Luka Gavran Stonewalls Carles Gil as Revolution, Toronto FC Play to 0-0 Draw

Carles Gil had the top corner picked out. Two minutes from halftime at Gillette Stadium, the New England captain curled a left-footed shot from outside the box that was bending exactly where he wanted it, right up until the crossbar sent it back out. A minute later Gil tried again with his right foot, and Luka Gavran stretched to push it away. Then the Toronto FC goalkeeper went down again to deny Peyton Miller from inside the six-yard box. Three huge looks between the 43rd and 45th minutes, zero goals.

That stretch told the story of Wednesday night in Foxborough. The New England Revolution and Toronto FC played to a 0-0 draw in front of 17,249 fans, the Revs' first match since the World Cup break and Toronto's second straight scoreless draw. Nobody won, nobody lost, and both sides spent the evening finding every part of the goal frame except the inside of the net.

Possession for the Revs, Poison From Toronto's Crosses

New England had the ball early and kept it, finishing with 63.6 percent of possession. The first real chance did not arrive until the 17th minute, when Dor Turgeman teed up Griffin Yow and Gavran saved his low left-footed shot from the center of the box. Yow got another look off the ensuing corner and dragged it wide.

Toronto had its moments too. Emilio Aristizábal pulled a shot wide on a 13th-minute counter, and Dániel Sallói sent one high and wide in the 27th. The visitors' best first-half chance came in the 32nd minute, when Alonso Coello whipped in a cross for center back Jackson Gilman, who got his shot away from the middle of the box. Matt Turner dropped to save it. That turned out to be Toronto's only shot on target all night.

Gil started to take over late in the half. He just missed to the left from distance in the 33rd minute, and then came the 43rd-minute barrage: a Miller shot blocked off a Gil pass, Gil off the bar, Gil saved by Gavran, and finally a Gil cross for Miller that Gavran also kept out. Somehow, it was still 0-0 at the break.

Woodwork, Round Two

Robin Fraser sent on Josh Sargent for Aristizábal at the break, and Toronto came out of the tunnel with real intent. In the 49th minute Walker Zimmerman headed a Coello corner high and wide, and in that same minute Jules-Anthony Vilsaint took a pass from Jonathan Osorio and rattled the right post from outside the box. Vilsaint also headed a Coello set piece wide in the 57th minute.

Marko Mitrović went to his bench, sending on Marcos Zambrano for Yow in the 60th minute and then Luca Langoni and Wilson Harris for Matt Polster and Turgeman in the 73rd. According to the Revolution, Harris was making his club debut and his first MLS appearance since September 2021. Gil had another look in the 73rd minute, missing to the left from a Miller cross.

Toronto had the last real word. Sargent rose to meet a Coello delivery off a corner in the 76th minute and sent his header just past the right post, the moment Toronto's own recap called the closest anyone came late. The Reds then won three corners between the 81st and 84th minutes and had shots from Theo Corbeanu and Osorio blocked. Five minutes of stoppage time produced a yellow card for Brooklyn Raines and one more Toronto corner, and that was it.

The Men Who Kept It Scoreless

Luka Gavran was the best player on the field. He made three saves, two of them in that frantic finish to the first half, and the full-stretch stop on Gil changed the night.

Carles Gil did everything but score. He took a team-high four shots, put one on target, hit the bar and set up both of Miller's chances in the 43rd and 45th minutes. The club credited him with three chances created.

Matt Turner only had to make one save, but it counted. According to the Revolution, it was his fourth clean sheet of the season, and it came in his return after representing the United States at his second World Cup.

Alonso Coello was Toronto's chief supplier. His crosses produced the Gilman chance, the Zimmerman and Vilsaint headers and Sargent's late miss.

Jules-Anthony Vilsaint was the most dangerous Red, firing four shots, hitting the post and drawing three fouls before he came off in the 64th minute. He just never found the target.

It was also a big night for Richard Chukwu. Toronto said the 18-year-old, who signed a first-team contract out of Toronto FC II the previous week, made both his club debut and his first MLS start. His night ended in the 71st minute, when Zane Monlouis replaced him because of an injury.

The Turning Point

Call it the 44th minute. Gil's bar-rattler had already bounced out, and his second effort was heading for the top right corner when Gavran got there. If either goes in, a Toronto side that had not won since April is chasing the game against a team that owned the ball. Instead the Reds went into the break believing, and came out swinging.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: New England 63.6 percent, Toronto 36.4.
• Shots: Toronto actually outshot the hosts 13-11, but New England led 3-1 in shots on target.
• Passing: The Revs completed 485 of 535 passes. Toronto completed 233 of 302.
• Corners: Toronto earned nine to New England's seven.

What It Means

New England moved to 8-2-5 with 26 points. The Revolution noted that their 22 home points were the second most in MLS and that they had allowed just five second-half goals all season, second fewest in the league.

Toronto sit at 3-7-6 with 16 points. Two straight clean sheets are a real step for a defense that had conceded nine goals in its last three matches before the break. The problem is the other end. The Reds have now gone 10 regular-season matches without a win, a run that stretches back to a 3-2 victory over Colorado on April 4.

Next up, Toronto visits D.C. United on Saturday, July 25, while New England hosts Atlanta United the same night to finish a two-game homestand.

The Closing Take

This was soccer's version of a bottle episode: one set, a tight cast, plenty of tension and no plot resolution. Gil will see that crossbar in his sleep, Gavran earned a highlight package and Toronto left with a second clean sheet in a week. Fans who came for goals got woodwork. Lots of woodwork.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional match details as reported by the New England Revolution and Toronto FC.