MLS NEXT Pro New England Revolution II

Revolution II Fall to Columbus Crew 2, 1-0

Published on October 14, 2023 under MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
New England Revolution II News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - No. 2 New England Revolution II fell to No. 3 Columbus Crew 2, 1-0, in the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference Final on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.

Forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith and midfielder Noble Okello each led Revolution II with two shots in the match, while New England's defense blocked a season-high 13 shots to keep the game scoreless through 90 minutes. In the first minute of stoppage time, Columbus' Gibran Rayo broke the stalemate with the game-winner.

Revolution II ends its first playoff run in a season where the team set several program records. Including playoffs, New England tallied a team-high 62 goals, owning a plus-17 goal difference. Revolution Academy products accounted for 41 goal contributions throughout 2023 in a year that saw the professional debuts of four Academy players in Gianluca Armellino, Olger Escobar, Eric Klein, and the club's youngest Homegrown signing, 15-year-old Peyton Miller.

Homegrown players excelled with Revolution II throughout the year with midfielder Esmir Bajraktarević tallying eight goals in just 10 MLS NEXT Pro appearances. Cambridge native Jack Panayotou registered five goals and three assists in 13 appearances, while Damian Rivera of Cranston, R.I. found the back of the net six times in 10 matches. New England also tied the MLS NEXT Pro unbeaten stretch in the regular season, going without a loss in 12 straight matches from June 23 to September 7. Finishing at a team-best second place in the Eastern Conference, Revolution II earned a team-high 16 wins in 2023 including the postseason.

New England's 2023 MLS NEXT Pro campaign comes to an end with a 16-7-8 record including two playoff wins after finishing in second place in the Eastern Conference with 56 points.

No. 2 New England Revolution II 0, No. 3 Columbus Crew 2 1

October 14, 2023 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

New England concludes its season with a club record 16 wins across both the regular season and playoffs.

New England ends its playoff run at 2-1-0 after defeating Philadelphia Union II and New York Red Bulls II in the conference quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, respectively.

Local products Peyton Miller (Unionville, Conn.), Brandonn Bueno (Framingham, Mass.), Malcolm Fry (Groton, Mass.), Patrick Leal (Newton, Mass.), Colby Quiñones (Bedford, N.H.), and Olger Escobar (Malden, Mass.) all made appearances in the match.

Goalkeeper Nico Campuzano made his first start since August 27 - his 12th appearance across both regular season and playoffs this season - recording one save.

Midfielder and captain Jake Rozhansky led the team with four key passes and 10 duels won on the night.

Midfielder Maciel made his first start and third appearance of the season for Revolution II after returning from an Achilles injury suffered in September 2022. The Brazilian logged 45 minutes, completing 95 percent of his passes and winning five duels.

Midfielder Noble Okello entered the match as a halftime substitute, registering a team-high two shots.

Five Revolution Academy products made an appearance in Saturday's match, with Colby Quiñones, Peyton Miller, and Malcolm Fry all starting the match.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Matthew Thompson

Assistant Referees: Nicholas Balcer, Christian Clerc

Fourth Official: Rebecca Pagan

Weather: 57 and Cloudy

Scoring Summary:

CLB - Gibran Rayo (Marco Micaletto) 90+1'

Misconduct Summary:

CLB - Taha Habroune (Yellow Card - Foul) 12'

CLB - Gibran Rayo (Yellow Card - Foul) 87'

NE - Victor Souza (Yellow Card - Foul) 90+3'

New England Revolution II: Nico Campuzano; Colby Quiñones, Pierre Cayet, Victor Souza, Tiago Suarez (Olger Escobar 75'); Jake Rozhansky; Peyton Miller (Weverton 90+4'), Maciel (Noble Okello, 46'), Patrick Leal (Brandonn Bueno, 83'), Malcolm Fry; Jordan Adebayo-Smith.

Substitutes Not Used: Max Weinstein, Jacob Akanyirige, Ben Awashie, ĺtalo, Eric Klein.

Columbus Crew 2: Stanislov Lapkes; Christopher Rogers, Jacob Erlandson, Diego Almeida; Noah Fuson, Taha Habroune (Abdi Mohamed 65'), Marco Micaletto, Clay Holstad; Gibran Rayo, Mataeo Bunbury (Brent Adu-Gyamfi 65'), Thomas Roberts.

Substitutes. Nathan Salerno, Giorgio De Libera, Coleman Gannon, Anges Patrick Kader Bohul, Ariel Mbumba, Cole Mrowka, Stuart Ritchie.

New England Revolution II Team Statistics Columbus Crew 2

7 (1) Shots (on Target) 24 (2)

1 Blocked Shots 13

1 Saves 1

2 Corner Kicks 7

1 Offsides 0

15 Fouls 10

87.8% (484) Passes Attempted (% Completed) 579 (87.8%)

45.2% Possession 54.8%

POSTGAME QUOTES: New England Revolution II 0, Columbus Crew 2 1

Revolution II Midfielder Jake Rozhansky

On the team's performance:

Rozhansky: "I would say the first 45, I think they [Columbus Crew 2] were a little bit on top; we kind of struggled. Second half we kind of made some adjustments, and I think they worked, and I think we had some chances. They had a couple of moments. The game was back-and-forth. Towards the end, it started to get open. We didn't take our chances; the ball didn't roll our way. Right at the end, the ball is bouncing, its going everywhere, they end up finishing it. For us, it's a disappointment because I think we could have won the game. I think they had a fair shot to win the game as well. And that's how it goes. It's a cruel game. What can you do?"

On team's shot blocking and commitment:

Rozhansky: "It was crazy, especially from Pierre [Cayet] and Victor [Souza]. They're animals. I don't know how many shots they blocked today, and that just shows we defended our tails off honestly. Sometimes it was last-ditch defending. We just couldn't hold out for that one more minute and then we could have regrouped. I think also we had a short squad today, and that makes a difference. We missed [Joshua] Bolma, Marcos [Dias], Jack [Panayotou], Esmir [Bajraktarević], those kinds of guys. And they make a difference in our team. So especially with a short squad, I'm proud of the guys. It hurts like hell."

On how proud he is of this team:

Rozhansky: "Really proud. I just told the guys; I played on a lot of teams. Played on teams that won the championship, I played on teams that didn't make the playoffs. I played on different teams with this team because the rosters change really quickly with a second team. This is my third season. This is the best team I played on in Revs II. I think that's probably because, not just because of talent, talent-wise we're definitely the best, but the team was together. We liked each other, we spent a lot of time together on and off the field. That just shows you in our effort, our desire with the block shots, with everything. And it's a long, grueling season. I think we were on a 12-game unbeaten streak coming into the playoffs, and that was something we've never done in the past two years. So, it's an improvement for Revs II. As you can see, every year we're getting better, so I just told the guys this is going to be a team I'm going to remember 100%."

Check out the New England Revolution II Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



MLS NEXT Pro Stories from October 14, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central