New England Weekly Review: NE Playoffs, Lower-Division Banter, and Maine Fun
New England Weekly Review: NE Playoffs, Lower-Division Banter, and Maine Fun
Here are some storylines from last weekend's games.
In soccer, the team that scores first puts themselves in an advantageous position to win.
But that wasn’t necessarily the case in New England this past weekend.
The New England Revolution went ahead when Giacomo Vrioni collected his sixth goal in as many games in the 23rd minute against Orlando City SC. The visitors scored three unanswered to hand the Revs a 3-1 loss.
Hartford Athletic were up 2-0 when Renan Ribeiro earned a red card, which opened the door for the Charleston Battery to get a 2-2 draw.
Rhode Island FC had a three-goal lead before Miami FC started their comeback. Goals in the 62nd and 78th minutes weren’t enough as RIFC collected a 3-2 win. Albert Dikwa had a brace, increasing his season output to six goals.
The Seacoast United Phantoms’s first-half goal was all they needed to defeat the Albany Rush 1-0. The Phantoms have won the Northeast Division in USL League 2 for three straight years.
The Western Mass Pioneers scored first against the Vermont Green, but the visitors from Vermont fought back to earn a 3-1 win, punching their ticket to the postseason.
Let’s take a look at some talking points from the weekend.
Talking Playoffs
The Phantoms, Pioneers, and Green will represent New England during the USL League 2 playoffs.
The Pioneers host FC Motown at 7:30 pm on Tuesday and the Green welcome Reading United AC at 7 pm on the same day. The Phantoms will play in Ocean City, NJ on Friday. Their opponent depends on other results.
The rest of the New England teams aren’t in the playoffs, though there’s still time to change that.
The Revs are four points below the line. After starting the season 2-10-1, they’ve recently won five of eight while dealing with absences.
Hartford are five points from a playoff spot. They’ve only qualified for the playoffs once (2020) since joining the league in 2019.
Though they’re currently outside of the playoffs, RIFC are equal on points with North Carolina FC, who hold the last spot. Rhode Island are unbeaten in their last five outings, including three wins.
While wins are always the goal, RIFC highlight the importance of not losing. The Draw Kings, who only have four wins, have 10 ties, far more than anyone else in the division.
Compare this to the Revs. Their seven wins are more than six other teams in their conference, including four teams ahead of them. The big difference is that the Revolution only have one draw while everyone else has at least three.
Lower Division Fun
As mentioned earlier, the Green needed a dramatic comeback on the road to secure a playoff berth.
The Green had an impressive amount of fans travel to Lusitano Stadium to see the game. A picture taken after the final whistle commemorated the event.
Green head coach Adam Pfeifer put an exclamation point on the moment by quote-tweeting the photo with the caption “Social Media FC!,” a reference to a recent comment from Marco dos Santos of Seacoast United.
I’m all for lower-division banter if it helps grow a real rivalry. I also hope that it brings more eyes to the Phantoms and Pioneers.
The Green have become the darlings of USL League 2 since kicking off in 2022. They’ve done a nice job building a community, assembling a competitive roster, and promoting their work.
That said, the Phantoms and Pioneers have been a model of consistency. If you’re local to any of these teams, consider attending their games. Go see Ibrahim Conde and Taig Healy of the Phantoms or Alec Hughes and Scott Testori of the Pioneers. This is especially true if you have a child.
So hats off to the three teams representing New England in the USL League 2 playoffs.
By the way, it was more than appropriate that the Green celebrated their season finale win by singing Noah Kahan on the bus ride home.
Something Is Building In Maine
On Sunday, Portland Hearts of Pine hosted a watch party for the Euros at Bissell Brothers Brewing.
The place was packed with fans, many came wearing Hearts merchandise. Those who didn’t had the opportunity to buy gear.
Members of the Dirigo Union were there to talk about their plans to support the Hearts, who are set to kick off in 2025. They will play their home games at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
At halftime, the Union provided a preview by banging their drums and singing chants.
Community moments like this are what makes soccer so unique. While the Euros game was fun, I’d argue that being surrounded by so many people who love the game made the day a success.
Something is building in Maine, and I’m looking forward to keeping an eye on the Hearts and Union as it builds.