BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (July 21, 2024) – New England Revolution II (4-12-2; 16 pts.) fell to Chicago Fire FC II (8-4-6; 35 pts.) 3-2, at SeatGeek Stadium on Sunday evening. Revolution II forward Alex Monis scored his sixth goal of the season to become New England’s leading goal scorer, while defender Damario McIntosh aided in the offensive attack to force an own goal from Chicago’s defense.
New England came out on the offensive, with Monis finding the scoresheet early in a first-half frenzy. After taking a foul from the hosts, Monis converted from the penalty spot to notch the opening goal in just the 12th minute. The forward tallied his sixth goal of the season against his former club. However, Chicago quickly equalized in the 17th minute and added another in the 20th minute.
The back-and-forth battle continued throughout the first half, with McIntosh, a Revolution Academy product, contributing to New England’s attacking efforts. McIntosh crossed a ball into Chicago Fire FC II defender Jaylen Shannon, generating an own goal from the hosts in the 22nd minute. The Revolution II defender will travel to Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday to participate in the 2024 MLS NEXT All-Star match.
In the 26th minute, Chicago converted on a penalty kick to gain a 3-2 lead before a scoreless second half. New England goalkeeper JD Gunn made seven saves in tonight’s contest, marking his MLS NEXT Pro single-game career-high in saves. Gunn has played between the posts for 12 consecutive games, all starts, since making his professional debut on April 19.
Tonight’s match also saw the professional debut of 16-year-old Robert Nichols III, a Revolution Academy U-17s defender from Milton, Mass. Nichols III entered the match as a second-half substitute, alongside midfielder and Framingham, Mass. native, Brandonn Bueno, both logging 14 minutes in their first appearance with Revolution II this season. Nichols III and Bueno were two out of five Academy products that saw action tonight, including Eric Klein and McIntosh earning starts, while Colby Quiñones entered the match as a first-half substitute.
Revolution II continue the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro campaign on Saturday, August 3 with a visit to face Atlanta United 2 at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Ga. The 8:30 p.m. ET kickoff is available to watch on MLSNEXTPro.com.
MATCH NOTES
- F Alex Monis scored his sixth goal of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro campaign, becoming Revolution II’s lead goal scorer this season.
- D Damario McIntosh helped generate a scoring opportunity by forcing an own goal from Chicago, in his 15th start out of 17 games played for New England.
- D Eric Klein, a Revolution Academy product, appeared in the Starting XI for the 10th consecutive match tonight and led the offensive attack with 5 shots for New England.
- M Brandonn Bueno suited up for his first appearance with Revolution II this year, while 16-year-old D Robert Nichols III made his professional debut, both posting a 14-minute shift.
- GK JD Gunn recorded a seven-save effort in tonight’s match to register a new career-high in single-game saves.
GAME CAPSULE
MLS NEXT Pro Match #18
New England Revolution II 2, Chicago Fire FC II 3July 21, 2024 – SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, Ill.)
Referee: Justin St. Pierre
Assistant Referee: Eric Burton
Assistant Referee: Justin Mack
Fourth Official: Ryan Homik
Weather: 85 degrees and partly cloudy
Scoring Summary:
NE – Alex Monis 6 (Penalty Kick) 13’
CHI – Lamonth Rochester (Unassisted) 54’
CHI – Jason Shokalook (Omari Glasgow) 20’
NE – Jaylen Shannon (Own Goal) 22’
CHI – David Poreba (Penalty Kick) 26’
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Giovanni Calderón (Yellow Card) 25’
NE – Patrick Leal (Yellow Card) 43’
NE – Eric Klein (Yellow Card) 50’
NE – Tiago Suarez (Yellow Card) 65’
NE – Joshua Bolma (Yellow Card) 79’
New England Revolution II: JD Gunn; Moshtaba Al-Hasnawi (Robert Nichols III.
76’), Tiago Suarez, Giovanni Calderón, Damario McIntosh (Brandonn Bueno 76’); Eric Klein, Maciel (Colby Quiñones), Patrick Leal; Joshua Bolma, Alex Monis, Gevork Diarbian (Liam Butts 61’).
Substitutes Not Used: Max Weinstein; Andrej Bjelajac, Giuseppe Ciampa, Sage Kinner.
Chicago Fire FC II: Patrick Los; Justin Reynolds (Juan Zapata Calle 46’), Jaylen Shannon, Diego Konincks, Jean Diouf (Christopher Cupps 46’), Lamonth Rochester (Peter Soudan 65’); Omari Glasgow, David Poreba, Vitaliy Hlyut; Jason Shokalook (Giovanni Granda 86’), Christian Koffi.
Substitutes Not Used: Patryk Stechnij, Charlie Norkett.
Full statistics available HERE.
