NEW YORK (Thursday, June 1, 2023) – New England Revolution midfielder Carles Gil was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire for Matchday 16 of the 2023 MLS season.
Gil scored two goals, including the game-tying goal in second-half stoppage time, as part of the club’s 3-3 draw against Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Gil’s first goal came just 23 seconds in the match, which at the time was the fastest goal of the season and tied for the second-fastest goal in the club’s history, equaling Kei Kamara’s goal against CF Montréal on September 17, 2016. With goals at :23 and 92:30, the Spanish midfielder became the third player in MLS history to score in the 1st minute and the 90th minute or later in a match. The 92:07 between goals was the third-most time between scores in a regular season game in MLS history.
The Revolution scored just 23 seconds into the match when Atlanta’s goalkeeper played a misplaced pass, which Gil intercepted and easily slotted home from inside the 18-yeard-box (Watch Here). After a back-and-forth game that saw Atlanta reverse a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead, New England entered second-half stoppage time down a goal. However, Gil made the difference again as he picked up the ball outside of the box, dribbled past a defender, and fired his right-footed effort into the back of the net to snatch a point on the road (Watch Here).
Gil’s brace was the second of his career with his other multi-goal game coming in just his third career MLS match on March 17, 2019, at Toronto FC. In his career, the Spaniard has now totaled 26 goals and 53 assists, joining Diego Fagúndez (53 goals, 45 assists) and Lee Nguyen (52 goals, 50 assists) as the only players in Revolution history with at least 25 goals and 50 assists. Since joining MLS in 2019, Gil’s 79 goal contributions rank as the third most, behind LAFC’s Carlos Vela (97) and Nashville’s Hany Mukhtar (86). Gil’s game-tying goal was just the fourth of his career with his right foot, and his second this season (May 13 at Inter Miami CF).
Gil is the first New England player to win MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire since Adam Buksa on Matchday 32 of 2021. This is the second time Gil has earned the honor in his career, doing so for his performance on Matchday 9 of 2021. The former Landon Donovan MLS MVP becomes the ninth player in Revolution history to win the award multiple times with the club.
New England will go on the road again when they travel to face New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on Matchday 17 on Saturday, June 3 (3:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass).
The MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while a Twitter fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.
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