3 takeaways from the Revolution’s 3-3 draw against Sporting KC

New England Revolution

New England built what seemed a comfortable lead only to squander it in the second half, salvaging a draw with a late goal from Maxi Urruti.

By Hayden Bird

May 25, 2025 | 7:32 AM

4 minutes to read

The Revolution managed a 3-3 road draw against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night in what proved to be a game of wild swings.

A pair of early goals in the opening 22 minutes handed New England a comfortable lead (or at least it appeared comfortable), with the home team failing to register a shot on target in the first half.

But after making a trio of halftime substitutions, Kansas City erupted with three unanswered goals in an eight-minute span in the second half. Having been put on the backfoot, New England found a response of its own. Head coach Caleb Porter sent on attackers Maxi Urruti and Luis Diaz (among other changes), and the duo combined for a late equalizer.

New England will likely feel that they could’ve come away with all three points, and will certainly be disappointed to have squandered a multi-goal lead. Still, having thrown away a two goal lead, Porter’s team rallied to earn a draw and preserve the team’s unbeaten league run (now at seven games).

Here are a few takeaways:

Gil, Chancalay orchestrated an early lead

With center Leo Campana once again out of the lineup due to a hamstring injury, Tomás Chancalay was given his first league start in 2025 following his return from ACL surgery in 2024.

Chancalay, New England’s 26-year-old Argentine Designated Player, looked dangerous from the opening kickoff, popping up all over the attacking third and spreading passes to wingbacks Illay Feingold and Peyton Miller.

Though he hasn’t fully returned to pre-injury form or fitness levels, Chancalay provides a goal-scoring threat for New England from a variety of positions on the field. In the case of Saturday’s goal against Kansas City, it ended up being a fairly traditional setting: Chancalay made a timely run in the box and was able to tuck a cross from fellow forward Ignatius Ganago into the net from close range.

As always, Carles Gil was at the center of virtually everything the Revolution did with the ball, finding Ganago on the edge of the box before the Cameroonian spied Chancalay for the assist. Gil then notched another hockey assist several minutes later, threading a perfect through ball behind the defense for Miller, who cut his cross from the left side of the box into the goal mouth, where an unfortunate touch Kansas City defender Jacob Barlett sent the ball into his own net.

Kansas City made a flurry of halftime adjustments and got instant results

Trailing at halftime, and appearing to have no foothold in the game, Kansas City made a triple substitution, and completely changed the complexion of the matchup.

Switching the shape of their team to combat New England’s natural width of Feingold and Miller, Kansas City found a way to negate the Revolution’s buildup. Suddenly, tasks that Porter’s team found easy (such as advancing the ball past the halfway line) became much more difficult.

As a result, Kansas City forced a plethora of turnovers, and found a trio of goals between the 53rd and 61st minutes (the middle goal coming via penalty kick). Blame could be shouldered by multiple components of New England’s defense for the collapse, including normally steady goalkeeper Alijaz Ivacic, who spilled a pair of crucial rebounds (leading to the first two goals).

At an even higher level, Porter may need to reexamine his preferred second half tactics. In far too many games (both in 2024 and 2025), New England has gone into halftime looking threatening in the attack, only to return with a much more defensive-minded approach in the second half. While committing less to the attack in the service of protecting a lead is generally shrewd, inviting pressure — especially from an opponent who did not look especially threatening in the first half — can be a dangerous and unnecessary tactic.

New England also made second half adjustments, eventually forcing an equalizer

Staring at a sudden deficit, the Revolution responded admirably. Porter, reassessing his tactics, brought on both Urruti and Diaz (among others) to reinvigorate his team, eventually abandoning the now-familiar three-back formation altogether.

Having been largely pinned in their own third for most of the second half, New England finally began to break the spell and return to a dynamic that resembled the first half. Gil and others gained time on the ball, and unsurprisingly began to generate goal-scoring opportunities.

After what appeared to be the equalizing goal was ruled out due to an unlucky sequence from Ganago (in which he missed a cross with his right foot and was then in an offside position when the ball deflected off of him into the net), New England finally notched an actual third goal.

In the 84th minute, midfielder Alhassan Yusuf dropped a timely long ball into the path of the speedy Diaz, who simply outran Kansas City defenders into the right corner. The Costa Rican then tapped the ball across the goal, where Urruti was waiting to score his first goal since 2023.

By the final whistle (which came only after 10 minutes of stoppage time), Porter’s team had largely reasserted dominance and looked the better side. Yet the winning goal proved a bridge too far, and so New England were forced to settle for a point in what will likely be one of the wildest games the Revolution play in 2025.