Revolution II vs FC Cincinnati 2: Three Thoughts
Three thoughts after Revs II secure their first win of the 2025 season!
Thursday evening saw New England Revolution II return to action as they hosted FC Cincinnati 2 inside Gillette Stadium.
After being held off the scoresheet in their season opener, Revs II found their breakthrough as goals from newcomer Damorney Hutchinson and Marcos Dias led to a 2-0 shutout victory and their second clean sheet of the season.
Here are three thoughts.
1 - Hutchinson’s Hot Start
Thursday’s match saw newly acquired forward Damorney Hutchinson make his Revolution II debut when he entered in the 63rd minute. It didn’t take long for Hutchinson to make an impact.
The 73rd minute saw Alex Monis dart up the middle of the field before shoveling a ball forward into the path of Hutchinson. The striker ran onto the ball and hit the brakes to send his defender sliding. Hutchinson then rocketed a shot past Nate Crockford and into the net to bag the opening goal.
Thursday’s debut will be one to remember from Hutchinson. Hopefully, his offensive production will continue throughout 2025.
2 - Monis’ Motor
Sunday’s opener saw Gevork Diarbian bring a real spark to the lineup. Thursday was Alex Monis’ turn.
Again, there’s no real advanced stat tracking for MLS NEXT Pro, but I can only imagine what Monis' heat map would look like because he was everywhere.
He ended the night with one assist following Hutchinson’s opener while creating three chances. He also got 57 touches on the ball, completed six passes into the final third, recovered the ball three times, completed five defensive actions, and won six duels.
I think something that’s set the 2025 squad apart from 2024’s so far has been the outfield players' commitment to put the work in on both sides of the ball, and that’s something that Monis did well against Cincinnati.
3 - Dominant Defense
We're 180 minutes into the 2025 season, and Revolution II has yet to allow a ball into the back of the net. Compared to the three goals conceded in the first two games of 2024, Revs II's defense has taken a step in the right direction this season.
A big part of that has been thanks to the goalkeeping efforts of JD Gunn. The Panama international has tallied nine goals over the first two games. A figure that could rank amongst the top in MLS NEXT Pro come the end of this week’s games.
It’s not just Gunn though. The 10 players in front of him have put the work in through the first two games of 2025. Revs II currently tied for third in interceptions per match with 13.0 and ranks fifth in clearances per match with 25.0.
It’s been a rock-solid start for Revolution II’s defensive efforts. Hopefully, that’s a continuing trend for the rest of the season.