Revolution II vs Toronto FC II: Three Thoughts
Three thoughts following Revolution II's 2-1 win at home over TFC II!
Friday’s outing was nearly perfect for Revolution II. Goals from Damorney Hutchinson and Gevork Diarbian had New England rolling with a 2-0 lead until an error led to Toronto earning a penalty and reducing the deficit to one.
Despite that, New England held on to secure a 2-1 victory. On top of the win, Friday saw Marcos Dias make MLS NEXT Pro history while the club secured a spot in the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro playoffs.
Here are three thoughts!
1 - Marco’s Magnificence
It’s no secret. Marcos Dias has been an absolute game-changer for New England since arriving ahead of the 2022 season. In his four seasons with the club, Dias has tallied a club-record 33 goals and 20 assists over a record-tying 92 appearances.
While Dias has broken numerous club records throughout 2025, Friday saw him break one at the league level. His assist on Gevork Diarbian’s 56th-minute goal marked his 11th assist of the year. A figure that sees him become MLS NEXT Pro’s single-season assist record holder.
This past offseason was a big one for Dias. His contract with the club had expired, and he had the opportunity to join any club in the world. However, he decided to return to New England, which was incredibly huge for the club.
With his contract set to expire again following the 2025 season, the organization should do everything in its power to retain him and hopefully elevate him to the first team.
2 - Penalty Problems
For the fourth time in three games, Revolution II conceded a penalty. Revs II now tie for the fourth-most penalties conceded in MLS NEXT Pro with seven.
Head coach Richie Williams expressed frustration with the mistakes following the match, saying his defense tries to do too much when keeping it simple should be the goal.
“Your job as a defender is to defend, it’s not to try and take the ball down or make a cute pass. If you have to clear it, clear it. I’d say the same today,” Williams said. “We had an opportunity to clear the ball, but tried to head it back to the keeper very close to our goal, and it’s not the right play to do, and we give up the penalty.”
Thankfully, it hasn’t cost Revolution II much, but conceding at this pace is definitely a concerning trend, especially when we’re at the finish line of the regular season and have clinched a playoff spot.
It’s simple. Revs II needs to be smarter when inside their own box going forward and keep it simple. If they don't, it could prove costly.
3 - Playoff Pride
With their 2-1 win, Revolution II are heading back to the playoffs for the second time in the club’s six-year history.
After going through the season that was 2024, it’s refreshing to see things go New England’s way in 2025, and it’s something the team should be incredibly proud of.
While clinching the playoffs is something to celebrate, Revs II have emphasized that the work is far from over. With four games left, the ultimate goal is to climb to the top of the mountain and secure the number one seed entering the postseason.
With three of four remaining games on the road, it will most certainly be a challenge for New England, but the squad is not backing down. Let’s hope they can achieve that goal of obtaining the first seed and have a prolonged run in the playoffs that ends with silverware.