Sunday saw the regional rivalry between New England Revolution II and MLS NEXT Pro newcomers CT United FC reignite as Revolution II traveled down to UConn’s Morrone Stadium for the second match in the rivalry’s history.
Pablo Moreira made three changes from his last outing that saw New England suffer a 2-1 loss to Columbus Crew 2. Donovan Parisian got the start in goal behind the backline of Schinieder Mimy, Chris Mbaï-Assem, Gabe Dahlin, and a returning Jake Shannon. Carlos Zambrano, Allan Oyirwoth, and Javaun Mussenden formed the midfield three behind the attacking trio of Myles Morgan, Makai Wells, and Jayden Da.
On the other side, Shavar Thomas made four changes from their last outing that saw CT United suffer a 2-1 loss to Philadelphia Union II. Gunther Rankenburg made his first start in goal since March 1st, as he sat behind the backline of Jeremy Madranda, Jahvar Stephenson, Lukas Kamrath, and Reyniel Perdomo. Robbie Mora, Ernesto Gómez, and Steven Sserwad formed the midfield three behind the attacking trio of Laurie Goddard, Alex Monis, and Cauã Paixão.
Parisian came up big in the 13th minute when Paixão got on the end of Monis’ deflected shot and looked to slot it home, but he directed his shot right at Parisian, who got onto the ball and ended the chance. Monis nearly capitalized when the Revs II backline collapsed in the 36th minute as Connecticut placed a perfect through ball that slipped through the backline as Monis ran onto it and found himself one-on-one with Parisian. Thankfully for New England, Parisian was alert as he rushed off his line and deflected Monis’ shot away to keep the game scoreless.
Perdomo became the first player to enter the referee’s book in the 39th minute after he received a yellow card following his foul on Morgan. Concern arose in the 46th minute as a harsh foul from Gómez left Wells looking worse for wear. After a few minutes of treatment, Wells’ day came to an end as he was replaced by Shuma Sasaki.
Thomas’ first changes came in the 58th minute as Andre Applewhaite and Rickson van Hees replaced Medranda and Stephenson. Thomas went to the bench again in the 65th minute as Barnabás Tanyi replaced Monis.
Pablo Moreira made two changes in the 68th minute as Damario McIntosh and Judah Siqueira came on for Da and Zambrano.
Momentum swung in New England’s direction in the 75th minute when Sasaki curled a ball into the box, where McIntosh got onto it. After some flashy footwork, McIntosh got caught on the stray leg of Applewhaite and went down to the pitch as the referee pointed to the spot.
Mussenden stepped to the spot as he looked to find the game’s first goal and give New England the lead. The 18-year-old attempted to send a shot to the left side of the goal, but Rankenburg dove in the right direction and batted the ball away from danger.
Another change came for CT United in the 80th minute as Hivan Kouonang replaced Paixão.
After neither side found the back of the net in regulation, we headed to a penalty shootout, CT United’s first, to determine who would walk away with the extra point.
Oyirwoth started things out in the first round as he sent a right-footed shot centrally that evaded a diving Rankenburg and went into the net. Applewhaite was first for CT United as he sent a left-footed shot to the left side of the net and in to level the shootout.
Shannon was next for New England as the returning defender tucked a right-footed shot under a diving Rankenburg and in to regain the lead. Kouonang stepped to the spot to close out the second round and converted with a shot that deflected off the underside of the crossbar and into the net.
In the sixth-round, Tanyi stepped to the spot with the chance to find the winner for CT United. Before the shot could be taken, Parisian entered the referee’s book with a yellow card after voicing his frustrations with the referee. With everything settled, Tanyi sent a right-footed shot that snuck past Parisian and rolled in as CT United secured victory in their inaugural penalty shootout.
New England will look to get back into the win column on May 10 as it returns home to Bryant University’s Beirne Stadium to host New York City FC II at 2:00 PM ET. CT United returns to action on May 16 as they make their Reese Stadium debut on the campus of Yale University, as they host Toronto FC II at 6:00 PM ET.
