Revolution II Preview: 5/4 at Toronto FC II
Can Revs II secure their first road win since 2023?
After playing five of their opening six matches inside Gillette Stadium, Richie Williams and New England Revolution II are set for a daunting task as they hit the road for the next five matches on their schedule.
Catch up on everything you need to know before Revs II squabbles up north of the border.
Opponent: Toronto FC II
Date: Sunday, May 4th
Time: 3:00 PM ET
Venue: York Lions Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Broadcast: mlsnextpro.com
Weather: Sunday looks to be a decent day as temps in Toronto hover in the mid-50s come kickoff. Winds won’t be much of a factor as gusts top out at 15 miles per hour. It also looks to be a dry one as precipitation chances sit below 10%.
New England Revolution II:
Following a rough 2024 season, 2025 has gotten off to a tremendous start. Revs II comes into Sunday’s match in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 13 points on a 3-1-2 record with two shutout victories.
Sunday’s match follows a successful two-game homestand that saw Revs II secure a 2-2 draw with a 4-1 shootout victory against Columbus Crew 2 followed by a 2-1 win over New York City FC II.
While 2025 has been good so far for Revs II, many in Toronto may be counting them out considering their recent spell of luck away from New England.
Since their 3-0 win over Philadelphia Union II on August 27, 2023, Revolution II has gone winless in their last 16 road matches with a horrendous 0-15-1 record. That 16-game winless span has also seen Revs II be outscored 35 to 14.
A big factor in the team’s success thus far has been the offensive efforts of Liam Butts. The second-year striker leads the team in goals with four with all of them coming in three of the last four outings. Butts’ hot start to 2025 increases his all-time tally to nine goals in just 17 appearances.
Getting on the scoresheet seems to be something in Liam Butts’ DNA. While injury severely limited him in 2024, Butts has shown to be a huge threat on offense when he's on the field. Something he’ll look to continue demonstrating against Toronto.
Marcos Dias also has the chance to shorten the gap in the history books. At 74 appearances, he’ll look to inch his way toward Colby Quiñones’ record of 92.
If Dias starts against Toronto, it’ll mark his 66th for the club, which puts him tied for second alongside Jake Rozhansky for the most starts in club history. A start would also draw him closer to Pierre Cayet’s record of 69 starts.
Richie Williams and Revolution II will be looking for euphoria with a win on the road. Let’s just hope Toronto doesn’t kill the vibe.
Toronto FC II:
2025 has gotten off to a decent start for Gianni Cimini and Toronto FC II. The club comes into Sunday’s match sitting in sixth place in the East with 10 points on a 3-2-1 record with zero shootout victories.
Toronto is currently in the midst of a three-game unbeaten streak. It started on April 10 when TFC II secured a 1-0 shutout victory on the road against Inter Miami II. April 18 saw Toronto bounce back to secure a 1-1 draw at home over Carolina Core FC. TFC II came up short in the shootout as Carolina took home the additional point thanks to a 4-1 shootout win. The most recent outing saw Toronto walk away with all three points thanks to a 2-0 shutout win over Chicago Fire II.
Despite their spot on the table, TFC II’s offense has been non-existent. Their five goals in 2025 rank the least scored. What’s kept them contending has been their defense. Their six goals conceded ranks fifth-fewest in MLS NEXT Pro.
Toronto has kept the family close as Adisa De Rosario, son of former Toronto FC midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, has been a big factor in Toronto’s defense. The 20-year-old keeper leads the league in clean sheets with three. De Rosario is also tied for the ninth-most saves with 15.
All five of TFC II’s goals have come from five different scorers. Nate Edwards, Michael Sullivan, Dékwon Barrow, Hassan Ayari, and Patrick McDonald have found one goal each thus far.
On top of their low goal tally, Toronto FC II also has the ninth-lowest average possession percentage with 46.5%, ties for the fifth-lowest shots on target per match with 3.7, have the eighth-fewest touches in their opposition's box with 121.
While their offensive stats are poor, the defensive stats show how they’ve managed to stay competitive. They’re tied alongside Revs II for the sixth-most interceptions per match with 11.0 and have received the fewest yellow cards with five.
Previous Meetings:
Sunday will mark the 14th all-time meeting between Toronto. While there have been numerous draws, Revolution II holds a slight historical advantage with a 5-3-5 record over Toronto FC II.
Their first two meetings saw Revs II secure 1-0 wins on July 9 and 23, 2021. The tables turned in the next two meetings when TFC II secured consecutive 1-0 victories on October 8 and 29, 2021.
The streak of 1-0 results continued when both sides met on May 14, 2022, as a goal from Marcos Dias propelled the Revolution to victory.
Both sides found the net on July 3, 2022, as things ended in a 1-1 draw at the end of regulation. Toronto took home the additional point thanks to a 5-3 shootout victory.
July 31, 2022, saw the first multi-goal victory in the series as a brace from Paul Rothrock led Toronto FC II to a 2-0 victory. Since then, the series has swung in Revs II's favor as the club is undefeated in the last six meetings with Toronto.
Revs II picked up a 3-2 victory on May 14, 2023, thanks to a brace from Damian Rivera in the closing 10 minutes. The next four meetings over the 2023 and 2024 seasons saw both sides play to draws, with Revolution II taking home the extra point in all four draws.
Sunday is not the first meeting between both sides in 2025. March 28 saw Revolution II hand Toronto a definitive 4-0 defeat inside Gillette that saw a brace from Liam Butts plus goals from Marcos Dias and Olger Escobar.