MATTHEWS, N.C. (September 17, 2023) – New England Revolution II (14-6-8; 56 pts.) fell to Crown Legacy FC (18-4-5; 63 pts.), 1-0, on Sunday afternoon at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex. Goalkeeper Max Weinstein made six saves in his third consecutive start while forward Olger Escobar led his team with three shots in the match.

Crown Legacy found the scoresheet in the 42nd minute with a goal from Nimfasha Berchimas, putting New England down by one at halftime. Revolution II recorded six shots on target but were unable to break through to record just their sixth loss of the year to close out regular season action.

The 2023 campaign marked a record-breaking season for Revolution II where the squad collected several team-highs with 14 wins, 57 goals scored, a plus-16 goal difference, and 156 shots on target. In the season opener on March 26, 15-year-old Peyton Miller became the youngest player to make his professional debut and later became the youngest to score his first professional goal on May 25. Forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith now owns the team record for most goals scored in a single season at 12 while defender Victor Souza logged 2,448 minutes in his first professional season for a new single season record of his own.

Alongside Miller, Revolution II saw the professional debuts of three other Academy players this season in Gianluca Armellino, Eric Klein, and Olger Escobar as well as the first professional goals of Miller, Souza, Ben Awashie, Joshua Bolma, and Brandonn Bueno. Homegrown midfielder Esmir Bajraktarević recorded the first hat trick in team history on May 21 in a season where he and fellow Homegrown midfielder Damian Rivera each tallied six goals with Jack Panayotou recording five of his own for New England’s second team.

Revolution II will now take their final bye week of the 2023 regular season and return to action the weekend of September 29 to host the program’s first-ever MLS NEXT Pro playoff match at Gillette Stadium. Having already clinched second place in the Eastern Conference, New England will choose who it will host between the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh place teams following MLS NEXT Pro’s “pick-your-opponent” playoff format. Dates and times for the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Quarterfinals will be announced soon.

New England Revolution II 0, Crown Legacy FC 1
September 17, 2023 – Mecklenburg County Sportsplex (Matthews, N.C.)

• Playing its final match of the 2023 regular season, New England clinches second place in the Eastern Conference at 14-6-8 with 56 points and is set to begin playoff action for the first time in the program’s history in two weeks.
• Goalkeeper Max Weinstein made six saves in his third consecutive start.
• Forward Olger Escobar recorded a team-high three shots in just nine minutes of action.
• Revolution midfielder Maciel entered the match in the 73rd minute and recorded one shot to mark his first appearance since his season-ending Achilles injury last year.
• Homegrown midfielder Jack Panayotou recorded two shots, two on target in the match.

GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Eliji Arreguin 
Assistant Referees: Brian Marshal, Rhett Hammil
Fourth Official: Josiah Parke
Weather: 63 and cloudy

Scoring Summary:
CLT – Nimfasha Berchimas (Brandon Cambridge) 42’

Misconduct Summary:
CLT– Nikola Petkovic (Yellow Card – Foul) 26’
NE – Jordan Adebayo-Smith (Yellow Card – Foul) 48’
CLT – Nicholas Scardina (Yellow Card – Foul) 53’
NE – Peyton Miller (Yellow Card – Foul) 67’
CLT – Erik Pena Boardman (Yellow Card – Foul) 86’

New England Revolution II: Max Weinstein; Colby Quiñones (Malcolm Fry 61’), Pierre Cayet, Victor Souza; Santiago Suarez; Jack Panayotou, Patrick Leal (Maciel 73’); Joshua Bolma, Marcos Dias (Olger Escobar 81’), Peyton Miller (ĺtalo 73’); Jordan Adebayo-Smith (Noble Okello 61’).

Substitutes Not Used: Nico Campuzano, Ben Awashie, Jacob Akanyirige, Brandonn Bueno.

Crown Legacy FC:  Chituru Odunze; Nicholas Scardina, Jack Neeley (Aron John 88’), João Pedro, Jacob Williams; David Poreba,Nikola Petkovic (Erik Pena Boardman 77’), Philip Mayaka; Nimfasha Berchimas (Kimarni Smith 76’), Iuri Tavares, Brandon Cambridge (Thiago 88’). 

Substitutes Not Used: Isaac Walker, Jaydus Camacho, Ivan Mata, Josué Rodrigues, Brian Romero.