Revolution II pick up their fifth win of the season with a 1-0 shutout on the road.
Revolution II returned to MLS NEXT Pro action Sunday evening as they faced FC Cincinnati 2. Sunday was the second all-time meeting for both clubs. The first coming on April 17th at Gillette, where a Jack Panayotou brace and a Ryan Lima goal propelled Revs II to a 3-2 win.
Revs II came into Sunday’s match in third place of the Eastern Conference with 15 points on a 4-1-2 record. Revs II picked up all three points in their previous outing on the road against Toronto FC II, as a goal from Marcos Dias in the 47th minute gave Revs II a 1-0 win.
Three changes were made to the lineup from Revs II’s win over TFC II as Mike DeShields, Noel Buck, and Meny Silva returned to the starting XI.
Esmir Bajraktarevic attempted to get the Revs II offense rolling in the 5th minute as he pulled back a long-distance shot that came close to dipping, but the shot had too much on it as it sailed over the crossbar for a Cincinnati goal kick.
Things proceeded to get chippy between both sides in the 17th minute after Cincinnati’s Harrison Robledo laid a heavy challenge on Trevor Zwetsloot. The harsh tackle upset Revolution II as players began to converge on the spot of the foul. Both sides began jawing back and forth, that ultimately led to shoving. The referees were able to settle tempers for the time being as the offender, Harrison Robledo, received the game’s second yellow card.
Rookie goalkeeper Jacob Jackson was put to work in the 26th minute as a through ball found a wide-open Arquimides Ordonez darting towards the Revs II goal. Ordonez drove to the right side of the goal and unloaded a shot that the 24th overall pick of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft saved.
Cincinnati came close to netting the first goal as the Cincy attack scooped up Jackson’s deflection in front of the goal. Miraculously, the shot on the empty net somehow sailed left of the net and out for a Revs II goal kick. A lucky break for Jackson and Revolution II.
Although both sides created phenomenal chances in the first half, neither side capitalized as the game remained scoreless.
One change came for Revs II before the start of the second half as Jake Rozhansky entered the game for Esmir Bajraktarevic.
Dias put Revs II on the board in the 53rd as the Brazilian forward got on Jake Rozhansky’s pass and drove horizontally across the top of the 18-yard-box. Dias sent a left-footed shot onto the bottom right corner of the goal and into the back of the net. Dias has been on a tear since arriving from Vasco da Gama with two goals over the past two games.
Defender Colby Quiñones entered the match in the 67th minute for Ryan Lima. The 19-year-old right-back recently received a call-up to the Puerto Rico National Team as he searches for his first cap with the Puerto Rico senior team after stints on the youth level.
Jackson came up huge for Revs II in the 74th minute as Andrew Akindele received Zico Bailey’s pass inside the 6-yard-box and sent a shot on goal. Jackson dove to his left and got a hand on the ball as he directed it out of play for a Cincinnati 2 corner.
A pair of substitutions came in the 76th minute as Hikaru Fujiwara and Ben Reveno came on for Noel Buck and Michael DeShields.
Things got tense again in stoppage time as Arquimides Ordonez laid in a heavy challenge on Sean O’Hearn. Ordonez received a yellow card for the challenge.
It was another outstanding outing for Jackson as his four saves on the day awarded the keeper with his fourth consecutive shutout. Jackson has been impressive throughout his seven appearances with Revolution II. The Loyola Marymount alum has a GAA of 0.71 and 29 saves while only conceding five goals.
With Sunday’s win over Cincinnati 2, Revs II rise to second place in the East with 18 points on a 5-1-2 record.
Revolution II have a quick turnaround as they host Philadelphia Union II on Friday, May 27th, at 7:00 PM ET on mlsnextpro.com.