FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (September 26, 2023) – New England Revolution II will host Philadelphia Union II in the first round of the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs on Sunday, October 1 at Gillette Stadium. The Eastern Conference Quarterfinal match kicks off at 8:00 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Tickets for Revolution II’s first postseason match are on sale now.
After clinching second place in the Eastern Conference, Revolution II chose to host seventh-place Philadelphia Union II under MLS NEXT Pro’s innovative “pick-your-opponent” playoff format. This season, the highest-seeded team will choose its opponent ahead of each round through the conference finals. New England owns a 3-0-0 record against Philadelphia this season, recording a 5-1 win on April 10, a 4-3 win on May 21, and a 3-0 win on August 27. First-team midfielder Esmir Bajraktarević, a Revolution Academy product, scored four of New England’s 12 goals against Union II this season, including a hat trick in a comeback victory in May. Goalkeeper Nico Campuzano started the first and third games against Union II this year, recording nine saves and one clean sheet.
New England’s second team begins its first postseason campaign after a record-breaking season that featured team highs with 14 wins, 57 goals scored, a plus-16 goal difference, and 155 shots on target. Revolution II went undefeated in 12 consecutive matches, a team record, between June 23 and September 10, matching Colorado Rapids 2 for the league’s best unbeaten streak in 2023. Individually, forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith set a team single-season record with 12 goals scored while Victor Souza, the Revolution’s 2023 MLS SuperDraft pick out of Boston College, paced the team with 2,448 minutes played.
The 2023 season also saw the professional debut of New England’s youngest Homegrown Player signing, Peyton Miller. The 15-year-old defender, who hails from Unionville, Conn., recorded three goals and three assists across 22 matches after becoming the youngest player in team history to make his professional debut on March 26. Another Revolution Academy graduate, Malcolm Fry, recorded four goals and two assists in his first full professional season.
General admission tickets for Sunday’s match are on sale now for $10. For the 2023 season, Season Members received three (3) complimentary Revs II “flex tickets” for each season seat on their account. To allocate these Revolution II flex tickets to specific home playoff games at Gillette Stadium, Season Members can log into Account Manager. Season Members can also purchase additional discounted Revs II home playoff individual game tickets for $7 each at the Season Member rate via Account Manager and clicking the “Buy Revs II Tickets” button in the header.
ABOUT MLS NEXT PRO
Launched in 2022 by Major League Soccer, MLS NEXT Pro is a professional men’s soccer league in the United States and Canada that completes the pro player pathway. MLS NEXT Pro continues to grow the game through innovation and diversity, bringing professional soccer to new communities and creating global opportunities both on and off the field. MLS NEXT Pro enters its second season in 2023 with 27 teams, all affiliated with MLS clubs. Seven are new to MLS NEXT Pro in 2023: Atlanta United 2, Austin FC II, Crown Legacy FC (Charlotte FC), Huntsville City FC (Nashville SC), LA Galaxy II, Los Angeles Football Club 2 and New York Red Bulls II. Additional MLS-affiliated and independent clubs will join in the years ahead, including Carolina Core FC in 2024 and Cleveland in 2025. The majority of MLS NEXT Pro matches in 2023 will be available to watch live and on-demand on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app as part of the groundbreaking partnership between Apple and MLS. For more information about MLS NEXT Pro, visit mlsnextpro.com.
