New England Revolution II’s unbeaten run to begin the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season came to a heartbreaking end as Red Bull New York II found the game-winning goal in the closing seconds of stoppage time. Here are three thoughts.

1 - Bigger Than Soccer

Regardless of the result, Sunday reminded us that there are bigger things in this world as the club continued to honor the Olivia Knighton Foundation, formed by Revs II Assistant and Goalkeeper Coach Brad Knighton.

The legacy works to honor Olivia’s legacy by light, love, passion, and kindness by supporting causes important to Olivia. In addition to scholarships, the organization has given back to the local community with things like toy drives, rock gardens, and donations to causes like the Taunton/Attleboro Family Resource Center, Attleboro Art Museum, and Coastal Carolina University Sea Turtle Club.

Following Sunday’s match, Head Coach Pablo Moreira emotionally described what the foundation means to the Revolution organization.

“It's a beautiful foundation," he said. "It means so much to us, our staff, the club, Brad, his family, his wife, everyone that set up the foundation. It's just a beautiful thing once you know what it stands for. I was never able to meet Olivia, but the light that she shines every day on Brad, her family, yesterday at Gillette, and today. Our locker room was decked out with the logo. So she means a lot to us. She continues with us and the light that she brings and the family brings. man. no words for it, but a beautiful thing and so, so happy to be a part of it.”

​To learn more about the foundation and how you can show your support, head over to the Olivia Knighton Foundation Website.

2 - Play The Kids 

Thanks to the Revolution’s Open Cup meeting against Rhode Island FC, Pablo Moreira has a few of his regulars unavailable for selection.

With names like Cristiano Oliveira, Malcolm Fry, Donovan Parisian, Eric Klein, Damario McIntosh, Allan Oyirwoth, and Jayden Da with the first team, Moreira had to rely on several young players from the Revolution Academy on Sunday.

Regular Makai Wells found himself at his usual wing position while Sheridan McNish made his first start for the club. Sunday also saw the return of Academy prospect Josh Macedo, who made three appearances with the club last season. It also marked the debut of 15-year-old Logan Azar, whom Moreira “thought deserved the start after his performance at the recent Generation Adidas tournament.

While not having your go-to guys must have been difficult, the net positive of Sunday’s outing was seeing a plethora of young names gain more experience.

3 - Little Lapses

Revolution II’s defensive efforts were solid for most of the night. The only issue is that the few times the Revs II defense lapsed, it cost them dearly.

The first instance came in the first minute of first half stoppage time when goalkeeper Tobias Szewczyk booted a bouncing ball downfield as Roald Mitchell turned on the jets and broke forward past Sheridan McNish and Gabe Dahlin. Once on the ball, Mitchell caught JD Gunn off his line and chipped the ball over the keeper and into the back of the net to give New York the lead.

It came up again in the closing seconds of the game when Sheridan McNish received a highly questionable yellow card following his “foul” on Mijahir Jiménez. Andy Rojas was the one to stand over the ensuing free kick and managed to find the slightest gap in the wall as he rocked the ball through it and into the back of the net to seal the win for Red Bull New York II.

It was disappointing to see two small mistakes lead to the loss, but it’s a key lesson for this young group to learn. Ideally, you don’t want these types of experiences to become a regular, but I believe they’re an absolutely vital part of a player’s development. Hopefully, that learning begins on Saturday when they face Crew 2.