyst, collecting four goals and one assist. Last week, the Revs got tallies from Leo Campana and Ignatius Ganago.

“I think what you’re seeing is a real clear identity,” Porter said. “We’re going to be tough to play against every single game, we’re going to be a good defensive team, and we’re going to have a strong mentality. We have good unity and we’re going to find goals.”

When asked to reflect on the turnaround, Porter stated that he’s seen positive moments throughout the season. Now, everything is coming together.

“I gave them the analogy about the stone cutter that pounds the stone 100 times and no crack, but the 101st time he hits it, it splits the stone,” Porter explained. “For me, there were a lot of signs that we were on the right track the entire season, even though the results weren’t there. So, we just kept pounding the stone and eventually we split it.”

Porter did note that switching to the 3-5-2 formation is a factor because it “has just given us a little more in the boxes.” Players returning from injury also played a role.

Saturday’s win is a big one, as it puts the Revs just one point below the playoff line with a game in hand.

That, of course, means there’s still work to be done.

“For sure, there are things to do better,” Porter said. “We’re going to celebrate this. Obviously, it’s a big win. I told the guys that on Tuesday we’ll get back to work. I feel like we can keep training even better and improving. There are a lot of things that I already have in my mind that are areas we can improve in.

“I still think we’re missing some crosses. I thought today at times in one-v-one defending we could’ve done better early in the game. I still think there are times where we can be cleaner with the ball and keep the ball a little bit more. We’ll keep focusing on the improvement as we hopefully keep collecting points.”