Revs II Preview: 9/29 @ New York Red Bulls II

Can Revs II avoid going winless on the road in 2024?

Photo Courtesy of New England Revolution II

Richie Williams and New England Revolution II hit the road looking to avoid making history in all the wrong ways while simultaneously searching for an elusive three points. Catch up on everything you need to know ahead of Sunday’s match.

Date: Sunday, September 29th

Opponent: New York Red Bulls II

Time: 5:00 PM ET

Venue: MSU Soccer Park, Montclair, New Jersey

Broadcast: mlsnextpro.com

Weather: Sunday evening looks to be a nice night. Temps will start in the high 60s come kickoff before slowly lowering into the mid 60s throughout the evening. Wind won’t be a factor as gusts max at seven miles per hour. Despite some clouds, things will remain dry throughout the evening.

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New England Revolution II:

Bleak feels like an understatement for how rough things have been for Revolution II lately. The club enters their final road game amidst a staggering 13-game winless streak. 

Their ongoing winless streak sees them on the verge of making some not-so-good MLS NEXT Pro history. A draw or loss against NYRB II would see them tie Vancouver Whitecaps 2 for the longest winless streak in a single season. 

A loss or draw would also see New England Revolution II become the second team in league history to end a season without a win away from home. Real Monarchs became the first in 2022 when they finished the year with a 0-9-3 record on the road. 

As the records above show, Revolution II have been horrific on the road in 2024. They come into Sunday with a 0-12-1 record with a -17 goal differential.

Things have been unimaginably bad for Revolution II on the road in 2024, thankfully for them, Sunday is their last one in 2024. Let’s hope they can wrap it up on a high note.

While the season has been full of negatives, there are some glimmers of light going into the match.

Marcos Dias, who has nine goals on the year, will look to become the second player in club history to notch double-digit goals in a season. Current Minnesota United forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith became the first to achieve that milestone when he netted 12 goals in his lone season with Revolution II in 2023.

16-year-old Academy midfielder Cristian Oliveira will look to make a fourth consecutive start. Since signing an Amateur Agreement deal with Revs II in the offseason, the Somerville native has clocked 383 minutes over his eight appearances in 2024.

Recent signee Eric Klein will look to add to his club-leading 1,951 minutes. 49 or minutes on Sunday would see Klein eclipse the 2,000-minute mark. Klein would join Justin Rennicks (2021 - 2,139), Damian Rivera (2021 - 2,093), Ryan Spaulding (2021 - 2,333), Jordan Adebayo-Smith (2023 - 2,104), Pierre Cayet (2023 - 2,429), and Victor Souza (2023 - 2,448) as the only players to eclipse the 2,000-minute mark in a single season.

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New York Red Bulls II:

While Revolution II’s season has been dead in the water for several weeks, they can spoil NYRB II’s playoff hopes.

Ibrahim Sekagya and his New York Red Bulls II side come into Sunday’s match on the outside looking in as they sit in 11th place with 36 points on a 9-12-5 record with four shootout victories. With everybody above them sitting with 40 points, Sunday could make or break their playoff hopes. A win plus results across the league could set up their chance to clinch on Decision Day, while an upset win from Revolution II would eliminate them from playoff contention.

Like Revs II, Red Bulls II recently experienced a winless streak that saw them 0-4-1 in a five-game stretch. Unlike Revs II, NYRB II snapped their streak in their most recent outing which saw them secure a 2-0 shutout victory over Toronto FC II on September 22nd.

New York Red Bulls come into Sunday’s game ranking fourth in goals per match (2.0), tied for second-most goals conceded per match (2.3), tied for 12th in shots on target per match (5.1), first in big chances (84), first in big chances missed (49), second in penalties awarded (9), fourth in touches in opposition box (711), first in successful tackles per match (14.8), second in possession won in final third per match (7.8), first in fouls per match (15.5), and are tied for second in yellow cards (71).

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Previous Meetings:

It’s been dead even historically as both Revolution II and Red Bulls II hold a 2-2-1 record against one another in the first five meetings.

The first came on April 21, 2023, where Oladayo Thomas’ 76th-minute penalty kick was the deciding factor as NYRB walked away with a 1-0 victory.

June 14, 2023, saw another Revs II defeat as goals from Julian Hall, Oladayo Thomas, Ronald Donkor, and Ibrahim Kasule plus a goal from Jack Panayotou led to Red Bulls II securing a 4-1 victory.

Things have gone in Revolution II’s favor ever since, as they’ve been undefeated in the past three meetings since.

Goals from Jordan Adebayo-Smith and O’Vonte Mullings could not separate both sides on August 6th, 2023, as the match ended in a 1-1 draw. Revs II failed to pick up the extra point as Red Bulls II won the shootout 4-3.

The most pivotal meeting between both sides occurred on October 6, 2023, when they met in the Eastern Conference Semifinal. Thanks to goals from Malcolm Fry and Victor Souza, Revs II punched their ticket to the Eastern Conference Final following a 2-1 victory.

Their first meeting of 2024 came on June 14 when a 40th-minute golazo from Maciel propelled Revolution II to a 1-0 win and their most recent victory.