Bryan Acosta Scores Twice as Nashville SC Beat Revolution 3-0 for 100th Win in All Competitions

Of all the people who could have walked into Gillette Stadium and ended the Revolution's perfect home season, Bryan Acosta was not the name on anybody's bingo card. The Nashville SC midfielder had never scored for the club. By the 74th minute on Wednesday night, he had two, and Foxborough had its first home loss of 2026.

Nashville SC beat the New England Revolution 3-0 in a showdown the Revs billed as a meeting of the Eastern Conference's top two teams entering the matchday. Acosta scored twice, both set up by Cristian Espinoza, Warren Madrigal added another in between, and Brian Schwake kept a clean sheet. The win was Nashville's 100th across all competitions since it joined MLS in 2020, per the club.

Nashville Waited, Then Pounced

The Revs came out like the team that had won six straight at home. They earned three corners in the first nine minutes, Ethan Kohler had a header blocked at 10 minutes, and at 30 minutes Kohler rose again to meet a set piece, forcing Schwake into a save in the top center of the goal. New England had the ball, the crowd and the early edge.

Nashville needed four minutes to flip that. Espinoza broke down the right on a fast break and found Acosta, who finished from the middle of the box at 34 minutes. Seven minutes later, the visitors doubled it. The Revolution's own recap says a giveaway from goalkeeper Matt Turner fell to Madrigal, and the forward finished left-footed from the center of the box. One sharp counter, one gift, and New England was suddenly down 2-0 at the break.

The second half belonged to the visitors' game management. Nashville lost Andy Nájar to an injury at 50 minutes, with Daniel Lovitz coming on in his place, but the shape held. Ahmed Qasem forced Turner into his only save at 66 minutes, and at 74 minutes Acosta finished the job: Espinoza swung in a cross after a corner and Acosta hit a right-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom left corner. New England's only shot on target after halftime came from Jackson Yueill at 87 minutes, and Schwake saved that too.

Acosta's Night, Espinoza's Assist Factory

Bryan Acosta was the story. Three shots, two on target, two goals, both of them his first for Nashville according to the club, which also named him Man of the Match. For a central midfielder with zero club goals coming in, a brace in a first-versus-second showdown is the kind of breakout that makes a fan base update its jersey wish list.

Cristian Espinoza didn't take a single shot and still ran the show. Both assists came from him, and the club says they were his team-leading sixth and seventh of the MLS season. The first came off the counter. The second came off a corner. That versatility is the whole value proposition.

Warren Madrigal scored his fifth MLS goal of the season and his third in two matches, per Nashville. He was also busy at the other end of the stat sheet, committing three fouls and drawing three more.

Brian Schwake only had to make two saves, and they came on the only two New England shots that hit the target: Kohler's header at 30 minutes and Yueill's shot late. Nashville says it was his sixth MLS shutout in 12 starts this season.

And it's worth noting who wasn't there. Nashville's recap lists Sam Surridge (back), Eddi Tagseth (lower body) and Patrick Yazbek (quad) as unavailable. The leaders won this one shorthanded.

Seven Minutes That Decided the East's Big Night

The 34th through 41st minutes were the whole match. Before Acosta's opener, New England had generated the game's only shot on target. After Madrigal's goal, the Revs were chasing a two-goal deficit against a team that simply does not leak on the road. Nashville's notes say the club has now outscored opponents 8-2 away from home in MLS play this season.

Turner's giveaway was the cruelest part. New England had been building pressure, and in one sequence the game went from tense to tilted.

Revs head coach Marko Mitrović went to his bench in waves, sending on Diego Fagúndez at 69 minutes, Marcos Zambrano and Malcolm Fry at 78, and Eric Klein and Yueill at 85. Fagúndez had a shot blocked two minutes after entering, but New England managed only one more shot on target the rest of the way.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Even at 8 apiece. Nashville put four on target and scored three. New England put two on target.
• Possession: New England held 51.9 percent and completed 424 of 478 passes.
• Corners: New England won six, Nashville seven.
• Saves: Schwake made two, Turner one.
• Discipline: Nashville picked up three yellow cards to New England's two.

What It Means

Nashville moves to 8-3-1 with 27 points, and its own recap had the club first in the Eastern Conference after the win. The Boys in Gold are now unbeaten in six league games, per Nashville, and they have taken both meetings with New England this season after a 4-1 home win on Feb. 21. The club says it is also unbeaten in four straight against the Revs.

New England drops to 7-1-4 with 22 points. The Revolution say the result ended a six-match home winning streak one game short of tying the club record. It also ends a seven-match unbeaten run in league play. On the bright side, forward Marcos Zambrano made his MLS debut off the bench, according to the club.

There's no time to dwell. New England hosts Minnesota United FC on Saturday in its final home match before the World Cup break, and Nashville hosts LAFC on Sunday.

Fortress Foxborough, Breached

Call it Fortress Foxborough's Survivor moment: six home wins' worth of immunity, then Nashville showed up and the tribe spoke. The visitors walked into a building where the Revs had been perfect this year and left with three points, a clean sheet and a 100-win milestone. The East has a leader, and on Wednesday it looked the part.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional notes from Nashville SC's and the New England Revolution's official match recaps.