New England Revolution 2, New York City FC 1 | 2017 MLS Match Recap

New York City FC failed to clinch the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference with Diego Fagundez scoring a brace in a 2-1 New England Revolution victory against the 10-man visitors in both teams' penultimate game of the regular season at Gillette Stadium Sunday.

NYCFC played more than an hour with 10 men when Jack Harrison was sent off on a straight red card for a late challenge on Teal Bunbury in the 26th minute.

Fagundez broke the scoreless stalemate in the 51st minute when his bending shot from 24 yards out took a slight deflection past Sean Johnson for his fifth goal of the season. Fagundez was set up by Andrew Farrell, who dribbled by a leaping Ben Sweat before crossing to the midfielder.

Fagundez had a golden chance to score his second goal 13 minutes later when he had a clear breakaway from midfield on a through ball by Lee Nguyen. But Fagundez inexplicably fired over the net from the edge of the 18-yard box.

Fagundez made up for that miss when he fired home a rebound in second-half stoppage time, which was followed by a Khiry Shelton tally seconds later after Brad Knighton overplayed a long ball by Alex Ring.

• NYCFC's Patrick Vieira sees red over Harrison sending off 

Goals

• 51’ – NE – Diego Fagundez Watch
• 90’+2’ – NE Diego Fagundez Watch
• 90’+3’ – NYC – Khiry Shelton Watch 

Three Things

1. NUMBERS GAME: New York City FC had a chance to clinch the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference and earn a bye into the Eastern Conference semifinals. That went up in smoke with Sunday’s loss. Now they can finish anywhere from No. 2-5 – four teams are separated by just three points – and there’s a chance for a first-ever one-game-take-all showdown with the New York Red Bulls. It all comes down to Decision Day!
2. GO DIEGO GO: Diego Fagundez last scored an MLS goal on June 3 in a 3-0 win over Toronto FC. His last brace came in a 2-1 win over Columbus two weeks earlier. The playoffs have long been out of the picture, but the Homegrown midfielder is looking to end his season on a strong note.
3. POWER OUTAGE?: New York City’s struggles in the attacking third comes at the worst possible time. NYCFC has scored just seven goals in their last eight matches and hasn’t scored two or more goals in a game since a 2-1 victory over the Revolution on August 20. 

Next Up

• NE: Sunday, October 15 – at Montreal Impact (4 pm ET | TSN5, MLS LIVE in United States)
• NYC: Sunday, October 15 – vs. Columbus Crew SC (4 pm ET | MLS LIVE)