When Dor Turgeman left Maccabi Tel Aviv to join the New England Revolution, the 20-year-old striker hoped for a smooth start to his first stop outside Israel. His debut turned out to be far more than that.

Turgeman came off the bench in the 56th minute on Saturday night against Atlanta United and transformed the match, scoring one goal and setting up another in a 2-0 home victory in Major League Soccer.

The breakthrough came in the 72nd minute. Turgeman collected a pass inside the box from Carles Gil, the Spanish midfielder who previously played for Valencia and Aston Villa. He shook off his defender, shifted the ball from his right foot to his left and fired a powerful strike into the far corner of the net.

Just three minutes later, Turgeman added his first MLS assist. Goalkeeper Matt Turner — also the starter for the United States men’s national team — caught a corner kick and released Turgeman on the counterattack. The Israeli striker sprinted nearly the length of the field before sending a pinpoint cross to Leonardo Campana, the Ecuador forward who recently joined New England from Inter Miami. Campana converted for the Revolution’s second goal and the final score.

Turgeman was not the only Israeli player connected to New England. Ilay Feingold, another young prospect, missed the match because of injury. For Revolution supporters, who already know their team will not reach the playoffs this season, Turgeman’s performance provided optimism ahead of the final two games — against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and the Chicago Fire.

Several other Israeli players also featured across MLS this weekend. Idan Toklomati started for Charlotte FC but was substituted in the 87th minute of a 4-1 loss to CF Montreal. Liel Abada came off the bench in the 66th minute but was unable to influence the game. Tai Baribo was not included in Philadelphia Union’s squad, though his team extended its lead atop the standings with a 6-0 win at D.C. United.

Philadelphia now holds a seven-point advantage over Inter Miami, which has two games in hand. Miami stumbled in Toronto, drawing 1-1. Messi played all 90 minutes but did not register a goal or assist. Tadeu Allende opened the scoring for Miami in the 45th minute before Dejan Mitrović equalized for Toronto in the 60th.