Revolution II Secure Two Points in Toronto
Despite having a sizeable lead, Revolution II only walks away with two points.
Sunday saw New England Revolution II head north of the border as the club searched for its first road victory since 2023 when they faced Toronto FC II inside York Lion Stadium.
Richie Williams made four changes from the lineup that secured all three points with a 2-1 win over New York City FC II on April 26th. JD Gunn made a second-consecutive start in goal behind the backline of Hesron Barry, Victor Souza, Gabe Dahlin, and Grant Emerhi. Marcos Dias, Cristiano Oliveira, and Javaun Mussenden formed the midfield trio while Damorney Hutchinson, Liam Butts, and Gevork Diarbian provided the attack.
In addition to the changes, Richie Williams had a thin bench. Max Weinstein, Eli Ackerman, Ivan Villalobos Lopez, Joe Buck, and Judah Siqueira were the only five players on the Revs II bench.
Five minutes into the match, Nathaniel Edwards received the ball on the left flank and slotted it centrally to Jahmarie Nolan who ended up colliding with Barry, which sent both players to the pitch. Despite Barry writhing in pain following the collision, play continued as a series of passes led the ball to land at the feet of Marko Stojadinovic outside the box, who proceeded to rocket a shot that found the back of the net to give Toronto an early 1-0 lead.
After receiving some on-field treatment, Barry’s day ended in the 11th minute as Willams used a concussion substitute to bring on Academy prospect Eli Ackerman to replace Barry.
A great pass from Diarbian into the path of Butts led to success in the 15th minute. Butts got onto the pass and pushed his way into the box before slotting a ball past De Rosario to net his fifth goal of the season and his 10th for the club as Revs II drew the game level.
Butts came close to finding his second goal in the 26th minute when he got under a well-executed cross from Dias and attempted to head the ball home, but De Rosario got his hands to the ball to prevent the go-ahead goal.
Gunn came up big in the 32nd minute after Toronto got rolling off a goal kick, Malik Henry pushed his way into the box and attempted a close-range shot that the goalkeeper made the save on to keep the game tied.
A series of give-and-go passes between Butts and Diarbian led Revs II to take a 2-1 lead in the 39th minute. After getting the ball at midfield, Diarbian advanced before passing back to Butts. After resetting, Butts got the ball up to Diarbian on the left flank and in his usual fashion, the winger flashed his ability to take on defenders as he pushed his way into the box.
Despite having his initial shot deflected, Diarbian stayed with it as he got onto the deflected ball and sent it to the far post. Diarbian’s shot took an awkward deflection off the right goal post but careened into the goal to give Revs II a 2-1 lead.
Things only got better for Revs II in the second half as Diarbian attempted to get onto a loose ball inside the box and was taken down by De Rosario, which led the referee to point to the spot and award New England a penalty kick in the 48th minute.
Dias was the one to step to the spot and De Rosario went the wrong direction as the Brazilian propelled Revolution II to a 3-1 lead.
In the 63rd minute, Malik Henry got an awkward touch on the ball high up the right flank that rolled toward the goal line. Ackerman got onto the ball and attempted to shield it out of play but Henry stuck a foot in at the right time as he dispossessed Ackerman and ran toward goal before slotting a ball centrally to Dékwon Barrow, who smashed it into the goal to shrink Revolution II’s lead.
In the 78th minute, Joshua Nugent darted down the right flank and sent the ball centrally. Dahlin attempted to intercept the pass before it fell to Dékwon Barrow. Unfortunately for Dahlin, the ball deflected off his foot and ricocheted into the net to level the match at three apiece.
Revolution II’s quest for a road win will have to wait a bit longer as things ended in a 3-3 draw following a hectic 90 minutes. Both sides took home a point and headed to a penalty shootout.
Former Vermont Green defender Reid Fisher stepped up to the spot under pressure as he needed to score to keep Toronto in the fourth round of penalties. Fisher stayed cool as he slotted it home to keep Toronto alive.
Following the penalty, it appeared Fisher had some words for JD Gunn that the head referee didn’t appreciate. After racing over, Nivin Raizada brandished Fisher with a red card to end his day early.
Goalkeeper JD Gunn looked to keep Revs II’s hopes alive in the 10th round when he stepped to the spot. Despite the discomfort following a foot save, Gunn came up big as he slotted the ball to the lower-left corner and in to level the shootout.
Captain Victor Souza stepped up to the spot in the 12th round with the opportunity to seal things. After staring down De Rosario, Souza rocketed a shot to the left side of the net. The Toronto goalkeeper dove the right way and got a hand to it, but it wasn’t enough as Souza’s shot crashed into the net to give Revolution II the 9-8 shootout victory after 12 nerve-racking rounds.
After going up 3-1, seeing Revs II only walk away with two points feels a bit disappointing, but you must applaud the group's efforts to stick in despite what transpired.
Revolution II’s winless record on the road will extend a bit further. They’ll look to secure all three points when they face New York Red Bulls II on the road on May 18.