Revolution II Preview: 9/19 vs Chicago Fire II
New England begins its quest for the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro Cup trophy.
With the regular season in the rear-view mirror, all attention turns to the club’s second-ever playoff run. Catch up on everything you need to know ahead of the start of Revolution II’s 2025 MLS NEXT Pro Cup Playoff run.
Opponent: Chicago Fire II
Date: Sunday, October 19th
Time: 6:00 PM ET
Venue: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
Tickets: Fans looking to attend can find ticketing information on the club’s website!
Broadcast: MLS Season Pass - Apple TV
Weather: If you plan on attending, dress warm. Temperatures hover in the upper 50s while winds gust reach 20 miles per hour. Thankfully, it looks like things will remain dry as the chance of precipitation stays a constant 0 percent
New England Revolution II:
After a rough 2024 campaign that saw New England pick up four wins over the course of a 28-game regular season, 2025 has been a complete turnaround for Richie Williams and Revolution II.
Not only was the club able to achieve its primary goal of player development, they found a way to do so while simultaneously getting results, finishing the 2025 regular season in third place with 54 points on a 14-7-7 record with five shootout victories.
A big part of Revolution II’s success in 2025 was the efforts of midfielder Marcos Dias, who ended the regular season with 10 goals and an MLS NEXT Pro record 13 assists in his 28 appearances. A performance that led Dias to receiving the Playmaker of the Year award and a spot on the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro Best XI.
Liam Butts’ offensive efforts also factored into New England’s success as the forward set the club record for most goals in a single season after finding the net 13 times in 24 appearances.
This Eastern Conference Quarterfinal will see forward Alex Monis square off against his former club. The former Fire Homegrown appeared in 40 matches for Fire II during the 2022 and 2023 MLS NEXT Pro seasons.
While this is still his debut season, this isn’t goalkeeper Donovan Parisian’s first time in a playoff environment. Before the Revolution selected Parisian with the 18th pick in the 2025 SuperDraft, the goalkeeper led San Diego to a West Coast Conference title in 2024, plus a run to the third round in the 2024 NCAA College Cup.
Sunday will mark Revolution II’s second-ever playoff berth. Their first came during the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro season when New England were moments away from advancing to the MLS NEXT Pro Cup, but a last-second goal from Columbus Crew 2 led to the club’s inaugural playoff run ending in heartbreak.
Chicago Fire II:
Fire II makes its third-consecutive MLS NEXT Pro Playoff appearance after ending the regular season in sixth place, amassing 48 points on a 12-9-7 record with five shootout victories.
A major factor in Chicago’s success this season has come from the feet of forward Jason Shokalook, who won the MLS NEXT Pro Golden Boot Award after finding the net 20 times in his 22 appearances.
While Shokalook is a threat, he’s not the only player on this Chicago side Revs II have to keep an eye on. Like Marcos Dias, Fire II midfielder Claudio Cassano ended the regular season with double-digit goals and assists as he tallied an even 10 in both categories.
Midfielder Trip Fleming also had a solid regular season as he tallied eight goals and five assists.
Looking at the stats, it’s clear why Chicago returned to the playoffs for a third time in a row. Despite conceding the seventh-most goals with 2.1 per match, Fire II made up for it by averaging the most goals per match in MLS NEXT Pro with 2.5.
Fire II is a team that likes to maintain possession of the ball. They averaged the fourth-highest possession total during the regular season with 53.6 percent.
Despite their sixth-placed finish, Chicago’s attack ranks in the top 10 in stats like shots on target per match (T-3, 6.0), big chances (8th-75), accurate passes per match (8th-399.4), and penalties awarded (T-7, 7).
While Fire II’s defense ranks highly in interceptions per match (5th-9.7) and saves per match (3rd-4.3), they tie alongside Whitecaps 2 for the most penalties conceded with 11.
Despite the success of finishing above the playoff line, things have been rough for Chicago Fire II as of late. They come into the playoffs amidst a four-game winless run that’s seen them go 0-3-1 with one shootout victory.
The more concerning aspect is that three of their four opponents in that four-game skid were non-playoff sides.
Previous Meetings:
Sunday will mark the 11th all-time meeting between New England and Chicago. Revolution II holds the slight historical advantage with a 3-2-5 record with three shootout victories.
The first meeting came on June 26, 2022, as an exchange of goals led Chicago to all three points following a 4-3 victory.
Pierre Cayet’s lone goal in the 52nd minute was the deciding factor in August 14, 2022’s meeting as New England secured the 1-0 shutout victory.
2023 saw both sides split points during their two meetings. June 11 saw New England take home two points following a 2-2 draw and a 4-3 shootout victory. July 30 saw Chicago walk away with two points following a 1-1 draw and a 5-3 shootout victory.
While 2024 was a rough year for Revs II as a whole, they put up decent performances against Fire II. May 4 saw Marcos Dias break the club’s all-time scoring record as Revs II secured a 3-2 victory. Chicago secured all three points on July 21, but Revs II ended the season series picking up two points following a 1-1 draw and 4-2 shootout victory.
2025 has been a solid year for Revs II against Chicago. New England is undefeated in their three meetings with Fire II. June 9 saw New England take home two points following a 2-2 draw and a 5-4 shootout victory. New England took home all three points on July 13 following a 4-3 win on the road.
The most recent affair came on August 31 as New England walked away with a point following a 1-1 draw and an uncharacteristic 3-1 shootout loss.