Richie Williams Discusses Playoff Push
Hear what Williams had to say about Sunday's result and the remainder of the season!
Sunday saw Revolution II come up short after securing a singular point following a 2-2 draw in regulation and a 3-1 shootout loss to Chicago Fire II.
Following the result, Richie Williams had a lot to say about how things unfolded and what comes next for the squad as we inch closer and closer to a potential playoff berth. Here’s what he had to say!
Williams said he thought the team got off to a hot start, but coming up short in the goals department altered the mentality. Disaster struck for Revs II in the 22nd minute when a lucky deflection and poor reaction allowed Charles Nagle to slip through and score the opening goal. Something that Williams called unacceptable.
“Their goal they scored was unacceptable,” Williams said. “A lot of players had the opportunity to make the play. It started on one side of the field where we didn’t close people down. It was like everybody was just dropping off thinking somebody else was going to take care of the problem and make a tackle or a challenge. There was probably seven or eight guys inside the box, and it’s just a really bad goal to give up for me.”
Things only went from bad to worse for Revs II in the 58th minute when head referee Joe Surgan awarded Chicago a rather questionable penalty following contact between Josh Macedo and Vitaliy Hlyut. Williams was irate with the call.
“It’s not a penalty,” he said. “It’s not even close to a penalty, which is a shame because just let the players play. You can’t just have a player fall down in the box and call a penalty. That was disappointing, but I guess there’s really not much you can do about it.”
While having several regulars absent due to injury and international duty, Williams was thrilled to have given several young prospects another opportunity to gain crucial minutes.
With Sunday’s match in the rear-view mirror, Williams and Revs II return their attention to the remainder of the 2025 regular season. With six games left, New England finds itself in fifth place with 42 points on a 10-5-7 record with five shootout victories. Revs II sits nine points above eighth-placed Orlando City B and trails first-placed New York Red Bulls II by the same amount.
WIlliams pointed out the balance of putting up strong results and giving his players learning experiences through the end of the year. He also said his squad needs to be ready to compete in a league where anything can happen.
Williams and Revolution II will look to inch their way up the table when they welcome third-placed Huntsville City FC to Gillette on September 8.