Revolution II vs Toronto FC II: Three Thoughts
Three thoughts following another Revolution II clean sheet!
Friday saw New England Revolution II put up a solid performance in the final game of their early season homestand. Thanks to goals from Marcos Dias, Olger Escobar, and a brace from Liam Butts, Revs II earned a commanding 4-0 win over Toronto FC II.
Here are three thoughts!
1 - Butt’s Bombardment
Friday’s match saw the forward start on the bench after spending the international break with the Guyana National Team. Butts entered the game in the 65th minute as he replaced Damorney Hutchinson.
Butts had an immediate impact on the game as he got on the end of Gevork Diarbian’s blocked shot and drilled the ball into the net to double Revolution II’s lead less than a minute after coming on.
His day wasn’t over.
After Toronto’s keeper came way off his line, Eric Klein booted the ball to the open net. Klein’s rocket of a shot looked poised to bounce into the open net, but Toronto’s defense got back just in time to clear the ball off the line. The clearance fell to the feet of Dias, who slotted it back to Butts. Butts proceeded to put the ball into the open net to score his second goal of the game and extended Revs II’s to four.
I mentioned in one of my preseason pieces, if Butts can stay healthy, he’ll be a nightmare for opposing defenses. Three games into the 2025 season, and Butts already has two goals on the year.
Hopefully, Friday’s outing can boost Butts’ confidence going forward and he can continue putting the ball into the back of the net throughout 2025.
2 - Consecutive Clean Sheets
Three games into the 2025 season and Revolution II have notched three clean sheets. That exceeds the number they achieved over 28 games last season, which was two.
A big factor in Revolution II’s early season success has been everyone’s commitment to defending. Not just the goalkeepers or the backline, but all 11 players on the field. It’s something that Richie Williams has talked about over the past two matches.
Williams highlighted how some of the best teams across the world rely on every player on the field putting the work in on both sides of the ball and three games into the season, it's something Revolution II has done a good job at doing just that.
Let’s hope that’s something we see Revs II continue to do throughout the remainder of the season.
3 - Exciting Times for Escobar
The past two weeks will be ones 18-year-old Olger Escobar will remember for the rest of his life. It started on March 16th when Guatemala prepared for the Concacaf Gold Cup Prelims with a friendly against Honduras.
After coming on before the start of the second half, Escobar left his stamp on the game in the 85th minute when he got on top of a loose ball in the midfield and rocketed a shot that curled into the upper-right corner and in to net his first international goal.
After finding his first goal at the international level, Escobar doubled it up by finding his first goal with Revolution II on Friday,
It started when Dias slotted the ball centrally to Escobar atop the 18-yard box. Escobar shook his defender off with some fancy footwork before lasering a shot at goal that evaded the reach of De Rosario and led Revs II to extend their lead to three.
It’s been an incredible two weeks for Escobar. Hopefully, goals at the club and international level will boost his confidence and lead to offensive production throughout the remainder of the season.