FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (October 6, 2023) – No. 2 New England Revolution II defeated No. 4 New York Red Bulls II, 2-1, in the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference Semifinal on Friday night at Gillette Stadium. Forward Malcolm Fry, a Groton, Mass. native, and defender Victor Souza each scored a goal, while goalkeeper Jacob Jackson made two saves in the victory.
With the win, New England extends its record-breaking season in the team’s first postseason run. Tonight’s result marks Revolution II’s 10th win at home in 2023, with the team adding on two tallies bringing its season total to 62 goals scored this season. Alongside Fry, New England continues to see contributions from local players with Colby Quiñones (Bedford, N.H.), Peyton Miller (Unionville, C.T.), and Jack Panayotou (Cambridge, Mass) all earning starts. Fry’s first half goal marks the 26th time an Academy product has found the back of the net in 2023.
New England found the scoresheet first after Marcos Dias crossed the ball to the right side of the box. Dias’ pass found Fry, who was waiting to dribble it into the middle and fire a left-footed shot to the bottom left corner of the net to put Revolution II on top.
Souza extended New England’s lead in the 69th minute, heading home a free kick from Homegrown midfielder Jack Panayotou. Red Bulls II broke through in the 72nd minute, but New England stood tall in the final minutes to secure its spot in the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference Final.
Revolution II now awaits the victor of Sunday night’s match between No. 1 Crown Legacy FC and No. 3 Columbus Crew 2. Pending the result, New England will either travel to Charlotte or host Columbus next week in the Eastern Conference Final with the match’s date and time to be announced next week. All MLS NEXT Pro playoff matches stream live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
No. 2 New England Revolution II 2, No. 4 New York Red Bulls II 1
October 6, 2023 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
- With the win, Revolution II secured a spot in the Eastern Conference Final of the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs.
- New England earns its 10th win at Gillette Stadium in 2023 and has registered a result in 14 of its last 15 games, including regular season, and improved its overall record to 16-6-8 in 2023.
- Defender Victor Souza scored his second goal in 2023, netting New England’s game-winner.
- Revolution Homegrown midfielder Jack Panayotou’s assist on Souza’s goal earned him his third helper of 2023 and eighth goal contribution through 12 games in all competitions.
- Forward Malcolm Fry scored his fifth goal in 2023 as New England improves to a 5-0-0 record when the Groton, Mass. native finds the back of the net.
- Forward Marcos Dias’ assist is his second goal contribution this postseason, after tallying the team’s first-ever postseason goal against Philadelphia Union II on Sunday.
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Abdou Ndiaye
Assistant Referees: Ricardo Ocampo, Zeno Cho
Fourth Official: Nabil Bensalah
Weather: 71 and partly cloudy
Scoring Summary:
NE – Malcolm Fry (Marcos Dias) 12’
NE – Victor Souza (Jack Panayotou) 69’
RBNY – Jullian Hall (Rafael Mosquera) 72’
Misconduct Summary:
RBNY – Amos Shapiro-Thompson (Yellow Card – Dissent) 30’
NE – Pierre Cayet (Yellow Card – Foul) 35’
RBNY – Copeland Berkley (Yellow Card – Foul) 41’
NE – Jake Rozhansky (Yellow Card – Foul) 56’
RBNY – Omar Valencia (Yellow Card – Foul) 68’
RBNY – Matthew Nocita (Yellow Card – Foul) 80’
New England Revolution II: Jacob Jackson; Colby Quiñones, Pierre Cayet, Victor Souza, Tiago Suarez (Olger Escobar 79’); Jack Panayotou, Jake Rozhansky (Patrick Leal 63’); Peyton Miller, Marcos Dias (Noble Okello 79’), Malcolm Fry (ĺtalo 87’); Jordan Adebayo-Smith.
Substitutes Not Used: Nico Campuzano, Jacob Akanyirige, Brandonn Bueno, Maciel, Weverton.
New York Red Bulls II: Alan Rutkowski; Omar Valencia, Matthew Nocita, Juan Esteban Gutierrez; Amos Shapiro-Thompson (Mohammed Sofo,81’), Bento Estrela; Wikelman Carmona (Julian Hall 67’), Ibrahim Kasule, O’Vonte Mullings (Rafael Mosquera 67’); Frank Ssebufu (Jorge Cabezas 62’).
Substitutes Not Used: Aidan Stokes, Davi Alexandre, Dija, Dylan Sullivan, Jayden Reid.
