Brandon Bye's late equalizer helps New England Revolution draw against LAFC

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:28 am

The lessons Brad Friedel learned from his many mentors are evident in his Revolution team.
The lessons Brad Friedel learned from his many mentors are evident in his Revolution team.
Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images

Brandon Bye scored in the 82nd minute Saturday as the visiting New England Revolution earned a 1-1 tie with Los Angeles Football Club.

After handing New York City FC their first home loss in their last road match on Sept. 5, the Revolution were able to hang around with LAFC before getting their reward against one of the Western Conference leaders.

Bye scored his first career goal, heading home a shot off a pass from forward Teal Bunbury, and the defense survived a late rush. Cristian Penilla nearly gave New England the victory in stoppage time, but his right-footed shot hit off the right post.

LAFC's Marco Urena scored his first goal of the season nine minutes into the second half, but that lead was squandered late.

After a scoreless and physical first half, LAFC showed a sense of urgency early in the second half, nearly getting a goal in the 50th minute from Lee Nguyen, who whiffed with his right foot on a point-blank shot against his former club.

Four minutes later, LAFC were on the attack again, with Diego Rossi feeding Urena on the left side of the box. Urena slipped a shot through the legs of Revolution defender Antonio Mlinar Delamea and past goalkeeper Brad Knighton.

LAFC (13-7-8, 47 points) remained in third place in the Western Conference, three points behnd second-place FC Dallas and four back of first-place Sporting Kansas City.

The Revolution (8-10-10, 34 points) continued their fight to get back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture. New England is in eighth place, two spots outside a playoff spot. The Revolution now have a victory and a tie after a nine-match winless streak.

New England had two prime scoring chances after Urena's goal, but goalkeeper Tyler Miller stopped them both. Forward Brian Wright had a low shot right in front of the LAFC goal that was stopped by Miller, and forward Juan Agudelo also was denied from close range.

LAFC are now 7-1-6 at Banc of California Stadium, with three of their final six matches scheduled at their home venue. New England is 2-6-6 on the road.