FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (October 5, 2023) – New England Revolution II (14-6-8; 56 pts.; 2nd in East) hosts New York Red Bulls II (14-6-8; 51 pts.; 4th in East) at Gillette Stadium in the Eastern Conference Semifinal Round of the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs on Friday. The match kicks off at 7:00 p.m. ET with Joseph Mafla and Ricky Lopez Espin calling the action on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
No. 2 New England earned its spot in the second round on Sunday after defeating No. 7 Philadelphia Union II in the quarterfinal round, 3-2. Forward Marcos Dias tallied the first postseason goal in team history with a penalty kick in the 26th minute. Homegrown midfielder Esmir Bajraktarević rounded out the scoring for Revolution II with a second-half brace, giving him eight total goals for the second team this season. Goalkeeper Jacob Jackson made three saves to seal the victory.
New England now sets its sights on No. 4 New York Red Bulls II. The two sides last met on August 6, when Jordan Adebayo-Smith, the team’s leading scorer with 12 regular-season goals, tallied in the 1-1 draw. Including the first-round victory, Revolution II owns a 9-1-5 record at Gillette Stadium this season and is 7-1-6 over the last 14 matches overall.
“We’re very excited. I don’t think whether it was Columbus or New York Red Bulls that any of the games would have been easier for us,” Revolution II Assistant Coach Marcelo Santos said of the team’s next opponent. “We haven’t beat them this year, so it’s going to be a very good challenge for our team, but I think it gives us a chance to make it right this time. We’re home again, the guys are excited, we played a good match [on Sunday]. We are ready for them.”
General admission tickets for Friday’s match are on sale now. For the 2023 season, Season Members received three (3) complimentary Revs II “flex tickets” for each season seat on their account. To allocate these Revolution II flex tickets to specific home playoff games at Gillette Stadium, Season Members can log into Account Manager. Season Members can also purchase additional discounted Revs II home playoff individual game tickets for $7 each at the Season Member rate via Account Managerand clicking the “Buy Revs II Tickets” button in the header.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR AGAINST NEW YORK RED BULLS II:
- New England adding to its 60 goals scored in 2023, including playoffs, and improving upon its 9-1-5 record at Gillette Stadium this season.
- Revolution II improving upon a 7-1-6 record in the last 14 matches.
- Forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith adding to his team-leading 12 goals and six assists across all competitions against his former team.
- Forward Marcos Dias building upon his 75-minute, one-goal performance from last Sunday.
- Local products Malcolm Fry (Groton, Mass.), Jack Panayotou (Cambridge, Mass.), Peyton Miller (Unionville, Conn.), and Olger Escobar (Malden, Mass.), among others, continuing to play significant roles.
- Defenders Peyton Miller, Pierre Cayet, Colby Quiñones, and Victor Souza continuing to lead the backline after all four defenders played the full 90 minutes in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal match.
