Wednesday saw New England Revolution II return to action when they welcomed Eastern Conference frontrunners Columbus Crew 2 to Beirne Stadium.
Pablo Moreira made four changes from the uncharacteristic 4-0 loss to Philadelphia Union II. Max Weinstein got the start in goal behind the backline of Aarin Prajapati, Gabe Dahlin, Jake Shannon, and Javaun Mussenden. Shuma Sasaki, Logan Azar, Allan Oyirwoth, and Carlos Zambrano formed the midfield quartet. Matthew Jean Baptiste and Myles Morgan formed the attack up top.
Columbus’ Kevin Gbamblé nearly got Crew 2 on the board in the 10th minute when Gbamblé got on the end of a ball from Moses Nyeman and curled along the top of the box before attempting to rocket a shot to the upper half of the net that Weinstein leapt for and caught. Weinstein came up big again in the 13th minute, as an errant corner kick from Columbus led the ball bouncing to Nyeman, who attempted to curl a shot to the upper-right corner that Weinstein again leapt for and caught.
After a few good chances, Columbus found the breakthrough in the 20th minute when they lobbed a ball downfield to Oneal Taylor, who quickly tapped the ball to Gbamblé, who broke past his defender and tapped the ball into the back of the net to give the road side an early advantage.
New England brought the fight in the 33rd minute when a foul on Sasaki just outside the left side of the box led to Revs II earning a free kick. Zambrano stood over the ball and curled it around the one-man wall and directed it to the head of Morgan, who sent a glancing touch goalward and into the back of the net to mark his seventh goal of the season and tie the match at one apiece.
The deadlock didn’t last for long as Columbus Crew 2 rocketed a ball forward into a pocket of space that saw Prince Forfor and Weinstein race toward it as the two made contact just outside of the box. Weinstein took more of the collision as he fell to the pitch as the ball raced goalward. Allan Oyirwoth, with an attacker closing in, attempted to clear the ball off the line, but ended up putting it into his own net as Crew 2 took the 2-1 lead.
Academy prospect Matthew Jean Baptiste nearly found the leveler on the ensuing corner kick when he headed Zambrano’s corner goalward, but had his effort headed onto the goalpost as it reverberated back into play. Jean Baptiste got onto the rebound and attempted to volley it home, but mishit the effort as it sailed wide.
Moreira’s first change came in the 75th minute as Grant Emerhi replaced Sasaki. A pair of changes came in the 85th minute as Chris Mbaï-Assem and Daniel Dixon replaced Carlos Zambrano and Logan Azar. New England’s final change came in the 88th minute as Sharod George replaced Prajapati.
Tempers flared in the second minute of stoppage time after a whistle led to a shoving match between New England and Columbus. Chris Mbaï-Assem and Jamil Danjaji received yellow cards for their involvement in the scuffle. Odds swung in Columbus’ favor in the fifth minute of added time as Chris Mbaï-Assem was deemed to have laid a harsh challenge on Nico Rincón from behind, which resulted in the second-half substitute receiving his marching orders after receiving his second yellow card.
Just as if it looked as if New England would suffer a second-straight defeat, it all changed in the seventh minute of added time when Academy prospect Matthew Jean Baptiste got onto a bouncing ball outside the box, turned, and sprinted at goal before drilling the ball past Pruter and into the net to level the match at two apiece in the closing seconds.
With neither team taking advantage, both sides took a point following the 2-2 draw in regulation and looked for an additional one in the penalty shootout.
Jake Shannon got the shootout started with a right-footed shot centrally that went in to give New England the lead. Brent Adu-Gyamfi answered with a right-footed shot to the upper-right corner and in to level it.
Gbamblé upped the pressure to close out the fourth round as he right-footed a shot to the top left corner. Morgan stepped to the spot, looking to keep New England’s hopes alive. After a short run-up, Morgan attempted to rocket the ball to the upper-right corner, but it reverberated off the corner where the crossbar and post meet as Crew 2 secured the extra point after a 4-3 shootout victory.
Revolution II will look to get back into the win column on Thursday, July 23, when the club takes the field at Gillette Stadium for the first time in 2026, when they host New York City FC II at 11:00 AM.
