FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The pivotal moment of a frustrating afternoon at Gillette Stadium arrived in the 59th minute of the New England Revolution’s 2-0 loss to Columbus Crew SC on Saturday.
Trailing 1-0 after what head coach Brad Friedel called a “quite poor” first half, the Revs received a boost of energy from halftime substitutes Diego Fagundez and Justin Rennicks, making his professional debut. That spark helped win a penalty, which Fagundez stepped up to take with a chance to level the score.
Fagundez struck his effort well, low and to the goalkeeper’s right, but Zack Steffen was equal to the task and saved the penalty, then was quick enough to bounce up and corral the rebound.