USL1 New England Revolution II

Revolution II Defeats North Texas SC, 3-0

Published on June 26, 2021 under United Soccer League One (USL1)
New England Revolution II News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - New England Revolution II (4-4-1, 13 pts.) defeated North Texas SC (3-4-2, 11 pts.) on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium, 3-0. Justin Rennicks, Ryan Spaulding, and Damian Rivera all tallied their first goals of the season within a seven-minute span in the second half to secure the win.

New England had several quality chances in the opening 45 minutes, with Noel Buck hitting the side netting and Ryan Spaulding striking the post within a two-minute span in the first half. Rennicks broke the tie in the 58th minute, poking home a cross from Connor Presley to open up a 1-0 lead. Three minutes later, Spaulding bent in a shot from 15 yards out, assisted by Jake Rozhansky. Rivera finished off the scoring spree, converting from the penalty spot in the 65th minute.

First team goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. and defender Collin Verfurth also started the match for New England. Edwards recorded his second clean sheet in three League One matches while Verfurth made his first start of the season in his return from an injury.

Revolution Academy forward Michael Tsicoulias featured in a third straight contest, while fellow Academy products Hikaru Fujiwara, Dennis Ramirez, and Tyler Freitas appeared as substitutes - the latter making his club debut. Academy product Noel Buck made his first start since signing his USL League One contract with Revs II on Tuesday, playing 78 minutes and registering three shots.

New England will hit the road on Wednesday, June 30 to face Forward Madison FC at Breese Stevens Field. Kickoff on Wednesday is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

New England Revolution II 3, North Texas SC 0

June 26, 2021 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

New England Revolution II defeated North Texas SC, 3-0, on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium. The win improves New England's record to 4-4-1 and gives Revolution II an edge in the all-time series with North Texas, 1-0-2.

Saturday's victory marked the second consecutive clean sheet performance for Revolution II, extending the team's shutout streak to 193 minutes. It was also the first time in Revs II history the team held an opponent without a shot on target.

Homegrown Player Justin Rennicks tallied his first goal of the season in the 58t minute, touching home a cross from Connor Presley, who collected his first assist of the season. Rennicks played 68 minutes and finished with a team-high three shots and two on target.

Defender Sean O'Hearn notched his first career assist on Rennicks' goal as well. O'Hearn had a team-high three interceptions to go with four clearances.

Defender Ryan Spaulding tallied his first goal of the season, with assists from Jake Rozhansky and Rennicks. Spaulding logged another 90-minute performance, finishing the night with three shots and a team-high seven recoveries.

Midfielder Jake Rozhansky recorded his second assist in as many games at Gillette Stadium. The captain finished the night completing 79 of his team-high 83 passes, two of which were key passes.

Forward and Homegrown Player Damian Rivera converted a 65th-minute penalty kick for his first goal of the season. Rivera also had two key passes to go along with six recoveries and a team-high three tackles in a 90-minute performance.

Defender Collin Verfurth earned his first start and second appearance of the season as the first teamer made his return from a lower body injury last weekend. Verfurth, who led the team in clearances with 73 during the 2020 campaign, played 90 minutes and had a team-high 10 clearances along with four recoveries, a blocked shot, and 95.6 percent passing accuracy.

First-team goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. earned minutes with Revolution II for the third time this season, recording his second straight clean sheet.

Midfielder Noel Buck made his first appearance since signing with the club on Tuesday. The 16-year-old Arlington, Mass. native tied for a team-high three shots on the night and won four of his five duels.

Defender Pierre Cayet put in another 90-minute shift, recording a team-high three interceptions along with six clearances, six recoveries, five duels won, two tackles, and a blocked shot.

Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay made two changes to the Starting XI from last Saturday's victory, with Earl Edwards Jr. and Collin Verfurth both starting in place of Joe Rice and Colby Quinones, respectively.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Jeremy Scheer

Assistant Referees: Justin Lopez (AR1), Eric Schreiber (AR2);

Fourth Official: Amilcar Sicaju;

Weather: 77 degrees and cloudy.

Scoring Summary:

NE - Justin Rennicks 1 (Connor Presley 1, Sean O'Hearn 1) 58'

NE - Ryan Spaulding 1 (Jake Rozhanksy 2) 61'

NE - Damian Rivera 1 (Penalty Kick) 65'

Misconduct Summary:

NE - Michel (Yellow Card - Bad Foul) 4'

NTX - Gibran Rayo (Yellow Card - Bad Foul) 24'

NE - Sean O'Hearn (Yellow Card - Bad Foul) 73'

NE - Earl Edwards Jr. (Yellow Card - Time Wasting) 90'+2

New England Revolution II: Earl Edwards Jr.; Sean O'Hearn (Tyler Freitas 76'), Collin Verfurth, Pierre Cayet, Ryan Spaulding; Jake Rozhansky ©, Michel (Hikaru Fujiwara 68'), Noel Buck (Dennis Ramirez 78'); Damian Rivera, Connor Presley (Michael Tsicoulias 76'), Justin Rennicks (Ryan Sierakowski 68').

Substitutes Not Used: Joe Rice, Francois Dulysse.

North Texas SC: Colin Shutler; Michael Maldonado, Alisson, Caiser Gomes, Kazu (Hope Avayevu 65'); Rio Ramirez, Derek Waldeck ©, Dominick Hernandez (Blaine Ferri 76'); Bernard Kamungo (Collin Smith 65'), Gibran Rayo, Alex Bruce (Rickson van Hees 83').

Substitutes Not Used: Richard Sánchez, Thibaut Jacquel.

New England Revolution II Team Statistics North Texas SC

14 (5) Shots (on Target) 5 (0)

3 Blocked Shots 4

0 Saves 2

6 Corner Kicks 7

0 Offsides 1

13 Fouls 11

519 (88.6%) Passes Attempted (% Completed) 337 (75.7%)

60.1% Possession 39.9%

POSTGAME QUOTES:

New England Revolution II 3 at Forward Madison FC 0

New England Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay

On Tonight's performance:

Coach Peay: "Though the guys played really well. From start to finish. I thought early in the game we dictated tempo and we were able to create a lot of quality chances, unfortunately we didn't put any away in the first half, but great response in the second half. Then showed good discipline, protecting the three-goal lead and getting the win."

On the halftime message to team:

Coach Peay: "I thought from our goal to the final third, we were great. I thought we weren't aggressive enough and proactive in that final third and creating chances, more chances, taking your chance when you had it. So, you know, to their credit, I think they had a good response."

On Rennicks and Rivera scoring their first goals of the season:

Coach Peay: "I think for both of them it's great, terrific. It's a good boost for their morale and confidence to know that they can do it. We hope that and expect that they continue to do that."

On the team's defensive focus:

Coach Peay: "First and foremost, we just want to make sure we defend it with the ball, so I thought possession was good for us. Then secondly, we wanted to make them uncomfortable and make them play faster than they wanted to. I thought we were just brave around the penalty box blocking shots, blocking crosses, and the guys did a good job."

On the consecutive clean sheet wins:

Coach Peay: "I think it's just a sense of trying not to hurt ourselves as much more than anything else. If we continue to do that, I think we give ourselves a chance in every game."

On integrating depth players in the second half:

Coach Peay: "It's great. Anytime you can get a relative comfortable lead and get some guys in who don't get as many minutes, it's good. I know the players appreciate that and they put in the work Monday through Friday, so it was nice to be able to get them into the game."

New England Revolution II Defender Ryan Spaulding

On his goal:

Spaulding: "The whole game we were getting some good opportunities going forward. We were passing the ball around nicely. I think the message at halftime was we've got to get something out of it, we've got to get shots. We've got to get that final pass down, and I think Michel [Costa da Silva] did a great job winning the ball back for us on my goal, quick. I think it was three one-touch passes. We got it to my side, Jake [Rozhansky] slid it to me. I knew I had to get a shot off, put it on target, and it just fell to my right foot and tried to curl it back post."

On the team's defensive focus:

Spaulding: "A big focus for us has been early in the game, finishing out the first half, starting the second half and finishing the game. I think our energy in those segments of the game had just been super high. All the guys are bought into the system and making sure we keep it clean. If we need to just get it out of bounds, keep it smart, get into position and just working for each other. It's working well."

On the team's confidence:

Spaulding: "We're feeling pretty great. I think our play is showing that. I mean, two straight shutouts is amazing. We've just got to keep that up. It's great to see multiple goals in a game. That definitely shows that you can put the ball in the back of the net. Of course, along with shutouts, it's so key for us and we're doing great. It's amazing."

On limiting North Texas' crosses:

Spaulding: "A big part of that is just working with the coaches and doing the scouting. We see so much video on these guys, we see the patterns that they do going forward. We see tendencies and it just makes it so much easier for us in the game because as you're playing you see the thing that we talk about in the film, in the scout and it just it makes it much easier for us out there."

New England Revolution II Forward Justin Rennicks

On his first goal of the season:

Rennicks: "I feel like it has been building up for the past couple of months ever since the season started. You know the chances have been there. It was about executing them, and I made a good run in the box and kind of made a good cross and finally connected on one and got my first goal for the season and hopefully continue that."

On being more involved in the attack:

Rennicks: "That's why I'm here. Just to try and create something dangerous in the attack and that's what I've been doing in the past few games. Being able to get a hockey assist with Ryan's [Spaulding] goal, that's great, getting my goal, too. I mean, it's all coming together."

On the team's offensive rhythm:

Rennicks: "Coach is always talking about our numbers when it comes to shots on target in each game. The first few games of the season It was maybe one of two shots on goal and that just can't happen, especially as a soccer team. As a forward I'm like, 'Wow, that's crazy. That's not right.' We talked about that, did a lot of finishing drills and now let's touch, finish, shoot. You saw in the first half; you're killing them getting opportunities. It's been good."

Check out the New England Revolution II Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



United Soccer League One Stories from June 26, 2021


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central