Recap: Revs II 1 - 4 Crew 2

Revolution II returned to action Sunday following the bye week as they traveled to Historic Crew Stadium to take on a tough Columbus Crew 2.

While Revs II entered Sunday’s contest in fourth place of the East with 26 points on a 7-4-4 record, recent results have not sat well with the club. They saw their winless streak stretch to four games in their last outing as NYCFC II picked up a dominant 4-0 win inside Gillette Stadium. Revs II’s last win came over a month ago on June 11th.

There were five changes to the lineup from July 10th’s 4-0 loss to NYCFC II. MLS veteran Earl Edwards Jr. returned to Revs II as he filled in for an injured Jacob Jackson. José Ítalo, Michael DeShields, and Meny Silva returned to the starting lineup along with the U19 MLS NEXT Cup Golden Boot winner, Jack Panayotou.

Revs II was awarded a golden opportunity in the opening minute as Isaiah Parente fouled Meny Silva, which led to Revs II winning a free kick yards outside the box. Michael DeShields stretched out his leg in an attempt to contact the lobbed free kick. Unfortunately, it was too long as the ball bounced out of play for a goal kick.

Marcos Dias looked poised to score in the 5th minute as he outworked the Crew 2 defense and got onto a ball lobbed over the top. The turf monster had other plans as Dias slipped and fell to the ground. He was luckily able to get up and maintain possession. Dias weaved around the Crew 2 press and attempted to send a ball over to Meny Silva but hit it too hard as it quickly rolled out of play.

Crew 2 played some heads-up offense in the 15th minute as Ryan Telfer sent a laser of a shot on goal. Edwards Jr. got onto the shot but did not keep possession as the ball rebounded into the box. Michael Vang was all over the rebound and drilled the ball into the back of the net to give Crew 2 a 1-0 lead.

Jack Panayotou received the game’s first booking in the 23^rd minute after he was assessed a yellow card for committing a harsh foul on Abdirizak Mohamed.

Ben Reveno was assessed a yellow card in the 26^th minute after committing a foul on Will Sands.

After a combination of an Isaiah Parente mishit shot and lack of man-marking from the defense, Michael Vang struck again in the 27th minute as he got onto the ball and snuck it into the back of the net to give himself a brace and Crew 2 a 2-0 lead less than thirty minutes into the match.

Marcos Dias cut the deficit to one in the 41^st as he got onto the end of a lobbed ball from Michael DeShields. Dias flanked up the right side and cut in as he sent a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner.

But Revs II shot themselves in the foot just minutes later as a Crew 2 corner kick pinballed inside the box that took a deflection off Michael DeShields and into the back of the net as Crew 2 pushed things to 3-1 after a disastrous own goal.

There were two changes before the start of the second half as Ryan Spaulding and Michel replaced Meny Silva and Michael DeShields.

Spaulding looked to get Revs II back on the board in the 55th minute as he sent a left-footed shot from a difficult angle on target that was saved by the keeper.

Esmir Bajraktarevic entered the match in the 60th minute as he replaced fellow first-teamer, Noel Buck.

Crew 2’s lead expanded in the 74th minute as Jake Morris drove down the left side of the field and sent a low cross to Coleman Gannon, who effortlessly broke past the Revs II defense and tapped the ball past Edwards Jr. and into the back of the net to give Crew 2 a dominant 4-1 lead.

Revolution II’s final substitutions came in the 82nd minute as Trevor Zwetsloot entered the match in place of Sean O’Hearn while Ryan Lima entered for Marcos Dias.

It was a disappointing night for Revs II as things ended with a 4-1 Crew 2 victory. Sunday’s loss extends the Revs II’s winless streak to five as they give up four goals in their last two matches.

Despite the loss, Revs II still have their head above the playoff line as they remain in fourth place with 26 points on a 7-5-4 record.

A big match with huge implications next weekend as Revs II return home on Sunday, July 31st, at 7:00 PM as they host sixth-placed Toronto FC II, who trail the Revs by three points in the standings.