MLS NEXT Pro New England Revolution II

Revolution II Defeat Crown Legacy FC, 3-1

Published on July 12, 2023 under MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
New England Revolution II News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - New England Revolution II (10-5-4; 38 pts.) defeated first-place Crown Legacy FC (12-2-4; 41 pts.), 3-1, on Wednesday morning at Gillette Stadium. With the victory, New England closes the gap to three points behind Crown Legacy FC in the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference standings. With its 10th victory of the 2023 campaign, New England becomes one of five teams in MLS NEXT Pro with double-digit victories this season. Homegrown Player Peyton Miller netted his second goal of the season to highlight the attack, while Marcos Dias and Jordan Adebayo-Smith also scored for Revolution II. Goalkeeper Jacob Jackson collected his fourth victory in his eighth start of the 2023 season.

Dias opened the scoring for Revolution II with a 21st-minute strike on forward Malcolm Fry's assist. Fry, a native of Groton, Mass., started the play with a cross to Dias after a Crown Legacy turnover. Dias struck the ball home for his sixth tally of the season, matching the 21-year-old Brazilian's career-high mark with Revolution II to give New England a 1-0 lead at halftime.

In the second half, New England leaned on the team's top scorer, Adebayo-Smith, to pad the lead. Adebayo-Smith registered his eighth goal of the season, two behind the MLS NEXT Pro lead, on a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner. The 22-year-old striker continues his strong stretch of play with four goals and three assists over his last seven appearances. Miller sealed the scoring in the 69th minute, converting on Academy forward Olger Escobar's first professional assist. Escobar, a 16-year-old from Malden, Mass., will represent New England in the MLS NEXT Pro All-Star game in Annapolis, Maryland next Wednesday, July 19.

Miller has now scored in each of his last two appearances for Revolution II after netting his first professional goal last Sunday in a 2-0 victory over Inter Miami II. The 15-year-old Unionville, Conn. native was one of six Academy products to feature in today's match, along with Escobar, Fry, Colby Quiñones, Brandonn Bueno and Eric Klein, who made his professional debut with an appearance off the bench in the victory. Klein, a 16-year-old midfielder, is the 29th Academy player make their professional debut with Revolution II.

New England now embarks on a two-week break before resuming its MLS NEXT Pro campaign. Revolution II returns to action on Sunday, July 30, when the team visits Chicago Fire II for the second and final meetings between the two sides this season. The match kicks off at 6:00 p.m. ET from SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois, and streams live on MLSNEXTPro.com.

New England Revolution II 3, Crown Legacy FC 1

July 12, 2023 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

Revolution II earned their 10th victory of the 2023 season and closed the gap to three points behind first-place Crown Legacy FC in the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference standings.

Homegrown midfielder/defender Peyton Miller tallied his second goal of the season, New England's final goal of the match, to seal the 3-0 victory. Miller has now scored in consecutive games after netting his first professional goal in last Sunday's 2-0 win over Inter Miami II.

Academy forward Olger Escobar recorded his first professional assist on Miller's goal. Escobar, who will play in next week's MLS NEXT All-Star game, registered his sixth appearance with Revolution II this season.

Forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith extended his team lead in goals scored to eight with the game-winning shot in the 52nd minute and is now just two goals shy of the MLS NEXT Pro lead.

Forward Marcos Dias tallied his sixth goal of the season to match his single-season career high with Revolution II.

With today's win, goalkeeper Jacob Jackson, selected in the first round of the 2022 MLS Draft by New England, now owns four victories in eight games started.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Hao Zhong

Assistant Referees:Melissa Gonzalez, Eric Schreiber

Fourth Official: Kenneth Rojas

Weather: 79 degrees and sunny

Scoring Summary:

NE - Marcos Dias 6 21'

NE - Jordan Adebayo-Smith 8 (Malcolm Fry 3) 52'

NE - Peyton Miller 2 (Olger Escobar 1) 69'

CTL - David Poreba (PK) 88'

New England Revolution II: Jacob Jackson; Peyton Miller, Pierre Cayet, Victor Souza, Tiago Suarez (Jacob Akanyirige 62'); Colby Quiñones (Ben Awashie 62'); Ítalo, Marcos Dias (Brandonn Bueno 73'), Olger Escobar (Eric Klein 82'), Malcolm Fry (Nakye Greenidge-Duncan 73'); Jordan Adeabyo-Smith.

Substitutes Not Used: Nico Campuzano, Jamie Kabuusu, Alex Parvu, Cristiano Oliveira.

Crown Legacy FC: Isaac Walker; Joao Pedro, Joao Guilherne, Jack Neeley; Jacob Williams (Tate Johnson 71'), Philip Mayaka (Erik Pena Boardman 71'), David Poreba, Nicholas Scardina; Marko Filipovich (Gurman Sangha 57'), Iuri Tavares, Josue Rodrigues (Nimfasha Berchimas 57').

Substitutes Not Used: Juan Martinez-Bastidas, Aryeh Miller, Brando Bedolla, James Nyandjo, Trey Faticoni.

POSTGAME QUOTES: New England Revolution II 3, Crown Legacy FC 1

Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay

On his team's performance:

Peay: "Great performance by our guys. I thought a difficult day, heat of the day, obviously a good team, but I thought the guys were really disciplined in how they defended, and opportunistic in terms of creating some quality chances."

On continuing to get balanced scoring with three different goal scorers:

Peay: "Yeah, I think it's just about different guys being able to step up. They all have the quality in those moments to find the back of the net. I think it's good for the team when you don't have to just rely on a player or two, so that's positive."

On Olger Escobar making his second straight start:

Peay: "I think obviously he [Olger Escobar] joined us a little late, had to finish the Academy season, but he's a special talent, he's a great soccer player, has the ability to create for others, and showed that today."

On Eric Klein's MLS NEXT Pro debut:

Peay: "Another guy that, at the Academy level, has shined. So, we thought given the circumstances it was a good opportunity to get him [Eric Klein] into the game."

On getting a chance to recharge with a break in the schedule:

Peay: "I think it's great for all of us. I know a lot of guys are looking forward to the time off, and to recover mentally and physically."

New England Revolution Academy Forward Olger Escobar

On the team's performance:

Escobar: "That win was huge. They're [Crown Legacy FC] up in first place by a couple points, but we're slowly catching up. I felt like we set the tone for the rest of the year. We're doing very well, we work together as a group, and we came out with three points."

On the boost the fans gave:

Escobar: "It was amazing. All the support that we get is the best thing. Them screaming 'Revolution' just gets us more amped up to show what we can do for them."

On comfort level after back-to-back starts:

Escobar: "It's my second start, and I was very happy, and I showed up this week very strong mentally. I was ready, if I was going to start or if I wasn't, but I got the opportunity again, and I showed what I can do at my best. Got a good amount of minutes and came up with an assist."

On his first assist being on Peyton Miller's goal:

Escobar: "I feel like it was a great connection. I was thinking in my head when he [Peyton Miller] was about to score 'the U-17s link.' It was amazing to have my first pro assist."

On Eric Klein's debut:

Escobar: "It was amazing. I love seeing all these Academy players just like me when I debuted in April. It was just amazing."

On how wild the past month has been with MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs and earning his first pro starts:

Escobar: "It has been very wild. Everything's been happening quick, but there's nothing I can do but just adjust and keep going at it."

Revolution II Defender Pierre Cayet

On today's match:

Cayet: "It was huge. I think we did a great job as a team to play collectively defensively, and offensively we created a lot of chances. Especially this team was really good with the ball. I think we did a great job kind of countering them, limiting their chances on top of the goal, so I think we did a great job, and really proud of the performance of the guys today."

On the confidence gained from beating the Eastern Conference leaders:

Cayet: "It's huge. I've talked about momentum before, and having an away win, coming back home, we're still feeling decently well with our legs, but I think it's big for our confidence moving forward to win against the best team in the league, by far. I think this is going to give us a huge boost coming into the bye week. I think for the next game we're playing we're going to be having a lot of confidence moving forward to finish the season."

On the defensive performance against the league's top scoring team:

Cayet: "I think as a group we always want a clean sheet, and it was really frustrating at times conceding PKs, like we've done at the beginning of the season. I think we've done a great job outside of that. Jacob [Jackson] came up with a big save in the first half. I think still disappointing that we didn't get the clean sheet, but I think overall it was a great performance. PKs happen, but we've got to limit them as much as we can."

On the crowd at Gillette Stadium:

Cayet: "It was nice. Especially towards the end, a couple guys having tired legs, we felt the energy and we felt pushed a little bit by the crowd, so it was nice for us to have that little edge, I would say."

On the development of Olger Escobar and Peyton Miller:

Cayet: "I mean, it's just a product of the work that they've put in lately at practice. We know they [Olger Escobar and Peyton Miller] are great players, it's a matter of can they come up in big games like this and perform, and today they did, and we love to have them. Moving forward, it's just great to have those guys with us."

On getting a chance to recharge with a break on the schedule:

Cayet: "It's going to be massive, especially coming off two wins. I think for us getting our legs back together and mentally for the stretch coming back, then have a last push for the rest of the season is going to be huge for the team to be able to perform going into the playoffs, so it's huge."

Check out the New England Revolution II Statistics

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