Revs II: Three 2024 Season Opener Thoughts
Three thoughts on Revolution II's season opener loss against Philadelphia Union II
New England Revolution II kicked off their 2024 MLS NEXT Pro campaign on the road with a disappointing 2-1 loss to Eastern Conference rivals Philadelphia Union II.
Despite an early goal from newcomer Alex Monis, two costly mistakes led Union II to find the equalizer and eventual game-winning goal.
There’s a lot to break down for Revolution II’s season opener. Here are three thoughts.
1 - Great build-up play
Revolution II’s build-up play in their first 90’ was nearly flawless.
Our first example came during Alex Monis’ ninth-minute goal. It starts with Collin Smith evading Philly’s pressure by dribbling the ball back only to spring it forward up the left flank to Marcos Dias. Dias gets onto the ball and proceeds to whip the ball into a pocket of space, which Monis runs onto and sets up his first Revolution II goal!
While it didn’t result in a goal, give-and-go passing led Revs II to get the ball to Damario McIntosh on the right flank, who crossed it to Andrej Bjelajac, who nearly found the back of the net.
Sunday’s opener saw good passing for Revs II as they finished the match with 471 completed passes with an 86% accuracy. As the group continues to gel, I expect to see more great passing displays like we saw today.
2 - Max Weinstein steps up
Despite conceding two goals, I liked what I saw from Weinstein. He ended the match with five big saves that kept Revolution II in the game.
Weinstein also showed he isn’t afraid. There were multiple instances where the 19-year-old keeper came off his line to either scoop the ball or stretch out and make the save.
As I said in Five Revolution II Players To Watch In 2024, this season was the time to hand the keys to Weinstein and after one game it looks like the right call. I look forward to seeing how Weinstein develops throughout the season.
3 - Defending counterattack opportunities
Okay, it's time to get a little negative. The counterattack defense was nearly non-existent today. Revolution II found themselves scrambling back on multiple occasions. Thankfully for Revolution II, Philadelphia Union II having 10 players out on international duty and having to rely on Academy prospects prevented this from being a blowout loss.
The biggest example came during Sal Olivas’ game-winning goal in the 80th minute. It starts with Joshua Bolma slipping on the field as Cavan Sullivan scoops up the loose ball. Revs II can’t transition into defense in time as Sullivan lobs the ball upfield to Olivias, who has Eric Klein trailing behind him and Victor Souza to his left. Before Souza can get in front of the ball to stifle the attack, Olivas curls the ball into the bottom-left corner from distance to put Union II ahead.
I expect a lot of this stems from the freshness of the group and understanding positioning, but it’s something they need to nip early. Collapsing on the counterattack against full-strength teams will only cause headaches going forward.
Despite the two costly mistakes, Revolution II had a decent start to their 2024 MLS NEXT Pro campaign. There’s still a sense of rawness in this group, but as time goes on, I expect this Revolution II side to start clicking and racking up points as they pursue a second-straight playoff appearance.