Road Result Sees Revs II Inch Up The Standings
A strong result away from home sees New England move up to second place in the East.
Thursday saw Richie Williams and New England Revolution II return to action as they traveled to Icahn Stadium in Manhattan to take on ninth-placed New York City FC II.
Williams made two changes from their 2-1 win over Toronto FC II last Friday, which secured the club a spot in the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro Cup Playoffs. Donovan Parisian made his fourth consecutive start in goal behind the backline of Hesron Barry, Gabe Dahlin, Victor Souza, and Damario McIntosh.Cristiano Oliveira, Javaun Mussenden, and Marcos Dias formed the midfield three behind the attacking trio of Gevork Diaarbian, Malcolm Fry, and Liam Butts.
Thursday’s outing was another historic day for Dias. His inclusion in the starting lineup marked his 93rd appearance for the club, which led him to surpass Colby Quiñones to take sole possession as the club’s all-time appearance record holder.
A lucky deflection led to New England capitalizing in the 22nd minute. After breaking down the right flank following a series of passes, McIntosh attempted to send the ball centrally, but it fell right to a New York City defender, who had the ball deflect off his feet. Oliveira was alert as his continued run forward led him onto the loose ball and ended with the 17-year-old drilling a shot to the bottom-left corner and in to give Revolution II a 1-0 lead.
Revolution II’s foot remained on the gas pedal as they found another good chance in the 35th minute. After darting up the right flank, Fry cut inward and sent a ball centrally. After pinballing off a sea of white and navy jerseys, the ball fell to Diarbian inside the box. Despite having his back to goal, the attacker rocketed the ball past Maclean Learned to notch his sixth goal of the season and give New England a 2-0 lead.
New England wasted no time getting things started in the second half. After receiving a pass on the left flank, Dias cut the ball centrally and advanced before curling a shot to the right side of the net that evaded the reach of Learned to triple New England’s lead and to notch the forward’s 10th goal of the season.
New York City was able to draw one back in the 65th minute. After working the ball down the left flank, Camilo Ponce curled a ball centrally to James Bilden. Bilden leapt into the air and headed the ball home from close range to shrink the deficit to two.
Despite the late goal, Revolution II held on to secure their 13th victory of the 2025 season, while extending their winning streak to three and their unbeaten run to seven games.
Thursday’s win in The Big Apple sees New England temporarily move to second place in the East with 51 points. They’ll look for first-placed New York Red Bulls II and third-placed Philadelphia Union II to drop points on Sunday to increase their chances of finishing atop the Eastern Conference table.
Richie Williams and Revolution II will look to keep the momentum when they wrap up a two-game road trip on Sunday when they face 13th-placed FC Cincinnati 2.