Revolution II's Winless Run Stretches to Three Following Disappointing Result on Road
Things fell apart for Revs II as they only walk away with one point.
Richie Williams and New England Revolution II kicked off a double game week Thursday evening when they traveled down I-95 to Chester, Pennsylvania, to take on Philadelphia Union II.
Williams only made one change from June 15th’s loss to FC Cincinnati 2. Max Weinstein made his fourth-straight start in goal behind the backline of Hesron Barry, Victor Souza, Gabe Dahlin, and Damario McIntosh. Cristiano Oliveira, Marcos Dias, and Javaun Mussenden were the three in the midfield behind the attacking trio of Gevork Diarbian, Liam Butts, and Michael Tsicoulias.
Dias etched his name into the New England Revolution history book in the eighth minute as he became the club’s all-time leader in minutes played. Former defender Pierre Cayet held the record up to that point with 6,221 minutes.
One strength of Revolution II this season has been their ability to counterattack. It’s something they showed in the 26th minute. After regaining possession, Diarbian got a hold of the ball and pushed up the left flank. The forward curled it centrally to an open Marcos Dias, who tapped it home to net his 28th goal for the club.
Another good build-up nearly led Revs II to find another goal in the 34th minute. After breaking down the right flank, McIntosh cut inward and sent a pass forward to Butts who attempted to find the net, but a Philadelphia defender deflected the shot out for a corner.
Halftime lasted a bit longer than expected as thunderstorms rolling through the area put the game into a weather delay during the break. Williams made one change before the start of the second half as Joe Buck replaced Michael Tsicoulias.
The 56th minute saw excellence from Academy prospect Javaun Mussenden. After receiving a pass from Dias, Mussenden pushed forward and doubled New England’s lead.
Philadelphia wasn’t going down without a fight as Gio Sequera got on the end of Hesron Barry’s headed clearance and executed an incredible back pass to Cavan Sullivan. The future Man City player cut centrally before drilling a shot to the bottom-right corner and in to cut their deficit in half.
Buck entered the referee’s book in the 67th minute as he was issued a yellow card following a foul on Gio Sequera. Things went from bad to worse on the ensuing free kick as Sullivan’s free-kick deflected off Sal Olivas and ricocheted into the path of Rafael Uzcátegui, who deflected it off his torso and in to level the match at two apiece.
Neither side regained the advantage as things ended in a 2-2 draw at the end of regulation. Both sides took home the point and looked to take home the additional point with a shootout victory.
Nick Parlano stepped up first for Philadelphia and delivered after his shot to the right side of the net dinked off the post and in.
Marcos Dias was first for New England and leveled it when he sent a shot to the bottom-right corner. Eli Ackerman came up short in the bottom of the seventh round as his shot to the right was saved by Holbrook.
Despite being up 2-0 at one point, Thursday saw Revs II only walk away with the point following the 2-2 draw and 7-6 shootout defeat. A result that sees them sit in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Revolution II will look to shake off the result when they return home on Sunday to host Huntsville City FC at 3:00 PM ET.