Three Thoughts: Revolution II vs Philadelphia Union II
Three thoughts following Revolution II's successful road outing!
Sunday saw New England keep its undefeated streak alive when it paid a visit to Subaru Park to face Philadelphia Union II. Here are three thoughts.
1 - Butts’ Brawn
Sunday saw another great display from Liam Butts. The forward found his 10th and 11th goals of the season to help guide New England to a 3-1 victory. A performance that saw Butts secure MLS NEXT Pro Player of the Matchweek for Matchweek 24.
Butts’ outing saw him become the second player in club history to reach double-digit goals on the season and now trails Jordan Adebayo-Smith for the most goals in a season by one.
Despite having several injury spells throughout his debut season, he has remained strong and continued to be a consistent contributor. Since arriving in 2024, he’s amassed 16 goals in just 30 appearances.
There’s no denying how big an impact Butts has had since his arrival. Let’s hope that trend continues throughout 2025 and into the playoffs!
2 - JD’s Return
Sunday saw goalkeeper JD Gunn make his first appearance in net since July 13, and it was a good one.
Despite allowing one goal, Gunn made three crucial saves that led New England to a 3-1 defeat over a strong Philadelphia Union II side.
While having 2025 SuperDraft pick Donovan Parisian get a crucial run of good performances was important, it was nice to see JD Gunn return between the pipes and mark his return with a solid performance and three points. Let’s hope that’s a trend we see through the remaining seven matches.
3 - Fine Finishing
Richie Williams has highlighted it at times throughout the season, but something this Revolution II squad has struggled with at times is generating off the incredible chances they create.
Despite that being an issue throughout 2025, Sunday’s outing saw Revs II avoid that mistake. They generated three big chances, and as you can tell by the scoreline, converted all of them.
The gap between big chances created (56) and missed (29) isn’t massive, but I wonder how much higher Revs II would be if they were able to convert some of those misses.
With seven games left, Revs II find themselves tied for fourth place with 41 points and trail first-place NYRB II by just seven. Now more than ever, Revs II need to make the most out of their chances if they want to have the “pick your opponent” advantage come the playoffs.