Revolution II get warm welcome to NH
Apr. 28—WARM WELCOME
N.E. Revolution II open for business at SNHU —B1
HOOKSETT — Jeff and Kathy Masse went to see the up-and-coming stars.
Heidi Evans wanted to spend time with her son, Carter.
The MacPhees came for the game day atmosphere.
All of them were excited to get a taste of the New England Revolution close to home.
The Masses, Evans and MacPhees were among the crowd of about 200 that came to the New England Revolution II's inaugural home game at Southern New Hampshire University's Mark A. Ouellette Stadium on Sunday.
The Revs II, which are essentially the Revolution's Triple-A team, defeated Inter Miami CF II, 3-1, in an MLS NEXT Pro regular-season game.
The game marked the Revs II's first of eight home matches in Hooksett this season. It also came one day after soccer superstar Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF beat New England, 4-1, in front of a Revolution home-game-record crowd of 65,612 on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.
"We were at the game (Saturday) night and we wanted to see if we could get a little revenge," Jeff Masse said.
The Masses, who are both over 60 years old and live in Manchester, are three-year season-ticket holders for the Revolution but Sunday marked their first time attending a Revs II game. The couple knew of the Revs II but the drive to Gillette, the team's usual home field, deterred them from attending games previously.
"Our season tickets include the Gillette games but it's nice to have them in our backyard," Kathy Masse said.
Evans, 39, attended Sunday's game wearing her 13-year-old son Carter's jersey for Carles Gil, who plays for the Revolution in the MLS. Carter, who plays goalie for a Seacoast United club soccer team, wore his Messi Inter Miami jersey.
Evans, a Windham resident, played soccer in high school in her home state of Wisconsin and coached Carter in the sport when he was younger.
"I played soccer, I love sharing it with him," Evans said. "I love being at live games with him. To me, it's (about) the memories with him."
Evans and her son are both Revolution fans but had not heard of the Revs II before Sunday's game.
Scott MacPhee, a 47-year-old Manchester resident, played soccer growing up but stopped when he got to high school. He picked up his interest in the sport again several years ago and started following the Revolution and Manchester United of the English Premier League.
Along the way, MacPhee got his wife, Tracy, 45, and daughter, Emma, 9, interested in his favorite teams, too.
Sunday was the first live pro soccer game the MacPhees had been to in awhile. It has been at least a few years since the family made it down to Gillette to watch the Revolution, Scott said.
"There's a big difference," Emma said between watching games live and at home. "It's a lot more fun when you're in person because you can yell and it's a more fun experience in real life than on the TV because there's only so much that you can do on the TV."
Scott said he missed the smell of game days. "The popcorn, the (hot) dogs, the sausages — whatever," he said.
The Revs II could feel and hear the excitement from the fans.
Revs II midfielder Patrick Leal, a Newton, Mass., native who scored the game's first goal in the 20th minute, said the smaller stadium at SNHU compared to Gillette made it easier to hear the fans from the field.
The group of kids asking for autographs from Leal, his teammates and the Inter Miami players was a little more than he usually sees after games.
"Because the stadium is smaller, you could definitely hear more and it felt like there was more people here even if there wasn't," Leal said.
Leal, Gevork Diarbian and former Revolution first team player Jack Panayotou all scored in the first half for the Revs II (2-3-1, eight points) — the team's highest scoring output this season.
Former University of New Hampshire player Yannick Bright scored the lone goal for Inter Miami II (3-2-1, 10 points) in the 54th minute.
Colby Quinones, who grew up in Bedford, was available off the bench for the Revs II but did not play in the game.
If all goes as expected this first season playing at SNHU, New England Revolution President Brian Bilello previously told the Union Leader, the ultimate goal is for New Hampshire to eventually become the permanent home for Revs II.
The Masses would approve of that decision.
"Bring them up," Jeff Masse said.
