Revolution II vs Crown Legacy: Three Thoughts
Three thoughts following Revolution II's disappointing home finale.
New England Revolution II’s final home game of the regular season didn’t go to plan as struggles on both sides of the ball led to an already-eliminated Crown Legacy FC side securing all three points following a 1-0 victory. Here are three thoughts.
1 - Disastrous Disconnect
After a solid year of production, Revs II’s offense sputtered in the home finale. While they did a good job of working the ball into some good spaces, the offense just came up short in terms of capitalizing on their opportunities.
There were several opportunities throughout the match where Revs II generated some space and attempted to capitalize by sending crosses in, but failed to hit most of them accurately. While they outcrossed Crown Legacy three to zero, their completed cross percentage was a mere 21 percent.
On top of poor crossing, Crown Legacy’s pressing threw a wrench in Revolution II’s plans. Standing pitchside, there were several instances when the team attempted to break down either flank, but were quickly shut down by CLFC pressure and were forced to cycle the ball back.
The mixture of poor crossing and pressure led to New England ending the match with just two shots on target. That’s a far cry from the 5.1 they have averaged throughout the 2025 season.
While a performance like this was disappointing to see, it’s something that will go a long way for this Revs II. It should be a wake-up call, and it couldn’t come at a better time, as playoffs are right around the corner.
2 - Another Easy Goal
The goals Revolution II has given up in recent weeks have been really disappointing to see. They’ve come from simple mistakes that have allowed their opposition to get easy opportunities they capitalize on.
It’s something we saw on Crown Legacy’s lone goal on the day. After working the ball up the left flank, they got the ball to Assane Ouedraogo. Joe Buck doesn’t apply enough pressure, Gabe Dahlin slows down as he looks to hold the backline high, but he’s the only one who stops as Victor Souza’s run keeps Andrej Subotic onside.
Ouedraogo reads the play and sends the ball into the path of Subotic. Despite getting an awkward touch initially, Subotic recovers as Souza attempts to slide in and block the shot. As the result shows, it wasn’t enough as Subotic slotted a shot from atop the 6-yard box past Parisian and in to secure the road side victory.
If Revs II wants a long run in the playoffs, they need to look back at the past couple of games and see where things go wrong on the defense. Goals in soccer are inevitable, but you want to make your opponent earn them. Something Revs II haven’t done in the last few games.
Let’s hope New England can correct this issue before beginning its playoff run, or else it could come to an earlier ending than many want or expect.
3 - Finishing Strong
A few weeks ago, New England was within striking distance of first-placed New York Red Bulls II. Unfortunately, back-to-back losses and results from around the league have Revs II in third with the possibility of dropping to fourth.
While fourth place still guarantees them a home game to open the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro Cup Playoffs, they wouldn’t have the choice to select their opponent, as the first three seeds will have a choice of the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th seeds.
With two points separating New England from Huntsville, Revs II will need all three points, two points from a draw and shootout victory, and most importantly, Huntsville to drop points when they face Carolina Core FC.
While it should not have come down to this, it’s the situation we’re in. Let’s hope Revs II can get the job done on Sunday and can find themselves in third place come the playoffs.