Recap: Revs II Suffer 1st Loss of 2023 Season
Revs II suffer first loss of 2023 season after a disastrous performance against reining champs.
New England Revolution II returned to action Sunday afternoon as they traveled to Historic Crew Stadium as Revs II took on the reigning MLS NEXT Pro champions, Columbus Crew II.
There were four changes to the starting lineup that secured a dominant 5-1 victory over Philadelphia Union II in their last outing. Nico Campuzano returned between the sticks as Peyton Miller, Pierre Cayet, Tiago Suarez, and Jacob Akanyirige provided the defense. Jack Panayotou, Jake Rozhansky, Marcos Dias, and Malcolm Fry made up the midfield as Jordan Adebayo-Smith and Weverton were up top.
On the opposite side, Crew II relied heavily on their first team as Jake Morris, Keegan Hughes, Isaiah Parente, Yaw Yeboah, and Sean Zawadski featured in the starting lineup for Columbus.
Revolution II nearly struck in the 6th minute as the ball pinballed off both Revs and Crew players in front of the net. Fry looked to put the ball into the back of the net, but the Columbus defense cleared the ball off the line and away from danger.
Crew II’s offense got off to a hot start as a pass forward found Jacen Russell-Rowe atop the box. Russell-Rowe withstood the pressure from the Revs II defense but cut the ball to the right to a darting Parente, who lasered a shot past Campuzano and into the net to give Crew II a 1-0 lead seven minutes into the match.
Revs II’s offense looked to capitalize immediately as they drove the ball down the field and got it to Weverton, who put a shot on goal, but it was not enough to pressure the keeper.
After assisting with the first goal, 2022 MLS NEXT Pro Golden Boot winner Russell-Rowe found a goal of his own as the Crew II defense was able to intercept Campuzano’s kick upfield. Crew II laid their foot on the gas as they quickly generated a counterattack chance.
After a series of passes, the ball landed at Russell-Rowe’s feet. Noticing the lack of pressure, he took a touch forward and rocketed a shot into the top left corner from outside the box to give Crew II a 2-0 lead seventeen minutes in.
Three changes were made before the start of the second half as Colby Quiñones, Damian Rivera, and Joshua Bolma replaced Akanyirige, Fry, and Weverton. Another substitution came in the 64th minute as Ben Awashie replaced Adebayo-Smith. Revs II’s final substitution came in the 72nd minute as Victor Souza came on for Miller.
Revolution II’s day went from bad to worse in the 81st minute as an erred touch by Campuzano on the back pass led to Coleman Gannon laying the ball to Marco Micaletto, who put the ball into an empty Revolution II net.
Sunday's performance is one Revs II will look to improve on as they end the match with under 40% possession while only putting three of their eight shots on target. Luckily for Revs II, can move on from the loss as they shift focus to Friday, April 21st, as they return to Gillette to host New York Red Bulls II at 7:00 PM ET.
With the loss, Revolution II drops to third in the Eastern Conference with nine points on a 3-1-0 record.