Revolution II Recap: Wild End Sees New England Secure Two Points
A crazy closing 10 minutes sees New England walk out of Gillette two points richer!
Richie Williams and New England Revolution II returned home on Sunday as the club looked to get back in the win column after having its impressive unbeaten and winning streaks snapped in their last outing.
Sunday saw Williams make two changes from the lineup that suffered a 1-0 loss to Carolina Core FC on August 2. Donovan Parisian made his fourth consecutive start in goal behind the backline of Gabe Dahlin, Victor Souza, Keegan Hughes, and Eric Klein. Cristiano Oliveira and Allan Oyirwoth sat deeper in the midfield behind the trio of Gevork Diarbian, Marcos Dias, and Malcolm Fry. Liam Butts served as the lone striker up top.
Revolution II’s first big chance of the evening came in the 18th minute when Dias got on the ball in midfield and slotted it forward into the path of Butts. The striker ran onto the ball and attempted to slot home his ninth goal of the 2025 campaign, but Luke Pruter denied him.
Fry’s recent hot streak nearly continued in the 36th minute. After receiving a long ball from Oyirwoth, Fry turned and drove forward and attempted to curl a shot to the opposite post. Pruter miraculously stuck his hand out and tipped the shot away from danger to keep the game scoreless.
Teams normally return from the halftime interval rejuvenated and ready to go. This wasn’t the case for New England.
It started when a long ball from Owen Presthus glided into the path of a darting Brent Adu-Gyamfi, who slipped past Hughes. Adu-Gyamfi drove toward goal before tapping it centrally to Chase Adams, who evaded the pressure of Souza to tap the ball in and give Columbus an early lead to start the second half.
New England’s first changes came in the 63rd minute when Damorney Hutchinson and Damario McIntosh replaced Souza and Butts.
Favor swung New England’s way in the 69th minute when Nicolas Rincon took Gevork Diarbian down inside the box, which earned Revs II a crucial penalty kick. Dias stepped to the spot and delivered as he drilled his 30th goal with Revs II to level things at one apiece.
After getting the ball at midfield, he took a few touches forward before curling a ball forward into the path of Hutchinson who got on the end of Dias’ pass and drilled it into the back of the net to give New England a late lead in the 71st minute.
Williams went to the bench in the 80th minute as Alex Monis replaced Oliveira. Another change came in the 86th minute as Sharod George replaced Diarbian.
After intercepting a Crew 2 pass, New England looked poised to clear the ball away and inch closer to victory in stoppage time. However, the failed clearance from atop the 18-yard box led the ball back to Columbus and to Chase Adams, who drilled home a rocket of a shot to force this game to a penalty shootout.
Adams, the man who got Crew 2 to the shootout, was first for Columbus, but couldn’t replicate his earlier success as his right-footed shot to the right side of goal struck the right goal post and ricocheted away.
Dias found the net for a second time on the evening when he ended round one with a shot to the bottom right corner and in to give Revs II a 1-0 lead in the shootout.
Monis was the one to step to the spot to close out the sixth round and potentially secure victory. He dribbled a shot to the lower-left corner and in to seal Revolution II another point as they secured the 5-4 shootout victory.
Revolution II will look to build on Sunday’s result when they return to action, hosting New York Red Bulls II on August 15.