Buksa delivers a double
Striker scores twice in draw with Atlanta
The Revolution failed to secure their first road win of the season but didn’t exit Mercedes-Benz Stadium empty handed.
Striker Adam Buksa scored twice in a 2-2 draw on Sunday afternoon at Atlanta United before a rabid crowd of 42,516. The Revolution are 3-5-3 and 0-3-2 on the road.
Buksa had two goals in the Revolution’s 5-1 victory against FC Cincinnati in a Round of 32 match of Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match on May 11 at Gillette Stadium.
Buksa, who led the Revs in scoring in 2021, has scored six goals in the last five MLS matches and has 10 tallies in all competitions this season. Keeper Matt Turner and right back Brandon Bye made their 100th MLS regular season starts.
“Things are improving very very slowly,” said Buksa. “It has been 10 weeks since the beginning of the season and we are not happy with the amount of points we have.”
The Revolution will resume MLS play at FC Cincinnati next Saturday, then compete in a round of 16 U.S. Open Cup match against New York City FC on Wednesday, May 25 at Belson Stadium in Jamaica, N.Y.
“We made some mistakes in the game and probably could have done a better job protecting the lead in the second half,” said Revolution head coach Bruce Arena. “The positive is that at the end we were able to close the game out and not concede a goal like we have in a number of games this year.”
Turner made a remarkable stop on a free kick just outside the box. Atlanta midfielder Thiago Almada arched the ball over the wall of Revolution defenders, but Turner swatted it away before it reached the near post.
Almada got another scoring chance from the top of the box in the 15th minute and made it count. Almada delivered a bullet that beat Turner to the far post and put Atlanta up 1-0 with his second of the season.
Buksa tied the game in the 30th minute on a splendid helper from Carles Gil. The Revolution’s rainmaker sent a lead pass into the penalty area that Buksa rifled between the legs of keeper Bobby Shuttleworth.
“In that particular situation that was the only way to score a goal because the angle was very tight,” said Buksa.
Buksa made it 2-1 in the 55th minute. Sebastian Lletget made a splendid cross off his left foot to Buksa, who was left unattended in the left side of the penalty area. Buksa collected the ball and chipped it over Shuttleworth and under the crossbar.
“It was a situation where he (Lletget) took advantage of the space ahead of him,” said Arena. “I was surprised how he saw Adam there and it was a great ball and a great finish.”
Atlanta tied the game in 63rd minute. Attacker Luiz De Araujo exploited breakdown in the Revs’ backline and booted the ball past Turner for his second of the season. Buksa misfired on opportunities for a hat trick in the 82nd and 83rd minutes.