Revolution II win MLS NEXT Pro 2023 debut 3-2

FOXBOROUGH, MA— The New England Revolution II (1-0-0, 3pts.) defeated Atlanta United II (0-1-0, 0pts.) in a 3-2 victory on Sunday Night.

The match kicked off at 7:00 p.m. ET at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia

Kicking off from Kennesaw pic.twitter.com/RQp63vKy1C

— New England Revolution II (@NERevolution2) March 26, 2023

The team started their lineup in a 4-3-3 formation with goalkeeper Nico Campuzano starting in the net with a backline of (left back) Peyton Miller, (center backs) Pierre Cayet and Tiago Suarez, along with (right back) Victor Souza. The midfield consisted of Noble Okello (left), Captain Jake Rozhansky (center), and Damian Rivera (right). The forward roles were manned by Marcos Dias (left), Jordan Adebayo-Smith (right), and Malcolm Fry as the lone striker.

A key moment entering the match was that 15-year-old defender Peyton Miller became the youngest player to make his professional debut with the Revolution II at 15 years and 138 days old.

Record setting right at the start

At 15 years and 138 days old, defender Peyton Miller becomes the youngest player to make his professional debut with #NERevsII

Congrats, Peyton! pic.twitter.com/uflrq265OX

— New England Revolution II (@NERevolution2) March 26, 2023

The match kicked off with Atlanta United starting from the center circle and moving the ball back toward their backline and began to move up the left flank of the field.

The first moment of the match came in the 17th minute when #6 played a through ball that made its way past 2 Atlanta United defenders. Revolution forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith got in behind and took one touch to get around sliding Atlanta United II goalkeeper #23 Vicente Reyes. Jordan then took an off-balanced left-footed shot which struck the left post and came right back to goalkeeper #23 Vicente Reyes.

The Revolution II struck first in the 36th minute when Jake Rozhansky’s short corner was played into the feet of Marcos Dias who then backheeled the ball back to Rozhansky. He then played a right-footed ball that deflected off of the outstretched leg of Atlanta United II’s #37 Aiden McFadden and deflected into the Atlanta United II goal.

Rozhansky's cross is deflected in and @NERevolution2 take the lead! pic.twitter.com/L4Ah7Y18Zq

— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) March 27, 2023

The match entered halftime with the New England Revolution II leading 1-0.

HALFTIME:#NERevsII 1 | ATL 0

— New England Revolution II (@NERevolution2) March 26, 2023

Head Coach Clint Peay made one change entering the second half by substituting midfielder Damian Rivera for midfielder Joshua Bolma.

The second half kicked off with the Revolution II kicking the ball backward toward their midfield sending the ball up into the Atlanta United defensive third.

Entering the 51st minute, the Revolution doubled their lead.

Following combination play with Marcos Dias, left-back Peyton Miller sent in a left-footed cross which was headed away by Atlanta United II’s #37 Aiden McFadden. The ball then proceeded to exit the box and found Jake Rozhansky atop of the box, who chest trapped the ball down, did a pull-back turn, and unleashed a left-footed shot that went directly into the top left corner past Atlanta United  II goalkeeper #23 Vicente Reyes.

Rozhansky makes it 2⃣!

2-0 @NERevolution2 pic.twitter.com/Stk5czvFkh

— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) March 27, 2023

In the 55th minute, Revolution II forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith entered the referee’s book with a yellow card.

Just 1 minute later, Rozhansky almost had another goal. On the left flank, Peyton Miller’s throw-in found Marcos Dias who sent in a left-footed cross into the box which was headed away by Atlanta United II’s #37 Aiden McFadden. The ball was chest trapped once more by Rozhansky who uncorked a right-footed volley that struck the top left of the Atlanta United crossbar. The ball was then triple-cleared by Atlanta.

2 minutes later, In the 59th minute, the Revolution II continued their attacking display and advanced their lead to 3.

Following a corner kick taken by Jake Rozhansky, the ball was met by Pierre Cayet who managed to break away from his man and headed the ball past Atlanta United’s goalkeeper #23 Vicente Reyes which snuck into the bottom left-hand corner.

Off the corner! Cayet adds a third goal to @NERevolution2's tally! pic.twitter.com/D6u7hjqkNg

— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) March 27, 2023

In the 61st minute, Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay made his 2nd and 3rd change of the match by substituting forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith for Weverton, and defender Tiago Suarez for defender Colby Quinones.

In the 72nd minute, Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay made his 4th change of the match by substituting midfielder Captain Jake Rozhansky for midfielder Ben Awashie.

Atlanta United’s first major scoring chance of the match came in the 81st minute. Following a spectacular ball sent in from the midfield, the ball was met with a header by Atlanta United’s #8 Nick Firmino whose effort hit off the left post of the Revolution II goal. The ball was then hit back into the 6-yard box by Atlanta’s #9 Karim Tmimi and was shot from close range by #14 Kofi Twumasi and cleared off the line by Pierre Cayet.

In the 82nd minute, Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay made his 5th and final change of the match by substituting striker Malcolm Fry for midfielder Nakye Greenidge-Duncan.

In the 83rd minute, Atlanta United II scored their first goal of the match.

Following an attacking play on the right flank of the field, #23 Eric Centeno sent in a right-footed low-driven ball across the area which snuck past goalkeeper Nico Campuzano and was finished away by Atlanta United II’s #12 Raimar Lopes

The first goal of the 2023 season goes to @RaimarLopes pic.twitter.com/Ihy3NJY2lx

— ATL UTD 2 (@atlutd2) March 27, 2023

Just 5 minutes later, Atlanta United II got another scoring chance as #9 Karim Tmimi was taken down in the area by Revolution II defender Colby Quinones and referee Luis Guardia called the penalty kick.

Former Revolution forward Nick Firmino took the penalty for Atlanta United II in the 90th minute. He passed it calmly into the bottom left corner past Nico Campuzano who dove right, making the score 3-2.

Firmino converts from the spot to make it !@atlutd2 3-2 pic.twitter.com/b9YSeVvm34

— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) March 27, 2023

After the 4 added minutes, the Revolution II held onto their lead and won the match 3-2.

Three goals, three points pic.twitter.com/nEwLy7V63v

— New England Revolution II (@NERevolution2) March 27, 2023

The New England Revolution II finished the match with 43% possession, 9 shots, 378 total passes (79.4% accuracy), 8 crosses, 5 corners, and 3 total offsides. Defensively the squad had 40 duels won, 10 tackles won, 2 saves, with 2o clearances, 17 fouls, and 2 yellow cards.

For Revolution II fans, the team’s general admission tickets go on sale on Friday, March 24th beginning at $10 per match or $98 for a full-season plan including all 14 home games. Revolution Season Members have access to discounted Revolution II tickets. Fans can visit Revolutionsoccer.net/tickets for more information.

The New England Revolution II (1-0-0, 3pts.) will look to continue their start in their 2023 MLS NEXT Pro campaign as the squad returns home to Gillette Stadium to face New York City FC II (0-0-0, 0pts) on April 2nd at 8:00 p.m. All MLS, MLS NEXT Pro matches will be available through the new MLS Streaming Service on the Apple TV app.