Sunday saw Pablo Moreira and New England Revolution II return to action as they traveled to MSU Soccer Park in Montclair, New Jersey, to go toe-to-toe with reigning MLS NEXT Pro Cup Champions Red Bull New York II.
Moreira made three changes from last week’s 2-2 draw and 4-1 shootout loss to FC Cincinnati 2. Donovan Parisian returned between the pipes behind the backline of Makai Wells, Jake Shannon, Joe Buck, and Gabe Dahlin. Carlos Zambrano, Judah Siqueira, Logan Azar, and Cristiano Oliveira formed the midfield. Myles Morgan sat higher up in the midfield behind the lone attacker in Matthew Jean Baptiste.
Joe Buck became the first player to enter the referee’s book as he received a yellow card in the 13th minute after tripping Dennis Nelich just outside the box. Red Bull New York II’s Nate Worth found himself in the book in the 18th minute after receiving a yellow card for his challenge on Myles Morgan.
New England took full advantage on the ensuing free kick as it started with tapping the ball up to Zambrano, who turned and slotted a ball down the left flank and into the path of an advancing Oliveira. Oliveira curled the ball centrally to Jean Baptiste who flicked it into the back of the net.
Major concern arose in the 20th minute as Dennis Nelich took a chunk out of Buck’s plant leg, which forced the defender to the ground in a heap of pain. After a few minutes of on-field treatment, Buck’s day came to an end as Aarin Prajapati replaced him in the 23rd minute.
A poor mistake in their opponent’s defensive half led to New England upping the pressure in the 28th minute. It all began with a downfield clearance that had Aimar Sánchez staring into the sky as he tried to track it down. Sánchez couldn’t do so as he slipped after the ball fell to him.
He attempted to recover the ball, but failed to do so before Morgan ran onto the loose ball and darted goalward before slotting the ball past Tobias Szewczyk and into the left side of the goal to notch his eighth of the season and give New England the 2-0 lead.
New England wasted no time upping the pressure further at the start of the second half. It all began with Oliveira pushing down the left flank before curling a ball perfectly to Jean Baptiste. The Academy prospect attempted to find his second goal of the evening, but Szewczyk made himself wide enough to deflect the short-range effort away. Red Bull II’s Joshua Munson attempted to clear the ball away, but failed to do so as Siqueira stripped the ball away and drilled it past Szewczyk and into the net to notch his second goal of the season and give Revs II a 3-0 lead on the road.
Donovan Parisian came up big in the 47th minute when he saved Nate Worth’s close-range effort to keep the clean sheet and donut aspirations alive.
New England didn’t let their foot off the gas, and it showed again in the 49th minute when Morgan got on the end of Jean Baptiste’s headed ball forward and pushed toward goal. Morgan eventually pulled up from the top of the box and curled a shot over the reach of Szewczyk that dipped perfectly to the top-right corner and in to notch his ninth goal of the year and give Revolution II the commanding 4-0 lead.
Gabe Dahlin saw his name enter the book in the 52nd minute after receiving a yellow card for his foul on Andy Rojas. Rojas then found his name etched into the book in the 56th minute following his challenge on Jake Shannon.
Tempers flared in the 59th minute after Andy Rojas laid in a harsh shoulder tackle on Dahlin that sent the defender flying. Several white shirts from New England raced over alongside the head referee. After a few shoves and choice words, Rojas headed off to the locker room early after earning his second yellow card and sent RBNY II down to 10 players for the remainder of the match.
Two more changes came in the 63rd minute as Sharod George and Josh Macedo replaced Jean Baptiste and Wells. Macedo nearly made it 5-0 in the 74th minute when he received a square pass from George and attempted to boot it into the top-right corner, but put it a tad too high.
Siqueira saw yellow in the 78th minute after pulling back an advancing Juan Mina.
Moreira’s final two changes came in the 78th minute as Daniel Dixon and Levi Katsell replaced Zambrano and Morgan.
The tide shifted ever so slightly in the 79th minute when substitute Jason Bori leapt into the air and headed Omar Valencia’s cross into the back of the net to shrink New England’s deficit to three goals.
Substitute Levi Katsell’s tenure didn’t last long as a late challange with his studs up tackle on Sekou Kone led to the referee issuing the Academy prospect a straight red card to make it 10 versus 10 for the closing minutes of the match.
A solid night at the office sees Revolution II return home with all three points after securing their first road victory over Red Bull New York II. Revs II now find themselves tied for third place alongside Crew 2 with 39 points on a 10-4-6 record with three shootout victories.
Revolution II will look to inch up the standings when they return to action next Sunday, traveling to Reese Stadium to face regional rival CT United FC.
