FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The Philadelphia Union entered Saturday night’s match against the New England Revolution with an eye on their upcoming U.S. Open Cup final on Wednesday. Head coach Jim Curtin chose to rest a number of their regular starters.
And the plan worked, as young goalkeeper Andre Blake turned in a sensational 10-save performance that allowed the visitors to hold serve and earn a point in a 1-1 draw at Gillette Stadium.
The result keeps the Union mathematically in the hunt for a place in the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs, though the odds are slim.
On the other side, the Revs, who came into the match in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference with a shot at clinching a playoff berth with a win, were unable to get the job done despite outshooting the Union 20-5. The Revs' repeated insistence on the offensive end wasn’t rewarded until the 35th minute, when Lee Nguyen was tackled by Fabinho to set up a penalty kick. The Revolution playmaker buried the resulting spot kick for his sixth goal of the season.
With a one-goal lead, the Revs continued their pressure. But after not capitalizing on their chances, the Union Fernando Aristeguieta took advantage of a rare chance in the 65th minute. Aristeguieta collected a pass from Warren Creavalle, turning and firing past Bobby Shuttleworth at the near post.
New England continued their relentless attack on the Union, but with each shot Blake seemed to grow stronger. The Philly keeper parried a flurry of shots midway through the second half, culminating in a world-class glove save on Juan Agudelo in the 78th minute that both player and crowd stunned alike.
In total, the Jamaican international finished with 10 saves on the night. Each one was seemingly better than the last, including his final, diving effort in the 87th minute on a Diego Fagundez far post bender.
Philadelphia will host Sporting Kansas City in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final on Wednesday night before returning to MLS action at Toronto next Saturday. The Revolution head to Chicago to face the fire next Saturday.
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