Revolution II Recap: Revs II Hold Strong, Secure Three Points at Home
It was a battle, but Revolution II secure three points at home against the Eastern Conference front-runners.
Friday evening saw Revolution II return to action as they welcomed Eastern Conference frontrunners New York Red Bulls II to Gillette Stadium.
Richie Williams made two changes from last Sunday’s outing that saw Revs II secure two points following a 2-2 draw and 5-4 shootout victory. Donovan Parisian made his fifth consecutive start in goal behind the backline of Gabe Dahlin, Victor Souza, Keegan Hughes, and Damario McIntosh. Allan Oyirwoth and Cristiano Oliveira played deeper in the midfield behind the trio of Gevork Diarbian, Marcos Dias, and Javaun Mussenden. Liam Butts served as the lone attacker up top.
After some good chances, Revs II found the breakthrough in the 16th minute. After receiving the ball, Dahlin lobbed a ball forward from midfield into the path of Butts. After finding himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, Butts tapped the ball up and over the keeper from atop the box and sailed it into the back of the net to notch his ninth goal of the 2025 season and give Revolution II an early 1-0 lead.
Momentum swung in New York’s favor in the 31st minute. After working his way into the box, Dylan Sullivan was on the receiving end of a harsh foul from Hughes that led the head referee to award Red Bulls II a penalty kick. Ibrahim Kasule stepped to the spot and delivered for New York as he sent a right-footed shot to the bottom-left corner to level the match at one apiece.
Just when it looked like the first half would end in a 1-1 draw, Dias had other ideas. It started with Oliveira sending a ball to Mussenden. Despite an awkward first touch on the ball, Mussenden recovered and slotted the ball laterally to Dias, who rocketed a shot into the right side of the goal to give New England a 2-1 lead heading into the break.
Dias’ day went from good to great in the 53rd minute. Diarbian attempted to slot the ball centrally to Liam Butts, but it deflected off a Red Bull II defender right to Dias, who gaveNew England a 3-1 lead with his second goal of the match.
Red Bulls II clawed their way back into the match in the 57th minute thanks to a turnover in the midfield. After getting the ball, Curtis Ofori darted forward to the goal line before cutting it back to Malick Dembele. Dahlin attempted to slide in and tap the ball away, but Dembele struck it quickly as Red Bulls II shrank the deficit to one.
Despite being up 3-2, Revs II were not letting their foot off the gas. The 79th minute saw Damorney Hutchinson get the ball at midfield and lob it forward into the path of Diarbian who got onto the ball and drove into the box before rocketing it past the goalkeeper to give New England a 4-2 lead.
Despite some minor setbacks, Revolution II was able to regain its focus and came out on top to secure a 4-2 victory over the Eastern Conference front-runners.
Revolution II will look to build off their recent success when they hit the road to take on Philadelphia Union II on August 24.