FOXBOROUGH, MA– New England Revolution eMLS player João “Jafonso” Vasconcelos has won the eMLS League Series Two Title pres. by TikTok.
This is the first ever eMLS title won by a New England Revolution eMLS player.
2024 eMLS League Series Two bracket. Image Courtesy of eMLS.
Following a 6W-3L-2D record during the qualifying window on Friday, Jafonso secured a sixth-place finish through the qualifying stages.
With the qualifying record, Jafonso was placed into Group C, “The Group of Death”, alongside NR7 (St. Louis City SC), KingCJ10 (D.C. United), Lamps (Minnesota United), and Doolsta (New York Red Bulls).
During the group stages, Jafonso finished atop the Group of Death with an 8W-0L-2D record with a +30-goal differential. His first-place finish automatically secured a first-round bye, where he was set to face the winner of the Round of 16 matchup between Gustavo (Charlotte FC) and Jordy Reyes (Houston Dynamo).
Following a 4-1 victory over Jordy Reyes, Jafonso met Gustavo (Charlotte FC) in the Quarterfinals.
Jafonso faces off against Gustavo (Charlotte FC) in the League Series Two Quarterfinals. Image Courtesy of eMLS.
In the quarterfinal matchup it was all Jafonso right from the start.
Just 4 minutes into the match, Jafonso took the early lead from a goal by Erling Haaland. Less than 2 minutes later, Jafonso added to his lead once more with a goal from Kylian Mbappe. Jafonso managed to add to his lead once more in the 40th minute to make the scoreline 3-0.
The second half was more or less the same as Jafonso scored 2 goals in quick succession, with 1 from Ginola in the 49th minute and another in 54th minute. In the 60th minute, Gustavo got on the board with a penalty kick by Thierry Henry to make it 5-1. The match was no longer broadcasted after focusing on another game, but returned with Jafonso winning the match 7-2.
Simultaneously, KingCJ10 (D.C. United) defeated Diogo (Austin FC) by a score of 4-3, meaning Jafonso would face off against the eMLS veteran in the semi-finals.
Jafonso faces off against KingCJ10 (D.C. United) in the League Series Two Semifinal. Image Courtesy of eMLS.
In the Semi Final matchup, the match was back-and-forth masterclass.
Jafonso got on the scoreline first after a goal in the 5th minute by David Ginola. His lead did not last long however as KingCJ10 leveled it just 5 minutes later with a goal by Kylian Mbappe. In the 32nd minute, KingCJ10 took the 2-1 advantage after a rebound goal by Kylian Mbappe. KingCJ10’s lead lasted just 9 minutes as Jafonso leveled the match in the 41st minute following a goal by Kylian Mbappe. The match entered halftime 2-2.
The second half began with an early goal by Jafonso after David Ginola’s goal in the 47th minute. The game was back-and-forth the entire second half until KingCJ10 leveled the match in the 83rd minute with a header by Thibaut Courtois to make it 3-3. The match would enter extra time.
In extra time, it was all Jafonso.
In the 97th minute, Jafonso took the 4-3 advantage with a goal by Kylian Mbappe. Entering the 105th minute, Cole Palmer aided to Jafonso’s lead with another goal, making the scoreline 5-3. Less than 30 seconds later, in the 105+2 minute, Lionel Messi scored a header to make it 6-3.
After the 120 minutes, Jafonso held on for the 6-3 victory.
Simultaneously, NR7 (St. Louis City SC) defeated K1John (Inter Miami) by a score of 6-5, meaning Jafonso would face off against NR7 in the League Series Two final.
Jafonso faces off against NR7 (St. Louis City SC) in the League Series Two Final. Image Courtesy of eMLS.
The final was jam-packed with drama on both ends of the matchup.
Jafonso struck first in the 27th minute when a delivery into the area by Cole Palmer found Erling Haaland. His downward header found David Ginola for the right-footed strike into the bottom left for the 1-0 advantage.
Less than 5 minutes later, Jafonso added to their lead after NR7 had a shambles in the back after his goalkeeper mismanaged the ball in the box after a sliding block by Kylian Mbappe led for the ball to find Lionel Messi for the easy goal to make it 2-0 to Jafonso.
Just before halftime, Erling Haaland aided Jafonso with another goal to make it 3-0 heading into halftime.
In the 51st minute, NR7 found a lifeline after Erling Haaland found the back of the net after rounding the keeper. Just 4 minutes later, NR7 aided to his comeback once again after Mia Hamm scored to make it 3-2.
Just 4 minutes after the goal by NR7, Jafonso scored a top of the box goal with Lionel Messi to make the scorelines 4-2. He added to his lead once more in the 61st minute with a header by Erling Haaland to make it 5-2.
After the 90+2 minutes, Jafonso held onto the 5-2 victory to win League Series Two.
Congratulations @jafonsogv and @NERevolution, you are LS2 Champions ?
First year in eMLS, first trophy, well played ?⚽️#FC24 | #eMLS League Series 2 pres. by @tiktok_us pic.twitter.com/yJK4pXvnGs
— ? Major League Soccer | #eMLS (@eMLS) March 3, 2024
Jafonso becomes the first New England Revolution eMLS Player in history to win an eMLS Championship. This season alone, he has broken every record that has previously been set by former players JKO1707 (2018-21) and YoungggCarter (2022-23).
When asked how he was feeling after his victory, Jafonso stated, “I’m feeling really happy. I really enjoy playing in eMLS this year… I think that it’s one of the best leagues in the world…. Winning a title, I’m feeling really good, and now I want to focus on next weekend in Austin because that’s when it matters.”
JAFONSO returns to eMLS play on Sunday, March 10th as he is set to take place in the eMLS Cup in Austin, Texas. To view all of his matches, you can follow eMLS on Twitter and Jafonso on Twitter & on Twitch by clicking on the links.
(Editor’s Note: To view every League Series Two Match, click the link)
