New England Weekly Review: May 21, 2024

A full sweep of losses and the return of USL League 2.

Photo By J. Alexander Dolan.

The New England Revolution faced off against the Philadelphia Union in a rematch from last year’s MLS Cup Playoffs. Caleb Porter’s side lost 3-0 for the ninth loss of the season.

Rhode Island FC enjoyed a Friday night kickoff away at Colorado Springs but lost 3-1 as they paid a hefty price for not finishing clear-cut chances.

Hartford Athletic lost 4-1 against Indy Eleven to continue their five-game losing streak but scored their first goal in 400 minutes.

New England Revolution II lost to MLS NEXTPro leaders Philadelphia Union II 3-1 but without a Cavan Sullivan appearance this week.

For the USMNT, Gregg Berhalter named his preliminary 27-man roster for the Copa America. Just last week CONMEBOL allowed each team three more squad places for a total of a maximum of 26 players allowed per team.

In the USL League II, the Western Mass Pioneers sit in first place after beating the Boston Bolts 1-0 and Pathfinder FC 4-0. They are followed by the Seacoast United Phantoms, who defeated AC Connecticut 6-1. Vermont Green opened their season by winning against Boston City FC 3-0.

Here are some pointers from this weekend:

Finding the Balance for Full-Backs

While Rhode Island FC and the Revs sit towards the bottom of their respective tables, this weekend saw both clubs struggle with finding balance with their full-backs.

For the Revs, Porter went out with Ryan Spaulding and Nick Lima despite having DeJuan Jones back from injury. Spaulding and Lima are more offensive profiles out wide that demanded Matt Polster and Mark-Anthony Kaye to provide defensive cover.

Within the first 15 minutes, Porter’s decision with his full-backs heavily impacted the game. During a corner kick, Spaulding stayed to cover as the last man back with Carles Gil and Esmir Bajrakterevic in the wider areas of the pitch.

Following a bad pass from Bajrakterevic, Spaulding struggled to settle the ball and was picked off by Union striker Michael Uhre. Spaulding fouled him and took the red card to prevent the counter-attack.

Rather than using a substitution to get Jones on the pitch, Porter chose to shift Kaye into the wider area to provide coverage. Consequently, the Union attempted several long balls towards Kaye to expose their numeric overload.

As Lima hung higher up the field in possession, Kaye returned into the midfield as an inverted wing-back. The space in the Revs’ defensive half caused problems that Porter’s side could not resolve.

From the Union’s first goal, Kaye loses his man and leaves Julian Carranza with an open header to score. The second goal came from the Revs’ left-hand side as they attempted to match up numerically and left open space inside the box.

For Rhode Island FC, head coach Smith played Gabriel Alves and Stephen Turnbull in the full-back positions. Following the transition from a 3-5-2 to a 4-2-3-1, Alves drops back as a third center-back while Turnbull flies up the right flank to give width to Rhode Island’s attack. By doing so, Clay Holstad remains in midfield and Rhode Island can keep three men back to break down counters.

Alves struggled in the first half, misplacing 6 passes and making a mistake on the ball that led to the Switchbacks’ first goal of the night.

At half-time, Alves came off for Collin Smith. Rhode Island switched up their approach and Turnbull played lower down the field. Smith — a right-back by trade — played at left-back and was decent defensively. However, he struggled to provide service on his weaker foot.

With the score at 2-1 in the 86th minute and Rhode Island chasing the game, the Switchbacks hit them on the counter down Turnbull’s wing. Turnbull tracked back and as Ronaldo Damus cut away from the goal, Turnbull gave him a shove and the referee called a penalty.

Damus scored from 12 yards out and sentenced the game.

Call-Up Time

With the summer approaching and international competitions coming up, most national teams are already making roster announcements for the summer.

For the USMNT, Miles Robinson was included in the Copa America 27-man squad. Berhalter will have to cut at least one player by June 15th.

The native of Arlington, Massachusetts, has played 15 games across all competitions and started all 12 MLS games following his move to FC Cincinnati.

Berhalter called in three goalkeepers and will have to cut a field player. From a glance at the list, that would be either Robinson or LAFC’s Timmy Tillman.

With the Olympics this summer, Robinson could lead the team that plays in Paris if he is cut from the Copa America squad. During the January USMNT camp, Robinson captained a side full of Olympic-eligible players including the Revs’ DeJuan Jones and Esmir Bajrakterevic.

From Revs II, Olger Escobar received another call-up from the Guatemalan national team. Escobar will be on international duty until June 15th. Guatemala will play friendlies against Nicaragua and Argentina and World Cup qualifying matches against Dominica and the British Virgin Islands.

USL League 2 is Back

With the end of the academic year across colleges in the country, USL League 2 has kicked off for the 2024 season.

Vermont Green FC, Western Mass Pioneers, and Seacoast United Phantoms are the front-runners of the Northeast Division — and all three teams made that clear in the first week.

While the Pioneers have already played twice, Scott Testori led the team in both matches as he scored the lone goal against the Boston Bolts in their home opener. He also scored and assisted in the game against Pathfinder FC.

For Seacoast United, 19-year-old Marco dos Santos earned himself a Man of the Match award and scored one of the Phantoms’ six goals. The Boston College midfielder also played all 90 minutes.

Vermont Green FC beat Boston City FC thanks to the link-up of Jacob Labovitz and Zach Zengue. Labovitz joined the club after parting ways with USL League 1 club Greenville Triumph in the off-season.