Bou nets stunning volley in winning Revs debut

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:21 am

Gustavo Bou scored in his MLS debut and the New England Revolution extended their unbeaten streak to nine games with a 4-0 home victory over the struggling Vancouver Whitecaps on a soggy Wednesday night at Foxborough, Mass.

Acquired earlier this month from Club Tijuana of Liga MX, the Argentinian didn't waste any time announcing his presence. Bou opened the scoring with a laser, one-time strike off a Carles Gil corner kick from the top of the box in first-half stoppage time that Vancouver keeper Maxime Crepeau had no chance to save.

Diego Fagundez scored in the 82nd minute, then set up Gil for his sixth of the season four minutes later. Teal Bunbury got in on the fun with a goal in his fourth straight contest on 90 minutes, as New England (7-8-6, 27 points) improved to 5-0-4 since firing coach Brad Friedel in early May.

The Revolution are 4-0-2 with legendary boss Bruce Arena physically on the touchline.

Vancouver (4-10-8, 20 points), meanwhile, has been outscored 14-1 during a four-game losing streak. The Whitecaps have just one victory in their last 11 league matches.

The Revolution outshot Vancouver 33-6 overall (17-0 in the first half), including 12-0 on target, but did not tally until right before halftime. Brandon Bye got the first serious chance for New England, when he hit the far post in the 15th minute. Gil's follow was blocked, and teammate Juan Agudelo missed high from straightaway.

Gil had another quality chance in the 36th minute that was saved by a diving Crepeau, who finished with eight saves. Juan Fernando Caicedo had an even better look on the rebound, but Crepeau got in the way to keep the match scoreless.

The Revs, though, were finally rewarded in stoppage time when Bou brilliantly converted on a well-touched corner from Gil.

Vancouver applied some decent pressure out of halftime and nearly equalized when Theo Bair hit the post in the 50th minute. He also sent one high of the net three minutes later.

Both sides had solid chances as the half went on, but the Revolution put the match away with those three goals in eight minutes.