Columbus Crew 2 cruised to three points on Sunday, handing New England Revolution II its first defeat of the MLS NEXT Pro season and picking up the result of the weekend in Week 7. Sporting KC II fought back to score four unanswered goals in a comeback victory over Real Monarchs while RNY FC earned its first MLS NEXT Pro victory. Whitecaps FC 2 extended its winning run to four matches by using two late goals to defeat St Louis CITY2 away from home.
Here’s your MLS NEXT Pro week seven recap by the numbers.
Don’t look now but Whitecaps FC 2 has moved into the top two of the Western Conference standings after claiming a 2-1 road victory over St Louis CITY2 on Saturday.
Second-half goals from Owen Antoniuk and Emiliano Brienza helped Nick Dasovic’s side overcome an early deficit and move WFC2 up to 15 points through seven matches played.
NYCFC II became the first MLS NEXT Pro team to eclipse 20 goals scored in the inaugural season after putting four past TFC II in a 4-1 victory Sunday.
Jonathan Jimenez, John Denis, Piero Elias, and Mahdi Youssoufi El all found the back of the net at Belson Stadium, giving NYCFC II a second home victory in league play. It was the perfect rebound for Matt Pilkington’s side after losing 2-1 against Philadelphia Union II in Week 6.
Sporting KC II fell down early at Rock Chalk Park in MLS NEXT Pro Week 7’s Game of the Week, but eventually got the wheels turning to earn an important home victory over Real Monarchs.
Mataeo Bunbury’s first-career brace paired with second-half goals from Cole McLagan and Julian Vazquez helped Benny Feilhaber’s side walk away with a 4-2 result.
SKC II doubled their season goal tally in one match, moving to 2-4-1 this season.
Philadelphia Union II picked up a 2-1 road win over Inter Miami II on Saturday with goalkeeper Brooks Thompson delivered seven saves in the victory.
Thompson registered the most saves by an MLS NEXT Pro goalkeeper in Week 7, filling in for Week 6 starter Matt Freese. The 19-year-old came into the match with only four saves in three prior appearances, but doubled that after a strong 90 minutes at DRV PNK Stadium.
RNY FC has a huge test this week in U.S. Open Cup action, but will be confident after earning its first MLS NEXT Pro victory on Sunday.
Second-half goals from Pedro Dolabella and Milan Vanacker propelled Rochester New York FC to a 2-1 result over FC Cincinnati 2 at Northern Kentucky University. RNY FC came into the match with only two points earned through four matches, but now has moved into eighth place with the victory.
Up next is a trip to Belson Stadium for a showdown with defending MLS Cup winners, NYCFC in U.S. Open Cup fourth round play.
New England Revolution II entered the weekend as the only unbeaten side left in MLS NEXT Pro, but was handed a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Columbus Crew 2.
Crew 2’s offense clicked on all cylinders as four first-half goals, headlined by Noah Fuson’s brace, moved Laurent Courtois’ side back to first place in the Eastern Conference. The victory was also Crew 2’s fifth-in-a-row since an opening weekend loss at Inter Miami II.
With a league-fewest three goals conceded and a +7 goal differential, Crew 2 is setting the standards through the opening seven weeks of MLS NEXT Pro.
Out of the 31 goals scored in MLS NEXT Pro this weekend, only three came from the penalty spot.
Two of those three came from NYCFC II’s 4-1 win over TFC II at Belson Stadium as Alonso Coello Camarero and John Denis both scored via spot kick.
Jack Skahan’s 15th minute penalty-kick finish proved to be the winning goal for Earthquakes II in a 3-0 home victory over Timbers2 at PayPal Park. Although there were 19 combined shootout goals between the Chicago Fire FC II-MNUFC 2 and North Texas SC-Tacoma Defiance matches, only the three aforementioned regulation goals had final say in the scorelines.
There were four ejections during MLS NEXT Pro action this weekend with two of them coming from Minnesota United II’s shootout win over Chicago Fire FC II at SeatGeek Stadium.
Justin Reynolds and Nabi Kibunguchy both received two yellow cards apiece in the opening 45 minutes, watching from the sidelines as their respective clubs played the second-half with 10-men apiece. Neither side could find a winner in regulation though and MNUFC II eventually edged Fire II 7-6 in a shootout after 90 minutes were played.
