FOXBOROUGH, MA— The New England Revolution II (1-0-1, 3 pts.) were victorious after defeating the Carolina Core (0-1-2, 2 pts.) by a score of 2-1 on Sunday.
The match kicked off at 3:00 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
The home opener squad ?
⏰ 3 p.m. ET
? https://t.co/kidWuWrSF8 pic.twitter.com/h7pHMkRuyi— New England Revolution II (@NERevolution2) March 31, 2024
The team started their lineup in a 4-3-3 formation with goalkeeper Max Weinstein starting in the net with a backline of (left back) Colby Quiñones, (center backs) Hesron Barry and Victor Souza, along with (right back) Damario McIntosh. The midfield consisted of Lucas Maciel (left), Marcos Dias (center), and Jack Panayotou (right). The forward roles were manned by Malcolm Fry (left), Alex Monis (right), and Andrej Bjelajac (central) as the lone striker.
Defender Victor Souza replaced Lucas Maciel as the captain.
The squad today featured 2 first-team rostered players as Malcolm Fry and Jack Panayotou started the match.
Both Santiago Suarez and Joshua Bolma were not present in the matchday roster.
Sunday's starters ? pic.twitter.com/syp4lmRmTw
— New England Revolution II (@NERevolution2) March 31, 2024
The match kicked off with New England starting from the center circle. Lucas Maciel played the ball backward to Victor Souza who elected to launch the ball into Carolina’s defensive third.
Just 2 minutes into the match, New England had the early advantage.
Panayotou ➡️ Fry ➡️ Goal
The 18-year-old heads home the opener for @NERevolution2! pic.twitter.com/YUigk0iz7k
— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) March 31, 2024
Following a corner-kick delivery by Jack Panayotou, the ball found Malcolm Fry just outside of the six-yard box for the headed finish. This is Fry’s first goal of the season.
New England’s next best chance in the half came in the 13th minute when Marcos Dias’ long distance effort was caught by goalkeeper #99 Alexander Sutton.
In the 20th minute, Revolution defender Colby Quiñones was issued a yellow card for a harsh challenge on #18 Jeremiah White.
Just 5 minutes later, Carolina midfielder #8 Jesus Orejuela was issued a yellow card for a harsh challenge on Marcos Dias.
Carolina’s first major opportunity came off a corner kick in the 35th minute when #7 Yekeson Subah’s header went just over the bar.
Just two minutes later, entering the 37th minute, Carolina leveled the scoreline.
Polanco with authority ?@CarolinaCore_FC level the match at 1-1! pic.twitter.com/Zs9u2Ls7ze
— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) March 31, 2024
Carolina forward #15 David Polanco unleashed an outside the box right-footed shot that went into the bottom right corner past Max Weinstein to level the match. This is Polanco’s second goal of the season.
In the 40th minute, #18 Jeremiah White fouled Lucas Maciel and was issued a yellow card for the challenge. Following the exchange, Revolution head coach Richie Williams made his first change of the match by replacing Maciel with Patrick Leal.
After the 45+5 minutes, the match entered halftime with the score level at 1-1.
Level through the first 45. pic.twitter.com/Sv5e1LaBEs
— New England Revolution II (@NERevolution2) March 31, 2024
The second half began with Carolina starting from the center circle. The ball was played backwards to defender #20 Ibrahim Covi, who elected to launch the ball into New England’s defensive third.
In the 56th minute, Revolution II defender Hesron Barry was issued a yellow card for a harsh challenge on #7 Yekeson Subah.
Entering the 58th minute, New England regained the advantage.
Fry repays the favor and finds Panayotou for @NERevolution2's 2nd goal of the game ? pic.twitter.com/IOetznFkRx
— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) March 31, 2024
Following a fast break during the left flank, Marcos Dias found Malcolm Fry who elected for a left-footed shot which was initially blocked. He quickly re-positioned and used his left foot to slide it centrally for Jack Panayotou to score down the center of the goal for the 2-1 advantage. This is Panayotou’s first goal of the season.
In the 63rd minute, Revolution head coach Richie Williams made his second and third change of the match by replacing Malcolm Fry and Andrej Bjelajac for Cristiano Oliveira and Gevork Diarbian.
Entering the 66th minute, Carolina head coach Roy Lassiter made his first two changes of the match by replacing midfielders #8 Jesus Orejuela and #22 Cristian Gregoire with midfielder #11 Luis Lugo and forward #17 Carlos Diaz.
Just 4 minutes later, Carolina head coach Roy Lassiter made two more changes by replacing forward #15 David Polanco and midfielder #18 Jeremiah White with forward #9 Papa Ndoye and defender #14 Jathan Juarez
Rolling in ? pic.twitter.com/HySVMkcuRG
— New England Revolution II (@NERevolution2) March 31, 2024
Carolina had a chance to level the match in the 76th minute when #7 Yekeson Subah took on two defenders and unleashed a right-footed shot which was met with a diving stop by Max Weinstein.
Entering the 80th minute, Revolution head coach Richie Williams made his fourth and fifth change of the match by replacing Victor Souza and Jack Panayotou with Luka Borovic and Eric Klein.
Carolina had yet another major chance in the 83rd minute when the corner kick delivery wasn’t dealt with by Max Weinstein, and an in-the-box volley by #10 Jacob Evans went over the crossbar.
Following the corner kick miss, Carolina head coach Roy Lassiter made his final change of the match by replacing defender #44 Christian Diaz with forward #13 Joshua Rodriguez.
In the 87th minute, Carolina midfielder #24 Facundo Canete was issued a yellow card for a foul on Patrick Leal.
After the 90+8 minutes, New England held on for the 2-1 victory.
The New England Revolution II defeat Carolina Core by a score of 2-1. Image Courtesy of MLS NEXT Pro
This marks Richie Williams’ first career victory with the New England Revolution II in MLS NEXT Pro regular season play.
Richie Williams and the New England Revolution II (1-0-1, 3 pts.) head out to Highland Heights, Kentucky to face Eastern Conference side FC Cincinatti (0-1-2, 1 points). The match will kick off at NKU Soccer Stadium at 6:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, April 10th. For more MLS NEXT Pro content, you can find it on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
