FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution II (10-5-4; 38 pts.) defeated first-place Crown Legacy FC (12-2-4; 41 pts.), 3-1, on Wednesday morning at Gillette Stadium. With the victory, New England closes the gap to three points behind Crown Legacy FC in the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference standings. With its 10th victory of the 2023 campaign, New England becomes one of five teams in MLS NEXT Pro with double-digit victories this season. Homegrown Player Peyton Miller netted his second goal of the season to highlight the attack, while Marcos Dias and Jordan Adebayo-Smith also scored for Revolution II. Goalkeeper Jacob Jackson collected his fourth victory in his eighth start of the 2023 season.
Dias opened the scoring for Revolution II with a 21st-minute strike on forward Malcolm Fry’s assist. Fry, a native of Groton, Mass., started the play with a cross to Dias after a Crown Legacy turnover. Dias struck the ball home for his sixth tally of the season, matching the 21-year-old Brazilian’s career-high mark with Revolution II to give New England a 1-0 lead at halftime.
In the second half, New England leaned on the team’s top scorer, Adebayo-Smith, to pad the lead. Adebayo-Smith registered his eighth goal of the season, two behind the MLS NEXT Pro lead, on a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner. The 22-year-old striker continues his strong stretch of play with four goals and three assists over his last seven appearances. Miller sealed the scoring in the 69th minute, converting on Academy forward Olger Escobar’s first professional assist. Escobar, a 16-year-old from Malden, Mass., will represent New England in the MLS NEXT Pro All-Star game in Annapolis, Maryland next Wednesday, July 19.
Miller has now scored in each of his last two appearances for Revolution II after netting his first professional goal last Sunday in a 2-0 victory over Inter Miami II. The 15-year-old Unionville, Conn. native was one of six Academy products to feature in today’s match, along with Escobar, Fry, Colby Quiñones, Brandonn Bueno and Eric Klein, who made his professional debut with an appearance off the bench in the victory. Klein, a 16-year-old midfielder, is the 29th Academy player make their professional debut with Revolution II.
New England now embarks on a two-week break before resuming its MLS NEXT Pro campaign. Revolution II returns to action on Sunday, July 30, when the team visits Chicago Fire II for the second and final meetings between the two sides this season. The match kicks off at 6:00 p.m. ET from SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois, and streams live on MLSNEXTPro.com.
New England Revolution II 3, Crown Legacy FC 1
July 12, 2023 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
- Revolution II earned their 10th victory of the 2023 season and closed the gap to three points behind first-place Crown Legacy FC in the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference standings.
- Homegrown midfielder/defender Peyton Miller tallied his second goal of the season, New England’s final goal of the match, to seal the 3-0 victory. Miller has now scored in consecutive games after netting his first professional goal in last Sunday’s 2-0 win over Inter Miami II.
- Academy forward Olger Escobar recorded his first professional assist on Miller’s goal. Escobar, who will play in next week’s MLS NEXT All-Star game, registered his sixth appearance with Revolution II this season.
- Forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith extended his team lead in goals scored to eight with the game-winning shot in the 52nd minute and is now just two goals shy of the MLS NEXT Pro lead.
- Forward Marcos Dias tallied his sixth goal of the season to match his single-season career high with Revolution II.
- With today’s win, goalkeeper Jacob Jackson, selected in the first round of the 2022 MLS Draft by New England, now owns four victories in eight games started.
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Hao Zhong
Assistant Referees: Melissa Gonzalez, Eric Schreiber
Fourth Official: Kenneth Rojas
Weather: 79 degrees and sunny
Scoring Summary:
NE – Marcos Dias 6 21’
NE – Jordan Adebayo-Smith 8 (Malcolm Fry 3) 52’
NE – Peyton Miller 2 (Olger Escobar 1) 69’
CTL – David Poreba (PK) 88’
New England Revolution II: Jacob Jackson; Peyton Miller, Pierre Cayet, Victor Souza, Tiago Suarez (Jacob Akanyirige 62’); Colby Quiñones (Ben Awashie 62’); Ítalo, Marcos Dias (Brandonn Bueno 73’), Olger Escobar (Eric Klein 82’), Malcolm Fry (Nakye Greenidge-Duncan 73’); Jordan Adeabyo-Smith.
Substitutes Not Used: Nico Campuzano, Jamie Kabuusu, Alex Parvu, Cristiano Oliveira.
Crown Legacy FC: Isaac Walker; Joao Pedro, Joao Guilherne, Jack Neeley; Jacob Williams (Tate Johnson 71’), Philip Mayaka (Erik Pena Boardman 71’), David Poreba, Nicholas Scardina; Marko Filipovich (Gurman Sangha 57’), Iuri Tavares, Josue Rodrigues (Nimfasha Berchimas 57’).
Substitutes Not Used: Juan Martinez-Bastidas, Aryeh Miller, Brando Bedolla, James Nyandjo, Trey Faticoni.
