Following a 15-day break, Pablo Moreira and New England Revolution II returned to action on Sunday, as the club traveled to NKU Soccer Park in Highland Heights, Kentucky, to face 14th-placed FC Cincinnati 2.
With the first team on break, Head Coach Pablo Moreira made four changes from New England’s 2-2 draw and shootout victory over Crown Legacy FC. Goalkeeper Max Weinstein made his first start of the 2026 season after spending the second half of 2025 on loan with Estonian side Kalev Tallin.
Gabe Dahlin, Jake Shannon, Sheridan McNish, and Aarin Prajapati formed the backline behind the midfield trio of Judah Siqueira, Carlos Zambrano, and Myles Morgan. Jared Smith, Makai Wells, and Jayden Da formed the attacking trio up top.
Weinstein came up big in the 43rd minute as he raced over to the left side of the net to punch a headed ball away from danger to keep the game scoreless.
Pablo Moreira’s first change of the match came before the start of the second half as Academy prospect Cristiano Carlos replaced fellow prospect Sheridan McNish.
Momentum swung New England’s way in the 53rd minute as Cincinnati’s Dilan Hurtado brought an advancing Makai Wells down, which led to head referee Deborah Da Silveira Madeira brandishing Hurtado with a straight red card.
Da had a golden opportunity squandered in the 63rd minute as some give-and-go passing, which included a no-look backheel flick from Myles Morgan, led to Da finding himself one-on-one with Dale who stretched wide to make a crucial save. Morgan nearly found the net in the 63rd minute when he received a pass and turned toward goal before rocketing a shot goalward that forced Dale to make an acrobatic save.
Another change came in the 64th minute as Academy prospect Levi Katsell replaced fellow prospect Makai Well.
Tempers flared in the 68th minute as Cristiano Carlos made contact with a leaping Conner Dale, which led to Ayoub Lajhar racing over and shoving Carlos from behind. Da raced over to the scene and gave a shove of his own as the trio received yellow cards for their roles in the confrontation. Momentum swung even further in the 84th minute as Lajhar fouled Carlos from behind, which led to Lajhar receiving his second yellow card, which gave New England an 11-on-nine advantage for the closing minutes of the game.
Just as it looked as if this game was heading to a penalty shootout, Carlos Zambrano flipped the script as some give-and-go passes between him and Dahlin led to Zambrano getting the ball atop the six-yard box before drilling it into the top-right corner for his second goal of the year to seal Revolution II the 1-0 shutout victory on the road.
It was a solid first outing for Weinstein, who sealed the clean sheet with two saves. It marks the Montpellier native’s seventh clean sheet with Revs II and ties him with Donovan Parisian for the third-most clean sheets in club history.
New England will look to keep its unbeaten streak alive when the second team returns to Beirne Stadium to host reigning MLS NEXT Pro Cup champions Red Bull New York II on June 14th.
