FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (May 3, 2024) – New England Revolution II (2-3-1; 8 pts.) return to action at Gillette Stadium to host Chicago Fire FC II (3-0-3; 14 pts.) on Saturday afternoon. The match kicks off at 1:00 p.m. ET with James Hadnot calling the action on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
New England hosts Chicago for the first time this season after defeating Inter Miami CF II, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon at Mark A. Ouellette Stadium in New Hampshire. Midfielder Patrick Leal led the attack for Revolution II, tallying his first career goal in the 20th minute. The Newton, Mass. native capitalized on a cross from Alex Monis, who registered his second assist of the season. Midfielder Gevork Diarbian scored his second goal of the MLS NEXT Pro season, converting on an assist from Marcos Dias. Dias dominated offensively, providing a second assist to Homegrown midfielder Jack Panayotou, who struck the ball into the back of the net to close New England’s scoring for the afternoon. Panayotou, a Cambridge, Mass. native, paces Revolution II with three goals this season.
Revolution II completed the contest down a man following a red card issued to defender Victor Souza. After a goal by Inter Miami CF II in the 54th minute, goalkeeper JD Gunn led defensive efforts to close out the 3-1 victory. Gunn recorded a five-save performance in his second consecutive start. Five Academy products also suited up for Sunday’s win including Diarbian, Panayotou, and Eric Klein, who all earned starts while Damario McIntosh and Alex Parvu logged minutes as second-half substitutes.
New England now prepares to take on Chicago Fire FC II for the first of three meetings this season. New England and Chicago have played each other to a 1-1-2 record since 2022, most recently recording a 1-1 draw on July 30, 2023, with Chicago Fire FC II collecting the additional point from with a 5-3 shootout win. Revolution II own a 12-2-4 record at home dating back to the 2023 season and have gone undefeated in 14 of their last 15 home matches. Chicago is coming off a 2-0 win over Atlanta United 2 on Sunday afternoon at SeatGeek Stadium.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR AGAINST CHICAGO FIRE FC II:
- Revolution II improving on their 1-1-2 record against Chicago Fire FC II dating back to 2022.
- New England building on its 12-2-4 home record dating back to the 2023 season.
- Marcos Dias tallying his 18th goal with Revolution II to stand alone as the team’s all-time leading scorer. Dias is currently tied with Damian Rivera at 17 career goals.
- Revolution II goalkeeper JD Gunn building on his five-save performance against Inter Miami CF II last weekend. Gunn has started back-to-back games for Revolution II.
- Gevork Diarbian making a fourth consecutive start and adding on to his two goals and one assist on the 2024 season.
- Patrick Leal building on his one goal and one assist in the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro campaign.
