Maciel Is The Rolls-Royce Of Revs II

JD Gunn: "It’s almost like he’s just dancing on the field, like a little Samba. A heck of a player and super fun to watch him in front of me.”

Photo Courtesy of J. Alexander Dolan

Damario McIntosh calls Maciel the “Rolls-Royce” of the New England Revolution II midfield because “he can do it all.”

The 24-year-old Brazilian showed his range during Friday’s 1-0 win over New York Red Bulls II as he had 45 touches, was 30/37 on accurate passes, made 11 passes into the final third, created one chance, and had seven recoveries.

Oh, and he scored the game-winning goal.

“I think Damario was looking to say that [Maciel] is class because the Rolls-Royce is a class type of car,” JD Gunn said. “He does well in the middle. He’s super calm, super composed.

“The Brazilians, they’ve always got their flair. It’s almost like he’s just dancing on the field, like a little Samba. A heck of a player and super fun to watch him in front of me.”

Maciel’s strike will surely be in contention for MLS NEXT Pro Goal of the Week. Patrick Leal captured the title last week for his long-range strike against Columbus Crew II.

At halftime, Leal joked that Maciel was trying to outdo him.

“I was like, ‘Come on, you’re trying to one up me,’” Leal said with a smile. “No, it was a beautiful goal. Just the technique he had, like JD said, the Brazilians are different gravy. Maciel is just a great player.”

Head coach Richie Williams praised Maciel, saying he’s a “good six” who is “very good on the ball playing balls forward, changing the point of attack, and also plugging up holes defensively.”

While Williams liked seeing Maciel score in such a stunning way, he’s happy any time the ball ends up in the opponent’s net, especially on a night when his team outshot their opponent 23 to 14 (9 to 4 on target).

“To be honest with you, I don’t care how they go in as long as they go in,” Williams said. "We had a lot more opportunities that I wish could have went in. It’s great that they have great strikes on goal but if we can get a consistent couple of goals—two, three goals every game—that would be more satisfying.”