Revolution II vs Chicago Fire II: Three Thoughts
Three thoughts following Revs II's disappointing outing at home
It was a tough day at the office for Revolution II when they welcomed Chicago Fire II to town on Sunday. After falling behind the eight ball, two quick goals from Marcos Dias and Damorney Hutchinson had Revs II back on track. That was until a questionable call led to the game ending in a 2-2 draw.
Things went from bad to worse when an uncharacteristic performance in the shootout led to them walking away with a singular point after Fire II secured a 3-1 shootout victory.
Here are three thoughts.
1 - Questionable Call
It wasn’t the sole reason for the result, and Revs II had plenty of chances to avenge it, but a questionable call led to Chicago finding the equalizer.
It starts with Damian Nigg working his way into the left side of the box before passing it centrally to Vitaliy Hlyut, but Chris Mbaï-Assem poked it away. Josh Macedo tries to run onto the loose ball, but Nigg shoulders his way into the path as both of them fall to the turf.
You can see on the replay that head referee Joe Surgon was standing pretty much level with the play atop the 18-yard box. So I don’t know how he could have seen Damian Nigg initiate the contact and award Chicago the penalty kick.
Again, Revs II should have been able to overcome the travesty, but it’s still a shame to see referee error seep into the result.
2 - Play The Kids
While having regulars like Liam Butts, Victor Souza, Alex Monis, Allan Oyirwoth, and Damario McIntosh unavailable was disappointing, their absence paved the way for Richie Williams to give numerous Academy prospects some pivotal playing time.
We saw it with Williams calling upon Javaun Mussenden (CB) and Josh Macedo (RB) to start on the backline. Mussenden is a versatile prospect who’s impressed during his 20 appearances with the club over the last two seasons.
Macedo is a fresh prospect who made his third appearance for the club. For a 16-year-old, Macedo had a strong outing. He completed 90% of his passes, creates two chances, and completes eight defensive actions.
It’s a shame the aforementioned penalty call “blemished” his overall performance. While Revs II are keen on securing a high spot on the table, I do hope there’s room for Macedo to get more minutes going forward.
Sunday’s outing also saw Aarin Prajapati, Judah Siqueira, and Makai Wells get some time off the bench.
Like Macedo, Prajapati and Siqueira have made sparse appearances throughout the 2025 season, so it was good to see them get some more minutes to help them develop.
On the other hand, Sunday’s appearance marked the debut of Makai Wells, who has popped up on the radar recently as he received a call-up to the United States U-17 Training Camp.
3 - Caught Napping
It’s unfortunately not the first time it’s hurt Revs II, but the lapse during Chicago’s first goal was disappointing to see.
It started with Jhoiner Montiel turning his back to the goal, receiving a pass, and attempting to curl a ball into the box. An attempt that ricocheted off Javaun Mussenden and fell to Chase Nagle, who casually breezed between Mussenden and Malcolm Fry to get a one-on-one with Parisian. Nagle easily slotted it past the keeper as the seven players inside the box just stood and observed.
Mistakes happen, but this happened 22 minutes into the match, which was appalling to see. If Revs II want to be a high seed come playoff time, they really need to find a way to stay focused and alert for a whole 90 minutes. Hopefully, they achieve that through the remaining six matches.