New England Weekly Review: April 15, 2024
Looking at a severe case of New York City Blues and the continued wait for Rhode Island's first win.
Following the first MLS victory last week, the Revs went back to their poor form losing against New York City FC 2-0.
Despite taking an early lead through Jack Panayotou, Revs II followed suit and lost to New York City FC II 6-2.
Hartford Athletic had a bye this weekend, but they’ll be back in action on Wednesday as they host New York City FC II in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup.
Rhode Island FC took the field on Saturday and drew 0-0 once again, this time to the Pittsburg Riverhounds SC.
Rhode Island will join Hartford in the U.S. Open Cup action in mid-week as they face Charlotte Independence on Tuesday.
As a reminder, in a month the 2024 USL League 2 season will kick-off as the clubs are already finalizing their squads.
Here are a couple of this weekend’s standout points:
It’s Jackson Lee For Me
After being brought in as a back-up for Rhode Island FC captain Koke Vegas, Australian goalkeeper Jackson Lee’s last two performances have been worthy of creating a debate in goal.
Last week, Lee stood on his head making six saves to secure Rhode Island’s first-ever clean sheet. This week he only needed three to get another clean sheet, but still showed an ability to appear in big moments.
In the 77th minute, Pittsburg left-back Babacar Diene received a pass in the box and squared it into the path of Edward Kizza. Kizza hit the ball towards the Rhode Island goal, but his shot was stopped by Lee’s left foot. The ball then rebounded into the path of Pittsburg striker Emmanuel Johnson, who attempted to tuck the ball into the left side of the goal. Lee sprung up and managed to get a hand on the ball to deflect it for a corner kick.
Lee’s security in goal and good decision-making when playing the ball out of the back should give Head Coach Khano Smith a headache for future squad selection.
Vegas missed out once again and continues to be on Rhode Island’s injury list. In the last few games, Rhode Island kept their first two clean sheets with Lee earning a team of the week feature. In the two games Vegas played in Rhode Island looked very shaky at the back and made several costly mistakes.
The difference in defensive outcomes seem to indicate that the team is better off with Lee in goal. However, Vegas is the club captain and boasts two years of USL Championship experience.
The inaugural season will be in full swing with the upcoming U.S. Open Cup match and Rhode Island FC already has its first goalkeeping debate.
Can We Talk About Buck?
After securing a spot as a starter under Bruce Arena, getting called up to the English U-19 squad, and sparking the interest of Premier League clubs, Noel Buck sat out for another full game this weekend against New York City FC.
Buck established himself as one of the MLS’ most exciting midfielders last year and with Caleb Porter has fallen to the bottom of the totem pole — a decision that seems to make little sense.
In the three-man midfield, Matt Polster and Carles Gil are locked in as starters. Polster plays as the more defensive midfielder dropping further back and Gil roams around as a creative playmaker. So far, Ian Harkes and Mark-Anthony Kayes have been competing to fill in the other midfielder role.
This weekend 33-year-old Thomas McNamara came on as a sub as 19-year-old Buck watched from the bench.
While Buck hasn’t been great in the 128 minutes he’s played this season, it makes more sense to get him on the field than an aging McNamara.
The main reason that Buck should be playing is because he provides a good balance as a midfielder who can go forward and provide cover in the back. Considering that he has interest from the Premier League and Club Brugge in Belgium, letting him build up a reputation in the MLS would only increase his price tag.
Seven games into the season and it seems that the wheels have fallen off for Porter’s squad. Despite having many of the same players from last year, this is not the same team that finished fifth in the Eastern Conference. The lack of playing time that players like Buck are facing may be a big reason for it.
Buck’s versatility allowed him to play on the right wing last year. While I prefer to see Buck in midfield, I’d much rather see him coming on for Nacho Gil when things aren’t working out for the Spaniard.
Fagundez Joins the 70-70 Club
While the goal may have been a tap-in, it was cool to see Diego Fagundez put his name down as the 10th player in MLS history to score and assist 70 goals.
Fagundez has 73 MLS assists and scored a tap-in in the 82nd minute against the Vancouver Whitecaps to make it 70 goals in his MLS career.
After joining the L.A. Galaxy from Austin F.C. at the end of last season, Fagundez has established himself as a reliable bench option for the leaders of the Western Conference.
The 29-year-old Uruguayan winger played 280 games for the New England Revolution after breaking into the first team in 2011.
He may not have become the caliber of a player that Revs fans once hoped him to become, but Fagundez is one for the history books — and nobody can take that away from him.
Agyeman Answers the Call
After dropping back to the bench with Enzo Copetti’s return and a shaky performance last week against the Revs, Agyeman scored a game-winner for Charlotte FC against Toronto FC this weekend.
Agyemang came on for Copetti in the 79th minute with the score tied at 2-2.
Following a corner kick in the 85th minute, Charlotte FC’s Belgian winger put in a low cross into the six-yard box. Agyemang ran in from the edge of the box and slid past two defenders to get the definitive touch on the ball. The ball bounced into the goal as the East Hartford, Connecticut, native ran toward the corner to celebrate.
This is Agyemang’s second goal of the season and with Copetti’s return, the 23-year-old striker is expected to be a backup for the rest of the season.
However, his big frame, speed, and off-the-ball intelligence give him a good build to be an MLS striker.
With Giacomo Vrioni struggling for a second consecutive season and Bobby Wood being the only other striker on the squad, Curt Onalfo will probably need to work on bringing in a striker sooner rather than later.
Agyemang may not be ready to be a starter in the MLS, but a player with his characteristics would be a suitable squad player for the Revs that could give Vrioni competition.
Wholeheartedly agree with you re Buck. Porter's press comments last week were not designed to be motivational, that's for sure. What is the problem here?