FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (October 14, 2023) – No. 2 New England Revolution II fell to No. 3 Columbus Crew 2, 1-0, in the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference Final on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.
Forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith and midfielder Noble Okello each led Revolution II with two shots in the match, while New England’s defense blocked a season-high 13 shots to keep the game scoreless through 90 minutes. In the first minute of stoppage time, Columbus’ Gibran Rayo broke the stalemate with the game-winner.
Revolution II ends its first playoff run in a season where the team set several program records. Including playoffs, New England tallied a team-high 62 goals, owning a plus-17 goal difference. Revolution Academy products accounted for 41 goal contributions throughout 2023 in a year that saw the professional debuts of four Academy players in Gianluca Armellino, Olger Escobar, Eric Klein, and the club’s youngest Homegrown signing, 15-year-old Peyton Miller.
Homegrown players excelled with Revolution II throughout the year with midfielder Esmir Bajraktarević tallying eight goals in just 10 MLS NEXT Pro appearances. Cambridge native Jack Panayotou registered five goals and three assists in 13 appearances, while Damian Rivera of Cranston, R.I. found the back of the net six times in 10 matches. New England also tied the MLS NEXT Pro unbeaten stretch in the regular season, going without a loss in 12 straight matches from June 23 to September 7. Finishing at a team-best second place in the Eastern Conference, Revolution II earned a team-high 16 wins in 2023 including the postseason.
New England’s 2023 MLS NEXT Pro campaign comes to an end with a 16-7-8 record including two playoff wins after finishing in second place in the Eastern Conference with 56 points.
No. 2 New England Revolution II 0, No. 3 Columbus Crew 2 1
October 14, 2023 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
- New England concludes its season with a club record 16 wins across both the regular season and playoffs.
- New England ends its playoff run at 2-1-0 after defeating Philadelphia Union II and New York Red Bulls II in the conference quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, respectively.Â
- Local products Peyton Miller (Unionville, Conn.), Brandonn Bueno (Framingham, Mass.), Malcolm Fry (Groton, Mass.), Patrick Leal (Newton, Mass.), Colby Quiñones (Bedford, N.H.), and Olger Escobar (Malden, Mass.) all made appearances in the match.
- Goalkeeper Nico Campuzano made his first start since August 27 – his 12th appearance across both regular season and playoffs this season – recording one save.
- Midfielder and captain Jake Rozhansky led the team with four key passes and 10 duels won on the night.Â
- Midfielder Maciel made his first start and third appearance of the season for Revolution II after returning from an Achilles injury suffered in September 2022. The Brazilian logged 45 minutes, completing 95 percent of his passes and winning five duels.
- Midfielder Noble Okello entered the match as a halftime substitute, registering a team-high two shots.
- Five Revolution Academy products made an appearance in Saturday’s match, with Colby Quiñones, Peyton Miller, and Malcolm Fry all starting the match.
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Matthew Thompson
Assistant Referees: Nicholas Balcer, Christian Clerc
Fourth Official: Rebecca Pagan
Weather: 57 and Cloudy
Scoring Summary:
CLB – Gibran Rayo (Marco Micaletto) 90+1’
Misconduct Summary:
CLB – Taha Habroune (Yellow Card – Foul) 12’
CLB – Gibran Rayo (Yellow Card – Foul) 87’
NE – Victor Souza (Yellow Card – Foul) 90+3’
New England Revolution II: Nico Campuzano; Colby Quiñones, Pierre Cayet, Victor Souza, Tiago Suarez (Olger Escobar 75’); Jake Rozhansky; Peyton Miller (Weverton 90+4’), Maciel (Noble Okello, 46’), Patrick Leal (Brandonn Bueno, 83’), Malcolm Fry; Jordan Adebayo-Smith.
Substitutes Not Used: Max Weinstein, Jacob Akanyirige, Ben Awashie, ĺtalo, Eric Klein.
Columbus Crew 2: Stanislov Lapkes; Christopher Rogers, Jacob Erlandson, Diego Almeida; Noah Fuson, Taha Habroune (Abdi Mohamed 65’), Marco Micaletto, Clay Holstad; Gibran Rayo, Mataeo Bunbury (Brent Adu-Gyamfi 65’), Thomas Roberts.
Substitutes. Nathan Salerno, Giorgio De Libera, Coleman Gannon, Anges Patrick Kader Bohul, Ariel Mbumba, Cole Mrowka, Stuart Ritchie.
