FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution II (14-5-7; 54 pts.; 2nd in East) will put their 11-game unbeaten run to the test on Thursday night, when the team hosts Orlando City B in the final home match of the 2023 regular season. Thursday’s contest kicks off at 6:00 p.m. ET and streams live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV with Eric Duick calling the action.
New England stretched its team-record unbeaten streak to 11 consecutive matches without a defeat following a 3-0 shutout win over Huntsville City FC last weekend. Forward Malcolm Fry opened the scoring with an early tally in the eighth minute. Huntsville FC netted an own goal in the early minutes of the second half, before Homegrown midfielder Jack Panayotou scored his fifth goal of the season via penalty kick in the 71st minute. Max Weinstein suited up for his first start with Revolution II since becoming a two-time MLS NEXT Cup champion with the Academy’s Under-19 team in June. The Vermont native earned a four-save shutout, recording his first clean sheet with Revolution II this season. New England’s defense has registered three consecutive shutouts and carries a streak of 341 minutes without conceding a goal.
Revolution II faces Orlando for the second and final time in the regular season after earning a 5-4 win at Osceola Heritage Park back in August. Panayotou, Joshua Bolma, Jordan Adebayo-Smith, and Peyton Miller all found the scoresheet with Miller causing an own goal for Orlando in the first half of the match. New England owns an 8-1-4 record at Gillette Stadium this season and looks to add to its Eastern Conference-leading 56 goals scored as the 2023 regular season nears its close. With two regular season matches remaining and a spot in the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs already clinched, Revolution II sit just four points behind Crown Legacy FC for the Eastern Conference lead. Those two sides are set to face off on September 17 for Revolution II’s regular-season finale while MLS NEXT Pro’s Decision Day will take place on September 24, a bye week for New England.
“Of course, there’s still a lot to play for,” assistant coach Marcelo Santos said. “I think for our group, they want to be first. I know it’s a long shot, but I think it’s going to be really hard when you get to the playoffs so if we’re able to finish first or second, it’s something that you can grab and feel proud of in the season. I think we’re going to go all the way. If we cannot get there because Crown Legacy did their job, let’s finish as high as possible because a home game here is massive. That’s a goal for us in the next few games.”
WHAT TO WATCH FOR AGAINST ORLANDO CITY B:
- New England extending its league-high and team-record unbeaten streak to 11 consecutive games.
- New England adding to its 56 goals scored this season, second-most in MLS NEXT Pro.
- Revolution II improving upon their 8-1-4 home record at Gillette Stadium this season and their 4-1-1 record vs. Orlando City B dating back to the 2020 USL League One season.
- Forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith adding to his team-leading 12 goals and five assists in 2023.
- Defenders Pierre Cayet and Victor Souza continuing to lead the backline for New England where the two center backs have each contributed to all eight of the club’s clean sheets this season.
- Goalkeeper Max Weinstein building off his four-save shutout performance in his first clean sheet of the season last week.
- Goalkeeper Nico Campuzano improving upon his team-leading four clean sheets and 1.29 goals against average this season.
- Any Revolution Academy player making their professional debut and adding to the 29 that have done so in club history.
