HOOKSETT, N.H. (October 5, 2024) – New England Revolution II (4-17-6; 22 pts.) will close the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season with a home match against Columbus Crew 2 on Sunday afternoon at Southern New Hampshire’s Mark A. Ouellette Stadium. Sunday’s regular season finale kicks off at 1:00 p.m. ET, with Maura Sheridan calling the action on Apple TV – MLS Season Pass.
New England welcomes Columbus Crew 2 for the third and final meeting between the two sides this season. In their last encounter on September 18, Revolution II fell to Crew II, 2-1, with forward Marcos Dias netting New England’s lone goal of the night. On the other end, since defeating New England last time out, Columbus is winless in its last six matches, including a 1-0 shutout loss to Chicago Fire FC II at Historic Crew Stadium last weekend.
Dias leads New England with a team-best nine goals and five assists this year and has logged a team-high 60 shot attempts. As Revolution II’s all-time leading scorer, the Brazilian forward is one goal shy of recording 25 goals with the club.
Last weekend, New England fell in a 3-1 loss to New York Red Bulls II. Forward Liam Butts scored New England’s lone goal in his 10th appearance with Revolution II this season. Butts tallied his fourth professional goal on the play, and his second goal in as many matches.
Dias, Butts, and forward Alex Monis all drove New England’s attack last weekend, registering four shots each on the night. With one game remaining, Monis, a Filipino international, is one goal away from matching Dias for the team-leading nine goals scored this season.
In the midfield, Academy product Eric Klein paced New England with three key passes last weekend, while also collecting his 25th MLS NEXT Pro appearance. Klein leads the team with 2,041 minutes played this year. Fellow midfielder and Newton, Mass. native, Patrick Leal also saw action last Sunday, making his return from injury as a late second-half substitute. On the defensive end, goalkeeper JD Gunn made four saves in net.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR AGAINST COLUMBUS CREW 2
- Revolution II potentially closing the season as the league leader in corner kicks (164) and key passes (317), while holding its position among league leaders in shots (4th- 403).
- F Liam Butts building on his four goals this season, as he eyes his third consecutive goal-scoring performance to close the season.
- F Marcos Diasand F Alex Monis continuing to drive Revolution II's attack. Dias currently holds a one-goal edge over Monis, with a team-best nine tallies.
- M Gevork Diarbianmaintaining his spot as the only Revolution II player to appear in every match of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season (27).
- Current Academy players M Olger Escobar, M Cristiano Oliveira, and D Damario McIntosh continuing to earn starts with Revolution II.
