COLUMBUS, Ohio (August 18, 2024) – New England Revolution II (4-14-3; 17 pts.) fell to Columbus Crew 2 (10-5-6; 39 pts.), 2-1, at Historic Crew Stadium on Sunday night. Revolution II forward Marcos Dias tallied his sixth goal of the season. Goalkeeper Max Weinstein recorded his first penalty kick save of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro campaign.
After Columbus opened the scoring in the 11th minute, New England shortly equalized, when Dias blasted a volley past Crew 2’s goalkeeper. Dias, the club’s all-time leading scorer, netted his sixth tally of the year. The Brazilian forward capitalized on a chipped cross from midfielder Joshua Bolma, who recorded his second assist of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro campaign.
The second half remained steady until Columbus was awarded a penalty kick in the 62nd minute. Crew 2 forward Cole Mrowka stepped up to the spot to take the attempt, but Weinstein, a Revolution Academy graduate, guessed correctly to save the shot. In his second consecutive start with New England this season, the Montpelier, Vermont native registered five saves.
In the 75th minute, Columbus applied pressure to force an own goal to close out the scoring. New England nearly pulled one back in the 87th minute, though defender Eric Klein’s shot skimmed the crossbar. Revolution II forward Alex Monis, the team’s leading scorer, paced New England with six shots tonight, matching his single-game high in shots.
Tonight’s match also featured the first professional start of 16-year-old midfielder and Academy product Javaun Mussenden. Mussenden was one of seven Revolution Academy products in tonight’s contest, including Weinstein, Colby Quiñones, and Klein earning starts while Olger Escobar, Gevork Diarbian, and Damario McIntosh entered the match as second-half substitutes.
Revolution II resume a two-game road swing on Saturday, August 24 with a visit to Carolina Core FC at Truist Point Stadium in High Point, N.C. The 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff is available to watch on Apple TV- MLS Season Pass.
MATCH NOTES
- F Marcos Dias scored his sixth goal of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro campaign.
- M Joshua Bolma registered his second assist of the season in his fifth start for Revolution II this year.
- F Alex Monis led New England’s attack with six shots, matching his MLS NEXT Pro single-game high in shots.
- M Javaun Mussenden logged 77 minutes in his first professional start tonight, since making his debut on August 7 vs. FC Cincinnati 2.
- GK Max Weinstein recorded a five-save effort, including a penalty kick save in his second consecutive start in net for New England. The Montpelier, Vermont native registered his first clean sheet of the season in the team’s last match on August 7 against FC Cincinnati 2.
- F Olger Escobar, a Malden, Mass. native, logged 44 minutes in his 10th appearance with Revolution II this season.
GAME CAPSULE
MLS NEXT Pro Match #21
New England Revolution II 1, Columbus Crew 2 2August 18, 2024 – Historic Crew Stadium (Columbus, Ohio.)
Referee: Muhammad Hassan
Assistant Referee: Stephen Milhoan
Assistant Referee: Jake Brochu
Fourth Official: Salvador Flores
Weather: 83 degrees and cloudy
Scoring Summary:CLB – Cole Mrowka (Tristan Brown) 11’
NE – Marcos Dias 6 (Joshua Bolma 2) 19’
NE – Own Goal 75’
Misconduct Summary:CLB – Chase Adams (Yellow Card) 18’
NE – Javaun Mussenden (Yellow Card) 77’
NE – Tiago Suarez (Yellow Card) 79’
New England Revolution II: Max Weinstein; Moshtaba Al-Hasnawi, Tiago Suarez, Eric Klein, Colby Quiñones; Javaun Mussenden (Damario McIntosh 77’), Luka Borovic (Olger Escobar 46’), Patrick Leal; Joshua Bolma, Alex Monis (Gevork Diarbian 62’), Marcos Dias.
Substitutes Not Used: JD Gunn, Brandonn Bueno, Cristiano Oliveira, Andrej Bjelajac, Robert Nichols III, Sage Kinner.
Columbus Crew 2: Stanislav Lapkes; Jacob Greene (Xavier Zengue 85’), Christopher Rogers, Owen Presthus; Brent Adu-Gyamfi, Adrian Gonzalez (Giorgio DeLibera 69’), Nicolas Rincon (Sy Ibrahima 90’+2), Tristan Brown; Cole Mrowka (Jayden Da 69’), Chase Adams, Gibran Rayo (Anthony Alaouieh 69’).
Substitutes Not Used: Terron Williams, Cole Johnson.
