Historic helper! Marcos Dias breaks single-season assist record

Marcos Dias made history in New England Revolution II's 2-1 win over Torono FC II Friday afternoon.

With his 11th assist of the season, the versatile 23-year-old Brazilian can call himself the all-time single-season assist leader in MLS NEXT Pro history.

Dias slid a perfectly timed pass through to Gevork Diarbian, whose clean finish in the 56th minute ultimately served as the match-winner that clinched Revs II's 2025 playoff berth.

MVP caliber?

The focal point of Revs II's 2025 story, Dias is getting hot at the right time with four goals and five assists in his last six matches en route to earning his status as the top playmaker.

“What a great accomplishment for Marcos," said Revs II head coach Richie Williams."He's been a big part of our second team for four years. He's a great pro, a very talented player, a very good player, and he's a big part of our team this year.

"He fully deserves it. I’m very happy for him, and I'm happy he's able to do those things for our team."

Dias re-signed with Revs II ahead of the 2025 season to extend his stay in Foxborough and is one of the rare players to appear in each season since MLS NEXT Pro's inception in 2022.

“I'm very happy, and I'm very grateful about the group that we have this year,” Dias said through an interpreter post-game. "Because without the help of everyone, all of my teammates, I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing. The most important thing is we just keep going and keep winning games.”

Dias' latest accomplishment bolsters his case as a front-running 2025 MVP candidate with a breakout campaign boasting nine goals, 11 assists, and counting to pace one of the league's deepest squads in scoring contributions.

"To break the record in MLS NEXT Pro history is a great accomplishment," Williams added. "And hopefully he continues in the remaining games of the season and in the playoffs for us, getting those assists. For Marcos, hopefully that just helps him and elevates him to the next level for himself."

Dias passes a crowd of four previous record co-owners, Diego Gonzalez (2024), Aron John (2024), Mohamed Farsi (2022), and Romeo Beckham (2022), who set the watermark at 10 in previous years. He'll want to keep his foot on the gas, though, with New York Red Bulls II winger Rafael Mosquera on his heels, sitting at 10 as Decision Day 2025 looms.

Hunting for hardware

With Friday's win, New England Revolution II qualified for their second all-time MLS NEXT Pro playoff appearance, and it'll be all about securing home-field advantage in the weeks to come.

“The difference between this year and last year is that this year, I feel like the group is very united and we're not worried about outside noise or anything," Dias explained. "We believe that we're going to win every game, and now the focus is just on coming in first, and then once that happens, to win the league.”

Up next, Dias and Revs II take on Eastern Conference rivals NYCFC II on Thursday, September 18 (1 PM ET | MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).