Revolution II vs Toronto FC II: Three Thoughts
Three thoughts following Sunday's meeting with Toronto.
Sunday was another wild outing for Richie Williams and Revolution II. After falling behind early, a trio of goals had Revs II rolling. Despite having the 3-1 lead, a pair of goals in the closing 30 minutes led to New England and Toronto splitting points.
If the 90 minutes weren’t thrilling enough, both sides amped the intensity in the shootout as it went an extensive 12 rounds. Thanks to the work of JD Gunn and the penalty takers, Revolution II salvaged another point on the day, thanks to a 9-8 shootout victory.
It wasn’t the prettiest outing, but two points are two points. Here are three thoughts.
1 - Early Errors
For the second time in three games, Revolution II has started the game flat-footed.
The 2-2 draw against Columbus Crew 2 on April 23 got off to a horrific start when a free kick opportunity just outside the box led to Chris Rogers finding the net just 42 seconds into the match. We saw that unreadiness again against Toronto on Sunday when Marko Stojadinovic gave TFC II a 1-0 lead five minutes into the match.
Conceding early was one of the numerous issues last year. 2024 saw Revs II concede in the opening 10 minutes on four occasions. All four times led Revolution II to dropping points.
Hopefully, this is a habit Revs II can cut going forward.
2 - Yielding Youth
Since taking over the helm of Revolution II, Head Coach Richie Williams has repeatedly emphasized the importance of youth development.
We got a ton of it on Sunday thanks to the first team’s preparations for the U.S. Open Cup.
With regulars like Eric Klein, Allan Oyirwoth, Alex Monis, and Damario McIntosh absent, Richie Williams turned to the Revolution Academy to give some prospects a valuable experience.
Grant Emerhi and Javaun Mussenden made their seventh appearance for Revolution II as Williams featured them in the starting lineup.
While Hesron Barry’s departure 11 minutes into the game was a tough blow, it led Academy prospect Eli Ackerman to make his professional debut. Ackerman had a decent outing, but fatigue caught up to the 17-year-old as his day ended in the 84th minute.
Ackerman wasn’t the lone debutant. The 66th minute saw Ivan Villalobos Lopes come on. Despite the short run, Villalobos Lopes had a decent outing that saw him keep Revs II’s hopes alive when he found the net in the ninth round of the penalty shootout.
Sunday’s match also saw Judah Siqueira enter in the 76th minute. Like Villalobos Lopes, Siqueira had a decent outing in regular time and kept Revs II alive when he found the net in the seventh round of the penalty shootout.
While Richie Williams would have liked to have his regulars around, tapping into the Revolution’s youth pipeline on Sunday was a pleasant sight. Let’s hope we see more of the younger prospects continue to get experience throughout the season.
3 - Butts Strikes Again
While having a 3-1 lead and the potential for their first road win since 2023 slip from their grasp was a massive disappointment, one of the redeeming things about the match was seeing Liam Butts extend his goal-scoring streak to three.
With his 15th-minute strike, Butts increased his goal scoring tally to five on the year, which matches his 2025 tally and has him tied for the third-most goals in MLS NEXT Pro.
While five goals in 11 appearances in 2024 was a solid stat line, last season was tremendously difficult for the forward as three separate injury spells prevented Butts from being a consistent presence for most of the season. Seeing him start 2025 healthy while being a major contributor to the Revs II offense has been tremendous.
Let’s hope that streak extends to four games on May 18 when Revolution II faces New York Red Bulls II.