Carles Gil Joins MLS's 150 Goal Contribution Club as Revolution Rally Past Columbus Crew 3-1

Carles Gil was surrounded. Columbus Crew defenders were closing in around the edge of the box in the 79th minute, so the New England Revolution captain did what veteran playmakers do: he gave the ball to Peyton Miller, got it right back on the left side of the area and lifted a left-footed chip over Patrick Schulte that dropped into the top of the net.

That was the exclamation point on a 3-1 win for the New England Revolution over the Columbus Crew on Sunday afternoon at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field, a comeback built almost entirely around the 33-year-old Spaniard. Gil scored once and set up Dor Turgeman's go-ahead goal, and according to MLSsoccer.com, the performance lifted him to 152 career goal contributions, making him the 20th player in MLS history to reach 150.

Columbus Strikes, Then Gets Pinned

The hosts struck first. In the eighth minute, Mohamed Farsi found Brais Méndez on the right, and Méndez beat Matt Turner from a difficult angle with a right-footed shot into the top of the goal. The Revolution said the finish took a slight deflection on its way in. Either way, Columbus had a 1-0 lead, and it would turn out to be the Crew's only shot on target all day.

New England responded by taking over. The Revolution described the final 30 minutes of the half as Columbus being pinned in its own end, and the shot log backs that up. Gil fired off target twice from distance in the 17th and 18th minutes, Turgeman headed over in the 24th, and Schulte was forced into saves on Gil in the 30th and Miller in the 31st.

The equalizer came from the resulting corner in the 32nd minute. Mamadou Fofana won the ball at the back post and headed it down for Matt Polster, who drilled a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner. The Revolution said Gil delivered the corner and credited him with a secondary assist; ESPN's data lists Fofana alone. Per the club, it was Polster's first goal since May 10, 2025, at Orlando.

Gil Pulls the Strings

Schulte kept Columbus afloat for a few more minutes, stopping Jack Harrison in the 36th and Turgeman in the 37th. In the 41st, he finally ran out of answers. Gil threaded a pass through for Turgeman, and the striker beat Schulte from a tight angle on the right, sending a right-footed shot into the top of the goal. It was 2-1 at the break.

The second half was more of the same, with New England creating and Schulte saving. Miller tested him again in the 49th minute, Alhassan Yusuf and Ethan Kohler both went close around the hour, and Columbus' best response was a blocked Malte Amundsen header in the 70th.

The Revolution thought they had a third in the 74th minute when Turgeman put the ball in the net, but the goal was overturned after a VAR review. Five minutes later, Gil made the review irrelevant with the chip that finished the game. Schulte made two more saves on Miller and Turgeman before the Revolution emptied the bench, and one of the late arrivals was a nice touch: Gil came off in stoppage time for Diego Fagúndez, who sits just ahead of him on that all-time goal contributions list.

The Captain and the Kid

Gil finished with four shots, two on target, a goal and an assist by ESPN's count (two assists by the club's). According to the Revolution, he also logged a season-high six key passes, and MLSsoccer.com noted that he leads the team in both goals and assists in league play with eight apiece. One more bit of trivia: per the league, Gil is now tied for 17th all time in goal contributions with Josef Martínez, who started up front for Columbus on Sunday.

Head coach Marko Mitrović made it clear that the numbers are not the point, while also explaining exactly why they keep piling up.

"The team trusts him so much in all those moments where there is adversity on the field, where we need someone to put their foot on the ball, and when we need someone the team trusts," Mitrović said, per the Revolution.

Miller was the other standout. The 18-year-old homegrown player put all four of his shots on target, matching his career high per the club, and recorded an assist for a third straight game. Turgeman scored in a second consecutive match for his sixth goal of the season and would have had a brace if not for the VAR review.

For Columbus, Schulte deserves better than the scoreline. He made eight saves.

The Turning Point: Nine Minutes Before Halftime

Columbus led for 24 minutes and never looked comfortable doing it, but the real swing came between the 32nd and 41st minutes. Polster's set-piece equalizer, which the club counted as New England's 11th set-piece goal of the season, flipped the energy, and Gil's pass to Turgeman nine minutes later flipped the scoreboard. By halftime, the Crew had gone from leading to chasing against a team that, per the Revolution, has now won five times this season after conceding first, the most such wins in MLS.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: New England 21, Columbus 7.
• Shots on target: New England 11, Columbus 1. The Revolution called it a season high.
• Saves: Schulte 8, Turner 0. Columbus never forced him into one.
• Possession: Columbus held 54.5 percent and completed 482 passes, with little to show for it.

What It Means

The Revolution improved to 11-4-7 with 37 points, and both the club and MLSsoccer.com had them fourth in the Eastern Conference after the win. It was their second straight road victory and the first leg of a four-game road swing that the club says is its longest since 2002. It was also a third straight win over Columbus dating back to last season, per the Revolution, following a 2-1 home win in April. Next up is a trip to the LA Galaxy on Saturday, Sept. 5.

Columbus fell to 5-5-12 with 20 points, and MLSsoccer.com described the Crew as struggling.

Point Guard Energy

Gil played Sunday like a veteran point guard in a pickup game full of college kids: never in a hurry, always two passes ahead and perfectly willing to take the big shot himself when it was his turn. He did not sound like a man counting milestones afterward, either.

"We are one of the best teams in the league right now, in my opinion," Gil said, per the Revolution. Ahead of the trip to Los Angeles, he set the bar even higher, saying "we want to be in these top-three or top-four places, so we want to win."

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and additional details as reported by revolutionsoccer.net and mlssoccer.com.