Historic Outing Sees Revolution II End Regular Season Strong
A dominant effort on the road sees Revs II lock up the third seed in the East!
Richie Williams and New England Revolution II took the field for the 28th and final time in the regular season as they paid a trip to Fort Lauderdale’s Chase Stadium to face Inter Miami CF II in a crucial Decision Day matchup.
Williams made one change from the lineup that suffered a 1-0 loss to Crown Legacy on September 26. Donovan Parisian started in goal behind the backline of Hesron Barry, Victor Souza, Gabe Dahlin, and Damario McIntosh. Cristiano Oliveira, Eric Klein, and Marcos Dias comprised the midfield behind the attacking trio of Gevork Diarbian, Malcolm Fry, and Liam Butts.
New England’s first chance came in the 13th minute thanks to some good passing following a throw-in. After chasing down Barry’s throw, Butts held off pressure from two Miami defenders and slotted the ball back to Oliveira, who turned toward goal and whipped a ball to Fry on the right side of the pitch. The forward flashed some footwork to shake his defender just enough to rocket a shot on target and past Max Ponikarovsky to give New England a crucial early lead.
Things got better for Revs II in the 14th minute when a poor pass led Klein rushing in and tapping the ball into the path of an advancing Dias. The Brazilian drove forward before slotting the ball to Butts atop the box. The forward got a touch on the ball before he too rocketed on past Ponikarovsky to double New England’s lead. The goal was a historic one for Butts as it marked his 12th goal to tie Jordan Adebayo-Smith’s single-season goal scoring record.
Fry nearly found a second goal on the day in the 20th minute when he got on the end of a pass from Damario McIntosh and attempted to find the upper-right corner. Unfortunately for Fry, his shot was denied by the goalpost as the ball ricocheted out as Miami cleared it away.
A series of good passes led New England to success in the 32nd minute. It started with Butts getting the ball on the right flank before playing a square ball centrally to Dias. With Miami pressure advancing, the Brazilian flicked the rolling ball from Butts right into the path of Diarbian, who curled a shot to the bottom-right corner that dinked off the post and ricocheted in to give Revolution II a commanding 3-0 lead.
Just as it looked as if New England would walk into the locker room at halftime up 3-0 Fry darted toward the goal line and slotted a ball that evaded the reach of Ponikarovsky and fell to Butts, who rocketed the ball in to give New England a 4-0 lead heading into halftime.
Butts’ 45th-minute strike was a historic one as it marked his 13th of the season to make him the holder of Revolution II’s single-season goal scoring record. It also marked his 18th goal with the club, which saw him move to second for the most goals in club history.
After getting pummeled in the first half, Miami shrank the deficit in the opening minutes of the second. After getting the ball inside the box, Inter Miami II slotted a close-range effort past Parisian to reduce the deficit to three in the 48th minute.
Another poor turnover in the midfield led to New England capitalizing again in the 52nd minute. After getting the ball, Fry drove the ball upfield and attempted to slot a ball forward into the path of Butts. The forward could not get to Fry’s attempt, but the ball rolled through perfectly and into the path of a darting diarbain, who got onto it and drove it home to net New England’s fifth goal of the afternoon and his second of the game.
Despite the numbers on the scoreboard, Miami wasn’t backing down, and it showed in the 83rd minute. After working down the right flank, Alexander Shaw curled the ball centrally to Allen Obando, who tapped it in to shrink the deficit to three.
After suffering back-to-back losses, Sunday’s regular-season finale was exactly what Richie Williams and New England needed to regain confidence headed into the postseason.
Sunday’s 5-2 victory sees New England clinch the third seed, which allows the opportunity to select its opponent and host in the opening round of the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro Cup Playoffs.
Selections and scheduling for the Quarterfinal stage are expected to come on October 9, with the Quarterfinals taking place from October 17 through 19.