Revs II fail to pick up the extra point as they fall to OCB in penalties
New England Revolution II returned to action Sunday night as they faced Orlando City B on the road in Orlando, Florida.
There were five changes to the starting XI as Pierre Cayet, Trevor Zwetsloot, Meny Silva, Ryan Lima, and Jack Panayoutou entered the lineup. Esmir Bajraktarevic was unavailable as he was called up to the United States U-20 training camp earlier this week. Noel Buck made the trip down to Orlando after being featured in the first team’s eighteen for their 3-2 loss on the road to D.C. United on Saturday night.
Zwetsloot entered the books early after receiving a yellow card in the 33rd minute for committing a foul on OCB’s Wilfredo Rivera. Neither side found the back of the net during the opening forty-five minutes of action as the score stayed level at 0-0. Revs II’s first substitution came in the 55th minute as Michel Costa came on in place of Jack Panayotou.
Buck came close to netting the first goal in the 60th minute as his shot from the right side of the box deflected off of the goal post. Buck attempted a follow-up shot but had it deflected away by the Orlando defense.
Things looked promising for Revs II in the 68th minute as Orlando midfielder Erick Gunera-Calix received his second booking of the night after committing a foul on Meny Silva. Up a man with twenty-two minutes left in regulation, things looked great for Revs II as they looked to push their winning streak to three games.
A pair of Revs II substitutions came in the 70th minute as Hikaru Fujiwara and Triton Beauvois came on in place of Jake Rozhansky and Lima.
Another pair of substitutions came in the 75th minute as Michael DeShields and Colby Quiñones came on for Zwetsloot and Silva.
The Revolution II offense tried to find the back of the net, but Orlando goalkeeper Javier Otero stood strong as neither team found the back of the net in regulation. Although it was a quiet night, Jacob Jackson earned his first shutout with the Revs as he saved the lone shot on target from Miami.
With the game tied at 0-0, both teams earned a point and looked to gain another point in the shootout. Orlando’s David Boccuzo was the first to convert as his right-footed shot to the bottom left corner got in as he gave OCB a 1-0 lead in the shootout. Noel Buck evened things out as his left-footed shot sailed into the top right corner of the net.
Rookie defender Ben Reveno gave Revs II their first lead in the shootout as his shot down the center of the goal found the back of the net. Moises Tablante quickly evened things out as his left-footed shot to the lower right corner made it in and leveled things at 2-2 after three rounds.
Theo Franca regained the lead for Orlando as his right-footed shot to the center found the back of the net and gave Orlando the 3-2 lead after four. Hikaru Fujiwara put Revs II in a good position as his left-footed shot sailed to the top right corner to level things at 3-3.
It all came down to Alejandro Granados, who could seal two points for Orlando if he got the ball past Jacob Jackson. Granados sent a left-footed shot to the bottom right corner of the net and in as the Orlando players and fans celebrated.
It was a tough shootout loss for Revolution II as they failed to pick up the additional point. However, they remain undefeated in regulation and improve their point streak to four games.
Sunday’s draw and shootout loss move Revs II to third place in the Eastern Conference with 9 points on a 2-0-2 record. Revolution II return to action on May 1st as they host Inter Miami II at Gillette Stadium at 1:00 PM.