The New England Revolution dropped their second consecutive game to open the 2015 MLS season, suffering a 2-0 loss to New York City FC on Sunday evening at Yankee Stadium.
NYC FC, playing their inaugural home game, got goals on either side of halftime from David Villa and former Revs Patrick Mullins to claim their first win in MLS. With the defeat, the Revs are now 0-2-0 heading into next weekend’s home opener against the Montreal Impact.
David Villa gave NYC FC the lead in the 19th minute when he scored the first-ever goal in the history of MLS at Yankee Stadium. Just minutes after forcing Bobby Shuttleworth into a fingertip save, Villa played a one-two at the top of the box with Ned Grabavoy before bursting into the area and slotting a shot past Shuttleworth, giving the home side a 1-0 lead.
They would take that lead into the halftime break despite New England outshooting NYC FC 9-5 in the opening 45 minutes. Juan Agudelo, Kelyn Rowe and Chris Tierney all had great chances to score the Revs first goal of the season, only to be denied by goalkeeper Josh Saunders and the New York City defense.
The Revs search for an equalizer became all the more difficult in the 66th minute when captain Jose Goncalves was sent off for pulling down NYC’s Khiry Shelton as he burst through on goal, forcing New England to play the final 24 minutes with just 10 men.
NYC FC put the game out of reach in the 84th minute when former New England forward Patrick Mullins scored less than a minute after entering the game. Villa got free on the left and hit a low ball across the face of goal for Mullins, who slid in at the back post to double the expansion club’s lead and seal their first-ever victory.
