After an exciting start to Matchday 3 on Friday, MLS NEXT Pro continued its high-octane action on Sunday with a 10-game slate filled with amazing goals, thrilling comebacks, and commanding results, and capped off with a solo Monday match.
Let's blitz through the rest of the matchday and take a look at all the action that took place on Matchday 3.
New England Revolution II (5) - Philadelphia Union II (1)
Revs II extended their hot start to the season with a convincing win over Union II on Monday to close out Matchday 3 action.
A thorough 5-1 win was technically a comeback effort after conceding a penalty in the first 10 minutes, but the ferocity proved there was no stopping the New Englanders in this one.
Of the five goals, one stood out as a developing story. 18-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic has scored in back-to-back weeks. For one, that's a great run of form for the youngster. Second, Bajraktarevic is a New England Revolution first-team player still in his formative years. If he is going to be a regular for Revs II again in 2023, he is emerging as a possible award winner. He did not score in his 17 appearances last season and has already notched two through 130 minutes this year.
He co-starred with Damian Rivera, Jordan Adebayo-Smith, Malcolm Fry, and Brandonn Bueno in the hearty victory.
Sunday's Results
FC Cincinnati 2 (2) - Huntsville City FC (2) (Huntsville City FC wins shootout 7-6)
Two teams fighting to stay in the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference power struggle delivered a thriller to kick off Sunday's action.
FCC2's Arquimides Ordoñez notched a brace for the second time this season and placed his name at the top of the early Golden Boot race.
His heroics were only one side of the story, though. On behalf of the visitors, Oliver Wright and Danny Griffin opened their respective 2023 accounts to mark HCFC's second multi-goal outing of the early season.
The shootout was a battle of first-team caliber goalkeepers between FCC2's Alec Kann and HCFC's Eliott Panicco, where the latter prevailed to claim the coveted extra point.
Here is a closer look at Wright's memorable finish that kicked off the scoring.
Orlando City B (2) - Inter Miami II (0)
The season's first matchup between the Floridian rivals went to the home side.
Favian Loyola and Jack Lynn, both taking part in their second MLS NEXT Pro campaigns with OCB, registered goals to keep their side at a perfect 3-0-0 through Matchday 3.
Loyola assisted Lynn on the opener in the fourth minute of the match, showing exactly how dangerous the Central Florida side is when its stars get the space to work together.
Sporting KC II (2) - LAFC 2 (1)
SKC II earned its first victory of the 2023 season at home when they defeated LAFC 2 on Sunday.
Pau Vidal continued his great run of form, scoring his second goal of the season in the sixth minute of the game after tapping in a low cross in the goal area.
The goalscoring action would pick up once again in the 70th minute for SKC II when Ozzie Cisneros would knock in a left-footed volley after a set-piece scramble in the box.
LAFC2 would attempt to fight back near the end of the second half after Julian Gaines connected with Ladji Malle to cut SKC II’s lead in half.
Ultimately, the deficit was too much to overcome for the visiting side and SKC II fans celebrated victory for the first time at Rock Chalk Park this year.
Chicago Fire II (0) - Columbus Crew 2 (1)
The defending MLS NEXT Pro Cup champions claimed their first win of the season on Sunday, and it was a sweaty one.
For the second time in two weeks, Chicago Fire II was issued a first-half red card which would normally materialize as an obvious numbers disadvantage to make the most of. But they rallied for a 2-0 win over Toronto FC II last weekend and looked to have effectively put down the clamps to keep Crew 2 out of the net to protect their perfect record.
But it wasn't meant to be. Crew 2 newcomer Gibran Rayo pulled a rabbit out of his hat in the 88th minute with a quick turn and shoot that kept his side unbeaten, and a positive result to build upon following a Matchday 2 BYE.
NYCFC II (2) - Atlanta United 2 (0)
New York City FC II bounced back from a season-opening heartbreaker last weekend.
Their first home game of the season got off to a hot start thanks to Justin Haak.
He picked up a grounded cross from Jack Beer in the eighth minute and made no mistake with the wide-open opportunity.
Andres Jasson sealed the deal in the 77th minute when he was supplied at point-blank for a tap-in.
New York Red Bulls II (1) - Crown Legacy FC (3)
Crown Legacy FC earned their first-ever road victory this weekend after scoring three goals in the second half to get past NY Red Bulls II on Matchday 3.
Wikelman Carmona scored NY Red Bulls II’s only goal of the match in the eighth minute after the Venezuelan midfielder received a pass in the box, lost his defender, and put the ball past the Crown Legacy FC keeper with a great strike.
Jose Tevares’ side did not lose hope being down at halftime as they came out of the break firing on all cylinders in the final 45 minutes of the match.
Iuri Tevares would get on the scoreboard twice in the span of 5 minutes, while Mark Fillipovic scored a beauty off a counter to give Crown Legacy the three points.
Earthquakes II (0) - Real Monarchs (1)
Nothing is a given in MLS NEXT Pro.
Heading into Matchday 3, Earthquakes II looked primed to be the toast of the league with their zero goals allowed.
Real Monarchs came in at the opposite end of that statistic with eight concessions - but proved that they are better than their first two results with the biggest upset of the early season.
Terron Williams slotted in Real Monarchs' first goal of the season in style and sent a message to the rest of the Western Conference.
Los Angeles Galaxy II (1) - MNUFC2 (2)
MNUFC2 were able to keep their undefeated record intact after earning a 2-1 victory on the road over Galaxy II.
The visiting team only needed three minutes to get on the scoresheet when Tani Oluwaseyi scored on a low-driven shot from the top of the 18-yard box.
Galaxy II punched right back minutes later when Brandon Tellez rifled from outside the box to even the score.
The visiting team only needed three minutes to get on the scoresheet when Tani Oluwaseyi scored on a low-driven shot from the top of the 18-yard box.
Galaxy II punched right back when Brandon Tellez scored from outside the box with a powerful strike to even the score.
Unfortunately for Galaxy II, Marcus Frekranus would commit a foul in the box that allowed MNUFC2 to go up once again after Emmanuel Iwe slotted the penalty kick past the keeper in the 36th minute.
MNUFC2 would sit back for the rest of the game holding off Galaxy II until the final whistle. Galaxy II ended the game with 75% possession of the ball but could not crack the resilient MNUFC2 backline.
Whitecaps FC 2 (4) - North Texas SC (1)
North Texas SC carried a perfect record into Matchday 3 and hadn't so much as allowed a goal.
Whitecaps FC 2 accepted the challenge and put three goals on NTSC in the first 18 minutes, which was impossible to overcome.
What's more, those three goals were scored in a five-minute span by Gloire Amanda, Finn Linder, and Levonte Johnson respectively.
Andre Luiz Costa pulled one back in the 39th minute which inspired the idea of a comeback, but WFC2 defended wisely, and ultimately Gio Aguilar put a stamp on the match in the 84th minute.
Colorado Rapids 2 (4) - Timbers2 (2)
After back-to-back weeks of stoppage-time thrillers, Rapids 2 had one go a little closer to the script.
The home side never lost the lead but did have to stamp out a possible Timbers2 comeback when the visitors punched back in the second half.
It was a team effort, but Rapids 2 striker Calvin Harris will naturally garner most of the attention with his two-goal outing.
Friday's Results:
Austin FC II (2) - Tacoma Defiance (1)
St Louis CITY2 (1) - Houston Dynamo 2 (3)
