FOXBOROUGH, MA— The New England Revolution II (7-4-2, 25 pts.) have met the midway point of their MLS NEXT Pro campaign. With the team currently sitting in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference and 4th Place across MLS NEXT Pro, they have continued to use adversity to their advantage, and a large portion of their success can be attributed to 18-year-old center back Tiago Suarez.
Santiago Suarez (43) lines up before the start of a match with Malcolm Fry (89) and Ben Awashie (40). Image Courtesy of New England Revolution.
At the start of their campaign in November of 2022, The New England Revolution had announced that they had signed 17-year-old center back, Santiago Suarez to a multi-year contract ahead of the 2023 campaign. Suarez would begin his career with the Revolution II competing in MLS NEXT Pro in 2023, and following the conclusion of the 2023 season, Suarez would officially be added to first team as a Home-Grown Player ahead of the 2024 MLS season.
Santiago stated that young talent in the academy was a key reason he made the decision to come to New England.
“It’s a big reason why I came here. Coming here and knowing that there were a lot of young talented and successful players in the MLS. Whether it’s Esmir, Jack, Tico, even Noel in the beginning, though he’s already proven himself at that level were key reasons. Being able to know these guys and not necessarily have mentors, but to learn and to be able to train and defend the top-quality players like the ones I just named, it’s by far probably one of the most special things that we have in this Revolution program. We have so many young talented players in this next generation.”.
Santiago Suarez (43) defends during in a training drill. Image Courtesy of New England Revolution.
With the 2023 season hitting the midway point just last week, the 6 foot-5 center back has been a vital part of the team’s success in matches.
Suarez has appeared in 12 of the team’s 13 matches, starting in 11 of them. He has eclipsed 918 total minutes and has 20 goals against while he is on the pitch while also assisting in 2/3 of the team’s clean sheets. On the offensive side, the defender has completed 377/460 passes (82%) with 16 long balls, 2 key passes, 10 launch attempts and 4 turnovers. He also attributes 2 total shots, 5 successful dribbles, with a success rate of 71.4%. Defensively, the defender has been a problem for forwards. He currently has 76 total duels with a 56.6% success rate along with a headed-duel percentage of 61.5%. Along with these statistics, the defender has 22 interceptions, which is second amongst the rest of the squad.
Since the start of the season, the Revolution II have been on a three-game win streak twice, and currently are on a two-game win streak. In regard to team’s recent form, Santiago stated, “With any real sports team, you try to keep those streaks running when you can. When you hit a roadblock where it’s a draw or a loss in the league, it kind of kills your momentum, but the only real way to get back is by coming together as a team in the week of training and not thinking too much of it…. Figuratively, some teams tend to sink or swim. Our team has tended to swim for the most part, but after we’ve been swimming for a while, we start to get pooled down. After sessions following a poor result, we always look to come back swimming and to get these streaks going again.”.
Suarez attested that success across the entire board has been their key to success in league play this season. He stated, “As a collective, there’s definitely some games when we’re off on one side of the field… In my opinion, we are one of the best teams in the league when everyone is collectively on together. We’ve shown in the past couple of games when we are able to keep the ball in the attacking half… have possession, have chances created, we’re going to win most games, and I feel like for the most part we’ve been really strong in that regard.”.
Santiago Suarez (43) looks to make a pass in a closed-door scrimmage during preseason of the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro season. Image Courtesy of New England Revolution.
Looking towards Santiago’s future in the first team, he stated that he has a number of mentors on the first team that he speaks to on a daily basis.
“There are a couple, obviously we have a veteran center back who’s played with our national team, representing us, and that’s Omar Gonzalez. He’s a really big role model in what he does on and off the field. He always watches film, takes care of himself, and he’s a family man… That’s what I want to be eventually. I know I’m young, but he’s a really good role model. When I’m with him and when I’m talking to him, I’ve learned so much and it’s all of the little things that the world class center backs in the MLS or Liga MX, or wherever it is has, and it’s amazing to be able learn from a player who has played for so long at such a high level.”.
With the addition of the mentorship from Omar Gonzalez, Santiago’s closest mentor is his father, Ryan Suarez, who played professionally in the MLS. His father, a 7-year professional, was drafted 7th overall in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft and had previously played under Bruce Arena during his time with the United States Men’s National Team. Santiago stated, “With my dad, he was a 7th overall draft pick, he was rookie of the year… not to boast him, but first, he’s my father, and second, he definitely is my coach. He’s a big mentor to me both as a man and as a player as well. On the field he has helped me with things that really you can only learn from players that have been there and played. He’s definitely has been a huge mentor in every aspect of my life, and especially on the field because he’s been there, and he knows.”.
Santiago Suarez (43) appears above in a Revolution first-team training session. Image Courtesy of New England Revolution.
As the team looks to extend to their third three-game win streak of the season, they are set to travel to NKU Soccer Stadium in Highland Heights, Kentucky to face FC Cincinatti II in a match on Sunday, June 18th at 6:00 p.m. Santiago said, “I’m pretty confident going into this game versus Cincy that it won’t be like last time.”.
For the first team, the New England Revolution (8-6-3, 30 pts.) will be at home in Foxborough, MA to face Orlando City SC (7-5-4, 26 pts.) in an MLS Match on Saturday, June 17th. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
New England Revolution
