CHESTER, Penn. – New England Revolution II (4-3-1; 14 pts.) are set to visit Philadelphia Union II (2-4-2; 10 pts.) at Subaru Park for their second meeting of the 2023 season. The match kicks off at 3 p.m. and streams live on MLSNEXTPro.com.
Last weekend, Revolution II defeated Toronto FC II, 3-2, in a come-from-behind victory. Homegrown midfielder Damian Rivera netted two goals within 60 seconds, in the 84th and 85th minutes of the win, turning a 2-1 deficit into New England’s fourth victory of the year. With his third career brace, Rivera now leads Revolution II with a team-best five goals scored across six appearances.
“I think that's the type of player [Damian Rivera] is. I think he's got that ability to be very dangerous in the attack. He can score goals. He can set other people up,” Head Coach Clint Peay said of Rivera. “He’s shown that consistently with us when he plays with us and I think that tonight, it was big time because we needed somebody to step up in that role and he took the lead in that regard. So very happy for him in terms of being a leader, taking the game and controlling the game.”
New England continues to feature one of the more in-form attacks in the league. With 20 goals on the season, Revolution II ranks tied for first in the league alongside Crown Legacy FC and Colorado Rapids 2. Rivera ranks tied for third most goals in the league with five while Jordan Adebayo-Smith ranks tied for seventh in shots with 22. On the defensive end, Pierre Cayet ranks tied second in the league with 21 interceptions so far this season.
New England is 2-2-0 all-time vs. Philadelphia Union II, recording a 5-1 win at Gillette Stadium in their most recent meeting on April 10. Adebayo-Smith, Rivera, Esmir Bajraktarević, Malcolm Fry, and Brandonn Bueno all tallied while goalkeeper Nico Campuzano made three saves in the match.
“I think we tried some things this week that I think we had some success with, so I think we just want to continue to try to build on that and Philly's a different animal, but we understand what they're all about,” Peay said of the match ahead. “Certainly, won't be an easy game, and so we just have to continue trying to push and obviously stop conceding goals that we can control and eliminate.”
WHAT TO WATCH FOR AGAINST PHILADELPHIA UNION II:
- Revolution II adding to their 20 goals scored as they sit tied for first in the league with Crown Legacy FC and Colorado Rapids 2.
- Midfielder Jake Rozhansky making his 50th career start with Revolution II since joining the team in 2021.
- Defender Colby Quiñones surpassing 3,000 career minutes played with a 13-minute appearance.
- Forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith adding on to his team leading 22 shots, seven on target. The East London native is ranked seventh in the league in total shots so far this season.
- Any Revolution Academy players making their professional debuts, adding to the 27 Academy products who have debuted with the team to date.
