Revs II Ride Roughshod Over Union II
Monday's matinee sees a dominant Revs II side ascend to the top of the table!
New England Revolution II returned to action on Monday as they hosted Philadelphia Union 2.
Revs II entered Monday’s match on a hot streak as they opened the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro with two consecutive wins over Atlanta United II and NYCFC II.
There were three changes to the starting lineup from Revs II’s victory over NYCFC II on April 2nd. Nico Campuzano was in net as 15-year-old Peyton Miller made his third consecutive start at left-back. Pierre Cayet, Victor Souza, and Jacob Akanyirige joined Miller on the backline. First-teamers Jack Panayotou, Joshua Bolma, and Esmir Bajraktarević comprised the midfield, while Damian Rivera, Jordan Adebayo-Smith, and Malcolm Fry provided the attack.
Union II earned a penalty kick in the 9th minute after Bolma tripped Nelson Pierre inside the box. Stefan Stojanovic stepped up to the spot as Campuzano prepared to face his second penalty kick of the young season. Stojanovic slotted the ball to the bottom left corner as Campuzano dove in the opposite direction.
A good sequence of passing by Revs II came in the 21st minute as Miller drove the ball down the left flank to Rivera, who turned and advanced towards goal.
Rivera outran his defender, who went down to the pitch. Philadelphia’s defense attempted to recover, but Rivera was able to slot the ball into the net.
With an intelligent ball in the 29th minute, Akanyirige sent a spot-on through ball to Adebayo-Smith, who got onto it and slotted the ball past Brooks Thompson to give Revs II a 2-1 lead.
There was another great display of passing in the 50th minute as Campuzano lobbed a ball forward to Adebayo-Smith, who quickly got the ball to Bajraktarević. Bajraktarević sent a speedy shot from yards beyond the box that trickled through the defense and past the keeper to give Revs II a commanding 3-1 lead early in the second half.
Academy product Fry got in on the scoring action in the 54th minute as he collected Rivera’s pass and drove down the right flank. After some flashy footwork, Fry got around two defenders and struck a shot to the top left corner to give Revs II a 4-1 lead.
A triple substitution for Revs II came in the 62nd minute as Marcos Dias, Jake Rozhansky, and Weverton replaced Fry, Bolma, and Adebayo-Smith. One more substitution came in the 71st minute as Nakye Greenidge-Duncan came on for Rivera. Revs II’s final change came in the 84th minute as Brandonn Bueno came on for Panayotou.
Bueno was the definition of an impact sub, as he drew a penalty for Revolution II in the 88th minute. Bueno stepped up to the spot and slotted the ball into the bottom right corner to give Revs II a 5-1 lead.
It was a dominant performance for Revs II as they claimed the 5-1 victory at home. Monday’s win was a first for Revs II as it was the first time Revs II had five different goal scorers. It was also the first time Revs II had scored five goals in a regular-season competition.
Monday’s win propelled Revolution II to the top of the Eastern Conference, as they have nine points on a 3-0-0 record with a +6 goal differential.
Revs II will look to extend their winning streak to four games on Sunday, April 16th, as they travel to Historic Crew Stadium to take on reigning MLS NEXT Pro champions Columbus Crew II at 1 PM ET on MLS Season Pass.
So are we that good? Or are other teams just worse?