Friday saw Pablo Moreira and New England Revolution II looking to snap a four-game skid and pick up some crucial points ahead of the playoffs when they paid a visit to Truist Point to square off against Carolina Core FC.

Moreira made three changes from August 30th’s 4-1 loss to Huntsville. Max Weinstein got the start in goal behind the back three of Gabe Dahlin, Jake Shannon, and Damario McIntosh. Makai Wells, Javaun Mussenden, Logan Azar, Cristiano Oliviera, and Judah Siqueira formed the midfield behind the attacking pair of Myles Morgan and Marcos Zambrano.

New England’s offense got rolling in the 11th minute as Siqueira received a back pass in the middle third of the pitch and beamed a high-arching ball into the box, where it found Morgan. The forward leapt over his defender and flicked a header goalward past the reach of Nolan Anderson to give New England the lead. Celebrations did not last long as head referee Stefan Perri called the goal off after the assistant referee deemed Morgan offside, which scratched the record-setting goal off Morgan’s resume.

Weinstein came up big in the 15th minute, stretching his arms wide to bat Andrew Czech's attempt from a tight angle, keeping the game scoreless.

Morgan nearly set the Revolution II single-season scoring record in the 28th minute after a low cross from Oliveira on the right flank evaded Anderson’s reach and fell to him. The forward attempted the left-footed flick, but got under it as the ball smashed off the underside of the crossbar and back into play before Carolina cleared it away from danger.

Despite some good chances from both sides, neither broke the deadlock in the opening 45 minutes.

Moreira’s first change came in the 61st minute when Jared Smith replaced Damario McIntosh. It marked Smith’s first appearance since June 5. Another change came New England’s way in the 71st minute as Shuma Sasaki came on for Makai Wells.

Soon after, Thomas Raimbault’s pass into the box pinballed off several defenders and rolled into a pocket of space. Bryce Swinehart was alert as he got onto the ball and drilled it past Weinstein to give the home side a 1-0 lead.

Two more changes came in the 78th minute as Academy prospects Matthew Jean Baptiste and Aarin Prajapati replaced Azar and Oliveira.

Dahlin came close to finding the equalizer in the 78th minute when he got under Siqueira’s free kick, but could not accurately strike it as the ball bounced off the turf and into the hands of Nolan Anderson.

After numerous chances, New England found the breakthrough in the 83rd minute. Zambrano stood over the ball after being fouled by Nolan Evers and proceeded to smash it into the upper-right corner of the net to level the match at one apiece.

New England stayed hungry, and it paid off in the 87th minute when a series of passes led to Javaun Mussenden slotting the ball to Zambrano with his back to goal. Zambrano shielded off the defender, turned toward goal, and rocketed a shot past Anderson to give New England a well-deserved 2-1 lead in the closing minutes of the match.

Just as it looked as if New England would hold the home side off to secure three points and snap a four-game winless streak, disaster struck in stoppage time. It started with Ricks Ford lobbing a ball into the box that found Charles Orbaugh. Orbaugh leapt into the air and headed the ball into a pocket of space inside the box. Seth Hammond was alert as he darted between Shannon and Dahlin to volley the loose ball past Weinstein and into the net, leveling the match at two apiece.

Both sides split the points and headed to a penalty shootout to determine who would walk away with the extra point.

Ryan Baer was first for Carolina and delivered a right-footed shot to the lower-right corner to give the home side the advantage. After scoring two goals in regulation, Marcos Zambrano was first for New England as he looked to find the upper half of the net, but he put too much on it as it deflected off the crossbar and over the goal.

Javaun Mussenden stepped to the spot in the third round, needing a goal to keep New England alive. The U.S. Youth international converted a shot right down the middle to make it 3-1.

Academy prospect Matthew Ricks Ford stepped to the spot in the fifth round looking to seal the extra point. He did so with a left-footed shot to the lower-left corner to secure the home side a 4-2 shootout victory.

At this stage, a point is a point, but it’s not the result Revolution II needed to create some breathing room in the standings and keep their playoff hopes alive.

Moreira and Revolution II will look for their first win since August 9 when they travel to Historic Crew Stadium to take on Columbus Crew 2 on September 13 at 6:00 PM ET.