Pablo Moreira and New England Revolution II kicked off a double-game week on Wednesday with a trip down to Fort Lauderdale to square off against last-placed Inter Miami CF II. It was a rough start as Revs II suffered a 4-2 defeat.

Moreira made four changes to the starting lineup from their last outing, where New England suffered a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Philadelphia Union II. Wednesday marked the professional debut of 15-year-old Academy prospect Zach LaPierre, who started in goal behind the backline of Gabe Dahlin, Jake Shannon, Logan Azar, and Aarin Prajapati. Cristiano Oliveira, Levi Katsell, and Javaun Mussenden comprised the midfield behind the attacking trio of Shuma Sasaki, Matthew Jean Baptiste, and Myles Morgan.

Theo Vorenkamp broke down the right flank, evaded the pressure from Azar and Shannon, and cut the ball back to Diego Rey in the 12th minute. Dahlin attempted to scramble over to cover, but Rey beat him to the punch as he lasered a shot goalward, which deflected off the outstretched hand of LaPierre and into the net to give the home side a 1-0 lead.

Things went from bad to worse in the 25th minute when Cesar Abadia-Reda drove down the left flank and to the touchline. After miraculously keeping the ball in play, Abadia-Reda slotted it centrally to Rey, who tapped the ball into the back of the net to give the home side a 2-0 lead.

Revolution II’s night got even worse in the 33rd minute as some give-and-go flicks from Miami led to Diego Rey flicking the ball to Matías Acevedo, who evaded the Revolution II defense and curled the ball into the bottom-left corner to triple Miami’s lead.

Despite the horrid start, New England were not going down without a fight, and that showed in the 43rd minute when Oliveira worked up the right flank and shook off his defender before booming a cross into the box. Morgan leapt over his defender and headed a close-range effort into the back of the net to shrink Revolution II’s deficit to two. Morgan nearly added a second to his tally in stoppage time when he got on the end of a deflected shot and attempted to find the bottom-left corner, but Matias Marin dove down quickly to bat the ball away from danger.

New England’s first change came in the 62nd minute as Shinieder Mimy made his long-anticipated return to the pitch. replacing Katsell.

Mussenden had a golden opportunity to shrink the lead in the 65th minute when he got on the end of a long ball forward from Oliveira and found himself one-on-one with the keeper. Mussenden attempted to curl the ball to the left side of the net, but it curled a hair wide, deflecting off the goalpost and away from danger. Oliveira also had a golden chance in the 65th minute. The Homegrown was at the right place at the right time as a rebounded shot off the keeper fell right to him, but Oliveira was unable to convert on the open chance as it rolled out for a Revs corner kick.

New England kept the fight up, and it prevailed in the 71st minute when a sliding tackle by Mussenden in the middle third sent the ball sailing up the right flank. Jean Baptiste ran onto it, found a pocket of space, and drove at Marin, slipping the ball past the keeper to reduce the deficit to one.

The vibes didn’t last long as Miami capitalized on the restart. A series of passes led to Alejandro Flores slotting the ball back to Idoh Zeltzer-Zubida outside the box, who sent a dribbling shot past LaPierre and in to make it 4-2 Miami.

Another change came in the 80th minute as Josh Macedo replaced Prajapati.

It looked as if New England clawed their way back into the game in the 81st minute when Jean Baptiste got under a deflected shot from Oliveira and headed the ball past Marin and in. Before New England could even celebrate, the goal was waived off as the assistant referee deemed Jean Baptiste offside in the lead-up.

New England’s misfortune continued once again in the first minute of stoppage time when some give-and-go passing led the ball to Oliveira, who attempted to find the left side of the net but put it a hair too wide as it deflected off the goalpost and out.

An incredibly frustrating day at the office saw New England leave Fort Lauderdale empty-handed as Inter Miami CF II secured its second victory of the 2026 campaign after a 4-2 win at home.

Moreira and Revolution II cap off the week with a trip to Icahn Stadium in Manhattan to take on New York City FC II on Saturday.