COLUMBUS, Ohio (July 5, 2025) – New England Revolution II (5-4-5; 24 pts.) defeated Columbus Crew 2 (3-8-3; 13 pts.), 2-1, on Saturday afternoon at Historic Crew Stadium. Forward Malcolm Fry tallied his second goal of the season early in the first half, while 2025 MLS NEXT All-Star Cristiano Oliveira netted the game-winning goal in stoppage time. With today's victory, New England extended its unbeaten run on the road to four matches (2-0-2).
After a scoreless opening 45 minutes in the blistering heat, New England wasted no time breaking the deadlock early in the second half. Fry collected the ball inside the box, danced around a defender, and fired a low left-footed shot into the net in the 46th minute. Since returning from a leg injury in May, the Revolution Academy product from Groton, Mass. has two goals in three appearances this season.
Revolution II nearly doubled the lead moments later as Gevork Diarbian's curling shot struck the right post. The rebound fell right to Liam Butts, but his reaction shot was denied by the same post. New England continued its push for an insurance goal, but it was the hosts who scored next, leveling the match through Chase Adams' equalizer in the 85th minute.
On the verge of a penalty shootout, Revolution II roared back into the lead when Oliveira netted his second goal in MLS NEXT Pro this season, in addition to one at the first team level in the U.S. Open Cup. The Somerville, Mass. native juked his defender to gain an inch of space and tucked his shot just inside the right post. Fellow Academy product Michael Tsicoulias earned the first helper of his MLS NEXT Pro career on the play in his fifth appearance of the season.
Goalkeeper JD Gunn posted a four-save performance in net in his first start since returning from international duty with Panama at the Concacaf Gold Cup. Arlington, Mass. native Joe Buck earned his first start of the campaign today, donning the captain's armband and playing 79 minutes in central defense.
New England will conclude its two-game road swing next Sunday, July 13, visiting Chicago Fire FC II at SeakGeek Stadium. Next Sunday's match kicks off at 2:00 p.m. ET and is available to watch live on MLSNEXTPro.com.
MATCH NOTES
- New England has now collected results in four consecutive road matches (2-0-2).
- Homegrown F Malcolm Fry scored his second goal of the season and recorded two shots on target.
- M Cristiano Oliveira, a Somerville, Mass. native, scored his third professional goal, the game winner. Earlier this week, the Revolution Academy product was selected to the 2025 MLS NEXT All-Star Game roster for the July 21 showcase in Austin, Texas.
- F Michael Tsicoulias, a Newton, Mass. native, recorded his first MLS NEXT Pro assist. The University of New Hampshire alum has appeared in five straight matches.
- In his return from international duty with Panama's senior national team, GK JD Gunn made four saves and moved to 3-1-2 on the season.
- Revolution Academy Under-18s F Aarin Prajapati, a Boston, Mass. native, made his professional debut today.
GAME CAPSULE
Revolution II Match #14
New England Revolution II 2 at Columbus Crew 2 1
July 5, 2025 – Historic Crew Stadium (Columbus, Ohio)
Referee: Kyle Cividanes
Assistant Referee: Sharon Gingrich
Assistant Referee: Tre Gaither
Fourth Official: Eric Burton
Weather: 89 degrees and partly cloudy
Scoring Summary:
NE - Malcolm Fry 2 (Unassisted) 46'
CLB - Chase Adams (Unassisted) 85'
NE - Cristiano Oliveira 2 (Michael Tsicoulias 1) 90'+2
Misconduct Summary:
CLB - Quinton Elliot (Yellow Card) 10'
CLB - Malcom Palacios (Yellow Card) 37'
NE - Joe Buck (Yellow Card) 55'
NE - Grant Emerhi (Yellow Card) 90'+7
New England Revolution II: JD Gunn; Hesron Barry, Gabe Dahlin, Javaun Mussenden, Damario McIntosh; Cristiano Oliveira, Joe Buck (C) (Michael Tsicoulias 79'), Malcolm Fry (Grant Emerhi 63'); Gevork Diarbian (Aarin Prajapati 79'), Marcos Dias, Liam Butts (Damorney Hutchinson 63', Judah Siqueira 90'+8)
Substitutes Not Used: Julian Chapman, Makai Wells
Columbus Crew 2: Luke Pruter; Chris Rogers, Gianmarco Di Noto, Malcom Palacios; Anthony Alaouieh, Giorgio De Libera (Isaac Tortola 74'), Ibrahima Sy, Quinton Elliot (Dylan Randazzo 74'); Alex Gimple (Kevin Gbamble 60'), Brent Adu-Gyamfi, Cristian Ortiz (Chase Adams 60')
Substitutes Not Used: Juan Granda, Artem Grinblat, Stanislav Lapkes, Deven Patel
