BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – New England Revolution II (10-5-5; 39 pts.) battled Chicago Fire II (6-7-7; 27 pts.), to a 1-1 draw on Sunday night at SeatGeek Stadium. Chicago claimed the additional point with a 5-3 shootout victory. Homegrown midfielder Jack Panayotou tallied his third goal of the season, while goalkeeper Jacob Jackson made eight saves to secure the draw and extend Revolution II’s unbeaten streak to five.
“I thought just given the circumstances, a tough travel day for us on the same day of the game, a couple of first teamers were trying to integrate you know, overall, I thought the guys competed well and traded a number of quality chances," Head Coach Clint Peay said postgame. "Probably a little bit unlucky not to get the three points. I'd say in terms of the cohesion of the team and stuff, it was a little bit off based on the fact that we had five first teamers with us and we just weren't always on the same page, but overall decent performance, just needed to be better in front of the goal.”
The match remained scoreless with both Jackson and Chicago’s Jeffrey Gal standing tall in net for their respective sides through the first 45 minutes. New England found the scoresheet first with Peyton Miller sending a cross to Panayotou, who tapped the mid-air ball in with his left foot for the 1-0 lead in the 59th minute. The Cambridge, Mass. native now owns three goals in six appearances with New England’s second team this season.
Chicago’s Noeh Hernandez found the back of the net to equalize in the 62nd minute. Both sides continued to see offensive opportunities, but the score remained even through 90 minutes, sending New England to its fifth shootout of 2023. Jake Rozhansky, Jacob Akanyirige, and Damian Rivera each tallied, but all five of Chicago’s shot-takers scored to claim the additional point.
New England returns to action on Sunday, August 6, when Revolution II hosts New York Red Bulls II for the third and final meeting between the two sides this season. The match kicks off at 6:00 p.m. ET from Gillette Stadium and streams live on MLSNEXTPro.com.
New England Revolution II 1 (3), Chicago Fire II 1 (5)
July 30, 2023 – SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, Ill.)
- With the draw, Revolution II extended their unbeaten streak to five matches as the team continues to stand in second place in the Eastern Conference with 39 points.
- Homegrown midfielder Jack Panayotou tallied his third goal in his sixth appearance of the MLS NEXT Pro season. The Cambridge, Mass. native is now tied for fourth-most goals on the team with forward Malcolm Fry.
- Homegrown midfielder/defender Peyton Miller earned his third assist of the 2023 season on Panayotou’s goal.
- Revolution goalkeeper Jacob Jackson made eight saves in the contest and improved his goals against average to 1.33 on the season.
- Homegrown midfielder Damian Rivera led Revolution II with six shots, two on target while fellow Homegrown midfielder Esmir Bajraktarević recorded four shots with three on target.
- Revolution midfielder Tommy McNamara played 60 minutes and recorded one shot.
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Muhammad Hassan
Assistant Referees: Rachel Smith, Jake Brochu
Fourth Official: Ryan Homik
Weather: 73 degrees and sunny
Scoring Summary:
NE – Jack Panayotou (Peyton Miller) 59’
CHI – Noeh Hernandez (Luka Prpa) 62’
Misconduct Summary:
CHI – Charlie Ostrem (Yellow Card – Foul) 26’
NE – Tommy McNamara (Yellow Card – Foul) 51’
CHI – Jeffrey Gal (Yellow Card – Time Wasting) 54’
NE – Jake Rozhansky (Yellow Card – Foul) 73’
NE – Pierre Cayet (Yellow Card – Foul) 82’
CHI – Omari Glasglow (Yellow Card – Foul) 87’
New England Revolution II: Jacob Jackson; Peyton Miller, Pierre Cayet, Victor Souza, Tiago Suarez (Jacob Akanyirige 90’+2); Tommy McNamara (Jake Rozhansky 60’); Damian Rivera, Jack Panayotou, Joshua Bolma (Marcos Dias 75’), Esmir Bajraktarević (Malcolm Fry 75’); Jordan Adebayo-Smith.
Substitutes Not Used: Nico Campuzano; Ben Awashie, Olger Escobar, Ítalo, Colby Quiñones.
Chicago Fire II: Jeffrey Gal; Eric Leonard, Luka Prpa (Romain Blake 90’+5), Allan Rodriguez (Michael Flores 68’); Lamonth Rochester, Charlie Ostrem, Jake Fuderer, Omari Glasgow; Billy Hency (Matteo Kidd 46’), Sergio Oregel (Michael Nesci 80’), Victor Bezerra (Noeh Hernandez 46’).
Substitutes Not Used: Mihajlo Miskovic; Dylan Borso, Aaron Deppe.
