Friday saw Pablo Moreira and Revolution II return to action as they traveled to the Sportsplex at Matthews to take on Eastern Conference front-runners Crown Legacy FC.
With the first team playing up the road in Charlotte the next day, Moreira was forced to make four changes from the lineup that secured a 1-0 win over Orlando City B on May 17th.
Donovan Parisian got the start in goal behind the backline of Jared Smith, Gabe Dahlin, Jake Shannon, and Damario McIntosh. Judah Siqueira, Allan Oyirwoth, Javaun Mussenden, and Carlos Zambrano formed the midfield behind the attacking duo of Jayden Da and Myles Morgan.
Momentum swung New England’s way in the 15th minute when a free kick opportunity at midfield led to Carlos Zambrano lobbing the ball into the box. That forced a Crown Legacy defender to attempt a headed clearance that fell right to Shannon. The defender got on the end of the ball and drilled it past Isaac Walker and into the net to notch his second professional goal while giving New England an early 1-0 lead.
New England had the chance to find a second goal in the 26th minute when a poor restart at midfield led to Crown Legacy tapping a ball that Da easily ran onto. The striker sent a dribbling shot goalward in an attempt to catch the keeper off guard, but Isaac Walker recovered in time and dove onto the attempted shot.
In typical fashion, Crown Legacy was not going down without a fight, and it paid off for them in the 30th minute when a corner kick opportunity led to the ball bouncing around inside the box before it deflected off Ashton Kamden and into the goal to level the match at one apiece.
One of the overall themes of this Revolution II side is resilience, and it’s something that came up immediately following Crown Legacy’s equalizer. It began with Zambrano maneuvering around on the right side of the box before sending a cross centrally that evaded the reach of Da and a Crown Legacy defender before falling to Morgan, who volleyed a shot past Walker and in to give New England the lead.
Moreira’s first change of the game came before the start of the second half as Academy prospect Aarin Prajapati replaced Damario McIntosh.
Momentum swung once again less than a minute into the second half as Oyirwoth caught Emmanuel Uchegbu’s ankle with his studs up, which resulted in head referee Elvis Osmanovic reaching into his pocket and brandishing a straight red card, sending Revolution II down to 10 players for the remainder of the match.
Da’s night came to an end in the 67th minute as he went down with what appeared to be a lower-body impairment. After receiving some on-field treatment, Da made his way off as he was replaced by Sharod George in the 70th minute.
After some good attempts. Crown Legacy clawed their way back into the game once again in the 76th minute as a free kick from Nathan Richmond found the head of Andrew Johnson, who headed the ball toward goal. Parisian got an arm to the strike, but it wasn’t enough as it crossed the line, as the game was tied at two apiece.
Another change came in the 80th minute as Academy prospect Josh Macedo replaced Morgan. New England’s final change of the night came in the 83rd minute as Revolution Academy prospect Logan Azar replaced Zambrano.
With neither side gaining the advantage, the match ended in a 2-2 draw, meaning both sides took a point as we headed to a penalty shootout to see who would take home the additional point up for grabs.
Goalscorer Jake Shannon got things started as he looked to get the shootout started on a high note. The Apex, North Carolina native converted with a right-footed shot to the right side of the net that evaded a diving Walker. Crown Legacy’s Erik Pena was next, and he converted with a right-footed shot to the left side of the net that evaded a diving Parisian to level the shootout.
Academy prospect Aarin Prajapati was next for Revs II, and he came up big with a shot down the middle to regain the lead. After finding the leveler, Andrew Johnosn came up big for Crown Legacy as he converted in the second round to make the shootout level.
Javaun Mussenden was next for New England, and he converted with a stutter-step penalty down the middle. After assisting on both goals, Nathan Richmond helped Crown Legacy again when he rocketed a shot to the upper-left corner.
Sharod George looked to make his impact on the match when he stepped to the spot. The 6’5” forward did so when he lobbed a shot over a diving Walker to give Revs II the lead. Adrian Mendoza was next for Crown Legacy and attempted to send a shot to the left side of the net, but Parisian read it all the way as he batted it down to swing momentum New England’s way.
Goalscorer Myles Morgan looked to find the back of the net again to seal the win for New England. Morgan attempted to send it to the left side of the net, but Isaac Walker batted it away. Some concern arose following the attempt, as Crown Legacy goalkeeper Isaac Walker appeared to be in some pain after a harsh landing. After receiving some treatment, Walker was able to continue.
Daniel Longo was next for Crown Legacy as he needed to convert to keep his side alive. Longo lasered a shot to the upper-right corner, but it wasn’t enough as Donovan Parisian jetted his arm up and ricocheted the shot up into the night sky and away from danger as New England Revolution II sealed two points following a 4-3 shootout victory.
Revolution II get a bit of a break, but they’ll look to keep their unbeaten run of five matches alive when they return to action on June 7th, traveling to NKU Soccer Park to take on FC Cincinnati 2.
