Revolution II Preview: 9/8 vs Toronto FC II
Revs II will look to wrap up their final homestand in 2024 with three points!
New England Revolution will hopefully end their final homestand of 2024 with a win, as they’ll look to build off the positive result at home last Saturday. Catch up on everything you need to know before Revs II return to action at home!
Date: Sunday, September 8th
Opponent: Toronto FC II
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Venue: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts
Broadcast: mlsnextpro.com
Weather: Sunday night looks to be an ideal fall evening inside Gillette. The temperature at kickoff is slated to sit at 63° before dropping into the low 60s and high 50s throughout the night.
New England Revolution II:
2024 has been incredibly rough for Richie Williams and Revolution II, who will look to end the season on a bright note starting on Sunday.
Revs II find themselves trying to claw out of the basement of the Eastern Conference and the overall MLS NEXT Pro table. They come into Sunday’s match with 19 points on a 4-15-4 record with three shootout victories. That’s currently the worst record and points total as Revs II holds the top spot in the wooden spoon race.
Luckily, that could change on Sunday as a regulation win over TFC II and a Minnesota United 2 regulation loss to Austin would see Revs II leapfrog Minnesota for the 28th place in the overall table.
Revolution II’s homestand started with a largely positive result on August 31 when they hosted Chicago Fire II. Despite conceding a goal just three minutes in, Revs II held their composure and managed to get themselves back into the game as they secured a point following a 1-1 draw. They came out on top and secured an additional point in the shootout following a 4-2 shootout victory.
Unfortunately, some key pieces will be missing. Olger Escobar (Guatemala), Colby Quiñones (Puerto Rico), and Alex Monis (Philippines) will be away on international duty.
We’ve also seen injuries start to pile up. Patrick Leal, a consistent presence in the Revs II lineup, missed last Saturday’s meeting with an undisclosed injury. Defender Victor Souza has been pictured training, yet has not appeared since June 1st, as he works back from an undisclosed injury.
Toronto FC II:
Like Revs II, 2024 has not gone the way head coach Gianni Cimini or many visioned. Toronto comes into Sunday’s match in 13th place in the Eastern Conference with 28 points on an 8-10-4 record with zero shootout wins in 2024.
Things have started to change in TFC II in recent history. After winning one in seven games, TFC II has bounced back with two wins in their last three outings. Their most recent outing saw them secure a 2-0 shutout victory over Eastern Conference frontrunners FC Cincinnati 2.
TFC II’s success in 2024 has come from forwards Julian Altobelli, Hassan Ayari, Charlie Sharp, and Jesus Batiz. Altobelli leads TFC in goals with seven and two assists over 19 appearances. Ayari and Sharp both have five goals and an assist over 17 and 13 appearances, respectively, while Batiz has four goals and three assists over 18 appearances.
Toronto FC comes into Sunday’s match toward the bottom in many statistical categories. They’re in a four-way tie for 20th least goals per match with 1.5, conceded 1.8 goals per match, own two clean sheets in 2024, put 4.6 shots on target per match, rank 25th in touches in the opposition's box with 451, and rank 28th in saves per match with 1.8.
Previous Meetings:
Sunday marks the 12th all-time meeting between New England and Toronto, which dates back to both team’s time in USL League One. Revolution II holds the historical advantage with a 4-3-4 record.
2021 was the year of 1-0 results. July 9 saw Damian Rivera’s 46th-minute goal give Revs II a win. Ryan Spaulding’s 68th-minute goal gave Revs II the win on July 23. It was all TFC II the rest of 2021, as Kevin Politz’s 24th-minute goal on October 8 and Paul Rothrock’s 63rd-minute goal on October 29 propelled TFC II to victory.
The 1-0 results blended into 2022 as May 14 saw Marcos Dias’ 47th-minute goal lead Revs II to victory. July 3 saw both sides walk away with a point as goals from Marcos Dias and Steffen Yeates led to a 1-1 draw. Toronto secured the additional point following a 5-3 shootout victory. July 31, saw the first multi-goal game as a Rothrock brace led to Toronto securing a 2-0 shutout victory.
It’s been all Revolution II since. They remain undefeated against TFC II in the last four meetings. May 14, 2023, saw Revs II secure a 3-2 victory thanks to a Toronto own goal and a late brace from Damian Rivera. Goals from Jordan Adebayo-Smith and Julian Altobelli led to both sides splitting the points on June 23. Revs II secured the additional point with a 4-2 shootout victory. Neither side found the back of the net on August 18 as both sides walked away with a point following the scoreless draw. Revs II walked away with the additional point following a dominant 4-1 shootout victory.
Their most recent meeting came on April 19th, 2024, when goals from Marcos Dias and Julian Altobelli led to a 1-1 draw. Revs II secured the additional point following a 5-4 shootout victory.