FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution II (3-0-0, 9 pts.) earned a 5-1 victory against Philadelphia Union II (0-3-0, 0 pts.) at Gillette Stadium on Monday afternoon to remain unbeaten in the 2023 MLS Next Pro season. New England’s attack featured five different goal scorers in the victory as Damian Rivera, Jordan Adebayo-Smith, Esmir Bajraktarevic, Malcolm Fry, and Brandonn Bueno all found the back of the net. In net, goalkeeper Nico Campuzano made three saves to help seal New England’s first-ever 3-0-0 start in team history.
“I think the team took their chances well, were opportunistic in those moments," Peay said of his team's performance. "We could’ve done a better job of keeping possession at times, and defending in some moments at times, but overall, I was very happy in terms of exploiting what they gave us.”
Philadelphia netted the first goal of the contest, when Stefan Stojanovic scored on a penalty kick in the 10th minute. From there, it was all New England as Revolution II evened the score in the 21st minute on Rivera’s right-footed shot into the net. Revolution II doubled their score in the 29th minute as Jacob Akanyirige sent a through ball up the center of the field to Adebayo-Smith who flicked it past Philadelphia’s Brooks Thompson for the 2-1 lead.
New England maintained command of the match in the second half, notching three goals. Bajraktarevic tallied his second goal in as many games after Campuzano sailed the ball from the top of the box to Adebayo-Smith, who passed it to the 18-year-old midfielder for the left-footed finish in the 49th minute.
Fry made his way onto the scoresheet, moving his way through two Philadelphia defenders at the right side of the box, sending a right-footed shot just under the cross bar for his first tally of the season. Bueno sealed the scoring after drawing a penalty in the box and capitalizing on a penalty kick in the 89th minute.
“It's awesome. When I'm preparing for the games, when I try to get into the right state of mind, I try to think of the best moments that I've had on the soccer field, and as you can imagine winning the national championship is definitely one of those," Fry said of playing alongside other Academy graduates. "In bed this morning, I was thinking about those moments, and I was thinking about Brandonn [Bueno] and the moments that we had. We're building something special. That tournament, that championship was a big moment, but there's more to come, so to see us both being on the scoresheet today, both getting minutes, both playing well, it's an exciting time.”
New England returns to action on Sunday, April 16, when the team visits Columbus Crew 2 (1-0-1) in a battle between unbeaten teams at Historic Crew Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. with the match streaming live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
New England Revolution II 5, Philadelphia Union II 1
April 10, 2023 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
- With the win, New England opens a season with three consecutive wins for the first time in Revolution II history.
- Today’s match marks the first five-goal game for Revolution II.
- Following today’s victory, Revolution II are in first place in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference. New England and Crown Legacy FC (2-0-1) are the lone remaining unbeaten teams in the Northeast Division.
- Four of Revolution II’s five goals came from Revolution Academy products – Esmir Bajraktarevic, Brandonn Bueno, Malcolm Fry, and Damian Rivera.
- Bajraktarevic scored his second goal in his second appearance of the season, leading the team with seven shots and three shots on target.
- Defender Jacob Akanyirige logged 90 minutes in his Revolution II debut.
- Forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith tallied his second goal of the season, tallying three shots with two on target.
- Midfielder Nakye Greenidge-Duncan surpassed 500 minutes played in his career with a 19-minute appearance off the bench.
- Academy defender Peyton Miller logged the full 90 for his third straight start of the season.
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: José Carlos Rivero
Assistant Referees: Claudiu Badea, Eric Schreiber
Fourth Official: Andrew Porada
Weather: 60 and sunny
Scoring Summary:
PHI – Stefan Stojanovic (PK) 10’
NE – Damian Rivera (Peyton Miller) 21’
NE – Jordan Adebayo-Smith (Jacob Akanyirige) 29’
NE – Esmir Bajraktarević (Jordan Adebayo-Smith) 49’
NE – Malcolm Fry (Damian Rivera) 54’
NE – Brandonn Bueno (PK) 89’
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Pierre Cayet (Yellow Card) 38’
PHI – Anton Sorenson (Yellow Card) 40’
PHI – Jose Riasco (Yellow Card) 64’
PHI – Maike Villero (Yellow Card) 69’
NE – Jack Panayotou (Yellow Card) 81’
New England Revolution II: Nico Campuzano; Peyton Miller; Pierre Cayet; Victor Souza; Jacob Akanyirige; Josh Bolma (Jake Rozhansky 62’); Esmir Bajraktarević, Jack Panayotou (Brandonn Bueno 84’); Malcolm Fry (Marcos Dias 62’); Damian Rivera (Nakye Greenidge-Duncan 71’); Jordan Adebayo-Smith (Weverton 62’).
Substitutes Not Used: Max Weinstein; Colby Quiñónes; Tiago Suarez; Ben Awashie.
Philadelphia Union II: Brooks Thompson; Anton Sorenson (Luke Martelli); Juan Castillo; Hugo Le Guennec (Noe Uwimana 24’); Francis Westfield (Nathaniel Nkanji 67’); Maike Villero (Boubacar Diallo 75’); Richard Odada; Stefan Stojanovic; Jeremy Rafanello; Jose Riasco (Luciano Sanchez 67’); Nelson Pierre.
Substitutes Not Used: Andrew Rick; Pedro Álvarez; Anthony Ramirez; Devon Stopek.
