FOXBOROUGH, MA— The New England Revolution II (3-1-4, 11 pts.) were defeated 2-1 versus Crown Legacy FC (2-3-3, 11 pts.). on Wednesday afternoon.
The match kicked off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex at Matthews in Matthews, North Carolina.
Kicking off Matchweek 9 ?
? https://t.co/Rb9zpwieyr pic.twitter.com/DlfSMyBUBE
— New England Revolution II (@NERevolution2) May 8, 2024
The team started their lineup in a 4-3-3 formation with goalkeeper JD Gunn starting in the net with a backline of (left back) Hesron Barry, (center backs) Eric Klein and Santiago Suarez, along with (right back) Damario McIntosh. The midfield consisted of Luka Borovic (left), Lucas Maciel (center), and Patrick Leal (right). The forward roles were manned by Gevork Diarbian (left), Alex Monis (right), and Marcos Dias (central) as the lone striker.
First team player Santiago Suarez started the match while Malcolm Fry and Joshua Bolma began the match on the bench.
Midweek matchday in Matthews ✈️
? Crown Legacy FC
⏰ 7:30 p.m. ET
?️ Sportsplex at Matthews
? https://t.co/Rb9zpwhGIT
? https://t.co/ZJctlwFiyi pic.twitter.com/6EsS8fOEuD— New England Revolution II (@NERevolution2) May 8, 2024
The match began with Crown Legacy starting from the center circle. They elected to launch the ball into New England’s defensive third to begin the match.
New England had the first chance of the match in the 8th minute when Marcos Dias’ centering attempt was deflected and cleared away.
Just 5 minutes later, New England had yet another chance that went beckoning for a corner kick.
New England’s best chance of the half came int he 21st minute when Patrick Leal’s delivery into the area was met with a header by Alex Monis and went directly off the crossbar.
Crown Legacy’s first chance came in the 22nd minute when midfielder #41 Brian Romero’s strike was saved out for a corner kick.
In the 26th minute, Crown Legacy defender #54 Assane Souleymane Ouedraogo was issued a yellow card for a foul on Alex Monis
In the 39th minute, Crown Legacy midfielder #60 Cameron Duke was issued a yellow card for delaying the restart for New England.
In the 41st minute, Crown Legacy midfielder #66 Philip Mayaka was issued a yellow card for an extremely harsh foul on Alex Monis.
Entering the 43rd minute, drama ensued for the Revolution as defender Tiago Suarez was issued a straight red card for a denial of a goal scoring opportunity on Crown Legacy forward #41 Brian Romero. The Revolution would play the remaining 47 minutes of the match with 10 men.
After the 45+3 minutes, the match entered halftime level at 0-0.
Tied up through the first 45. pic.twitter.com/fSbrNObvdk
— New England Revolution II (@NERevolution2) May 9, 2024
Prior to the start of the second half, Revolution II head coach Richie Williams made his first change of the match by substituting Luka Borovic and replaced him with Eric Klein.
The second half began with New England launching the ball directly into Crown Legacy’s defensive third.
New England had the first chance of the half when Damario McIntosh’s cross had too much on top if and went out for a goal kick.
Crown Legacy’s first chance of the half came in the 51st minute when#40 Jahlane Forbes’ effort into the area was deflected and cleared.
Just a minute later, JD Gunn was called upon to make a catch save off of a right-footed effort save on #40 Jahlane Forbes.
Entering the 57th minute, Crown Legacy midfielder #66 Phillip Mayaka was issued yet another yellow card after fouling Alex Monis, meaning that he would be given a red card, and Crown Legacy would play the remaining 33 minutes with 10 men.
New England then had a chance in the 58th minute when Gevork Diarbian’s effort went just wide of the net.
In the 60th minute, Revolution II defender Hesron Barry was issued a yellow card for fouling midfielder #60 Cameron Duke.
In the 62nd minute, Crown Legacy head coach José Tavares made his first two changes of the match by substituting midfielder #60 Cameron Duke and forward #68 Dylan Sing with midfielder #86 Filip Mirkovic and forward #97 Jonathan Nyandjo.
Got it done ???????? ?#BuildTheLegacy pic.twitter.com/zEQFhnUtlu
— Crown Legacy FC (@crownlegacyfc) May 9, 2024
In the 65th minute, Revolution II head coach Richie Williams made his next three changes of the match by substituting Alex Monis, Gevork Diarbian, and Patrick Leal and replaced them with Joshua Bolma, Malcolm Fry, and Moshtaba Al-Hasnawi.
In the 69th minute, Revolution II midfielder Joshua Bolma was issued a yellow card for fouling forward #27 Nimfasha Berchimas.
Entering the 73rd minute, Crown Legacy took the lead.
The homegrown is on FIRE ???pic.twitter.com/hVXjQr7bDy
— Crown Legacy FC (@crownlegacyfc) May 9, 2024
Following a freekick delivery, it was initially cleared and came out to the edge of the area and was met with a spectacular volley attempt by midfielder #48 Aron John for the 1-0 advantage.
In the 77th minute, Revolution II forward Marcos Dias and defender Demario McIntosh were both issued yellow cards. The cards were for a foul on #27 Nimfasha Berchimas and complaining for the foul moments later.
Entering the 78th minute, Crown Legacy added to their lead.
Jack ➡️ Jonathan to double our lead late in the second half ? pic.twitter.com/6GOIsEM4hJ
— Crown Legacy FC (@crownlegacyfc) May 9, 2024
After a poor shot attempt by midfielder #86 Filip Mirkovic, the ball was poorly touched by forward #97 Jonathan Nyandjo and took goalkeeper JD Gunn by surprise. The ball trickled past everyone and into the net for the 2-0 advantage.
In the 80th minute, Revolution II head coach Richie Williams made his final change of the match by replacing Lucas Maciel with Andrej Bjelejac. Subsequently, Crown Legacy head coach José Tavares made his third change of the match by replacing defender #71 Josué Conceição Cruz with defender #43 William Paredes.
In the 85th minute, the Revolution II were issued a penalty kick after Joshua Bolma was taken down in the area. Forward Marcos Dias stepped up to take the penalty kick. His right-footed effort was saved in the bottom left corner by goalkeeper #26 Chituru Odunze.
Entering the 87th minute, New England pulled one back.
Someone cranked up the heat in the final 20 minutes ?
Bolma pulls @NERevolution2 within 1! pic.twitter.com/g9vV4pAAuj
— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 9, 2024
After a through-ball by Eric Klein, the ball was collected by Joshua Bolma on the left flank. He then cut inside and unleashed a right-footed curler into the bottom right corner to cut the lead within 1.
Crown Legacy had yet another chance in the 89th minute when forward #97 Jonathan Nyandjo’s right-footed strike was met with a save by JD Gunn.
In the 90+6 minute, Crown Legacy head coach José Tavares made his first final two changes of the match by substituting forward #27 Nimfasha Berchimas and defender #39 Jack Neeley with midfielder #58 Brandon Parrish and forward #87 Sebastian Bourget.
After the 90+7 minutes, Crown Legacy held on for the 2-1 victory.
Final. pic.twitter.com/0iKf2UNkTb
— New England Revolution II (@NERevolution2) May 9, 2024
With the result, New England move to 7th in the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference Standings.
Richie Williams and the New England Revolution II (3-1-4, 11 pts.) return home to face Eastern Conference side Philadelphia Union II (4-3-1, 17 pts.). The match will kick off at Oulette Stadium at 3:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, May 10th. For more MLS NEXT Pro content, you can find it on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
