Revs II Recap: Revolution II 1 - Philadelphia Union II 2
Revs II Recap: Revolution II 1 - Philadelphia Union II 2
Two mistakes lead to Revs II falling short in their season opener on the road.
The Richie Williams era began for Revolution II Sunday afternoon as the club kicked off their 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season on the road against Eastern Conference rivals Philadelphia Union II
Williams rolled out a 4-3-3 formation in his debut. Max Weinstein started in goal behind the backline of Collin Smith, Hesron Barry, Victor Souza, and Damario McIntosh. Captain Maciel, Marcos Dias, and Patrick Leal formed the midfield trio, while Cristiano Oliveira, Andrej Bjelajac, and Alex Monis provided the attack.
Weinstein was put to work early as the 19-year-old came up huge to make a save on a close-range shot from Edward Diaz in the seventh minute.
It only took nine minutes for Revolution II to find their first goal of the season. After getting the ball on the left flank, Smith cut the ball forward to Maciel, who turned and whipped a cross centrally.
Monis — who had a pocket of space — got a touch onto the ball to evade pressure and proceeded to drill the ball past Mike Sheridan to give Revolution II a 1-0 lead.
Leal’s free kick in the 28th minute nearly led Revs II to double their lead. The former Venezia man lobbed his ball into the box with pace, where it proceeded to pinball off two Union II defenders. Sheridan pounced onto the loose ball before Revs II could capitalize.
The lead didnt last long as a ball from Uinon II ricocheted off Barry’s shoulder and into the net in the 33rd minute as an unfortunate own goal made things level in Chester.
Williams made two changes in the 57th minute as Malcolm Fry and Gevork Diarbian replaced Bejlajac and Oliveira. The sub marked former Providence College and Vermont Green man his Revolution II debut.
Diarbian nearly helped put Revolution II ahead in the 66th minute as he drove down the left flank and crossed a ball inward to Dias. The Brazilian looked to slot the ball home, but Mike Sheridan was there to make the save for Union II.
Two more changes came for Revolution II in the 67th minute as first-teamer Joshua Bolma and Olger Escobar came on for Dias and Monis. Their final change of the match came in the 75th when Eric Klein came on for Barry.
After receiving a backpass in the 80th minute, Bolma slipped in the midfield as Cavan Sullivan cleaned up the loose ball and sprang it forward to Sal Olivias. Despite pressure from Souza, Olivias ripped a shot from distance that curled to the bottom-left corner and past an outstretched Weinstein to put Union II ahead 2-1 in the closing minutes.
Souza entered the book in the 90th minute after receiving a yellow card for using his hand in what looked to be a game-leveling goal for Revolution II. Unfortunately, Souza couldn't pull one over on head referee Olvin Oliva as Revs II still trailed entering stoppage time.
Despite trying their best to claw back into the game, Philadelphia Union II withstood the pressure and secured the 2-1 win. The 2-1 loss for Revolution II marks their first loss on opening day in the club’s five-year history.
Williams and Revolution II will look to fine-tune some things and secure their first three points of the season on Easter Sunday, as they welcome MLS NEXT Pro newcomers Carolina Core FC inside Gillette Stadium at 3:00 PM ET on MLS Season Pass.