USL1 New England Revolution II

Revolution II Draws Defending Champion North Texas SC, 3-3

Published on August 15, 2020 under United Soccer League One (USL1)
New England Revolution II News Release


ARLINGTON, Texas - New England Revolution II (0-1-2, 2 pts.) earned a point in its first road trip of the season, playing to a 3-3 draw against defending USL League One champion North Texas SC (1-1-2, 5 pts.) on Saturday night at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. Revolution Academy products accounted for all three of New England's goals, with Nicolas Firmino tallying in the first half and Isaac Angking scoring two goals in the second half.

Firmino scored the first goal in Revolution II history in the 16th minute with a half-volley off a giveaway by North Texas goalkeeper Luis Zamudio. In the 58th minute, Angking tapped home a slotted pass from Tiago Mendonca to tie the match at 2-2, with the Portuguese midfielder picking up his first career assist on the play. Angking followed that up with a curling, long-range effort in the 79th minute to give Revolution II the first lead of the night and of the season.

The Revolution Academy enjoyed another historic night, as defender Colby Quinones earned a spot in the starting lineup to become the first active Revolution Academy player to start a professional match. Two more Academy players made their League One debuts as second-half substitutes - Hikaru Fujiwara and Morris Matthews - the former providing an assist on Angking's second goal. Academy midfielder Kaoru Fujiwara made his second appearance of the season off the bench.

After Angking's late go-ahead goal, Alex Bruce added an equalizer for North Texas in second-half stoppage time. Thomas Roberts and Ronaldo Damus both scored in the first half for North Texas, assisted by Juan Alvarez.

New England will play three games in an eight-day span starting on Friday, August 21 when Revolution II welcomes Richmond Kickers to Foxborough for a 7:00 p.m. ET kickoff. The match will stream live on ESPN+ in the United States and YouTube internationally.

New England Revolution II 3, North Texas SC 3

August 15, 2020 - Globe Life Park (Arlington, Tex.)

Nicolas Firmino Strikes First for Revolution II

- Midfielder Nicolas Firmino, one of six Homegrown Players on the club's MLS roster, scored the first goal in Revolution II history in the 16th minute of Saturday's match, capitalizing on a goalkeeping error by North Texas to send a half-volley into the bottom corner.

- The goal was Firmino's first professional tally after signing a first-team contract straight out of the Academy ahead of the 2019 season.

Isaac Angking Bags a Brace

- Midfielder Isaac Angking, a native of Providence, R.I., struck twice in the second half in what was his second appearance for Revolution II. The 20-year-old scored a tap-in goal just short of the hour mark and added a left-footed, long-range strike in the 79th minute.

- The Homegrown Player had a team-high four shots, including three on target, and completed 90.9 percent of his passes on the night.

Academy Defender Colby Quinones Earns Historic Start

Bedford, N.H. product Colby Quinones earned the start at right back, making the 17-year-old defender the first active Academy player to start a professional match for the club.

Quinones played the full 90 minutes in his League One debut while recording a team-high 60 touches and two blocked shots on the night.

The Providence College commit has been a member of the Revolution Academy's residency program since 2019.

Joe Rice Makes Season-High Six Saves New Career High

- Goalkeeper Joe Rice made his third consecutive start to begin the 2020 season, setting a new season high with six saves on the night.

- With his third start, Rice sets a new personal high for starts in a season while equalling his previous career high of three appearances, both set last year while playing for Richmond.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Lorenzo Hernandez

Assistant Referees: Jennifer Garner (AR1), Ken Mizuno (AR2)

Fourth Official: Gloria Resendiz

Weather: 99 degrees and sunny

Scoring Summary:

NTX - Thomas Roberts (Juan Alvarez) 4'

NE - Nicolas Firmino 16'

NTX - Ronaldo Damus (Juan Alvarez) 27'

NE - Isaac Angking (Tiago Mendonca) 58'

NE - Isaac Angking (Hikaru Fujiwara) 79'

NTX - Alex Bruce 90'+2

Misconduct Summary:

NE - Colby Quinones (Yellow Card- Unsporting Behavior) 22'

NE - Jon Bell (Yellow Card- Unsporting Behavior) 81'

New England Revolution II: Joe Rice; Colby Quinones, Collin Verfurth ©, Jon Bell, Ryan Spaulding (Morris Matthews 90'+4); Maciel, Nicolas Firmino, Tiago Mendonca (Hikaru Fujiwara 60'); Connor Presley (Kaoru Fujiwara 78'), Mayele Malango (Orlando Sinclair 78'), Isaac Angking

Substitutes Not Used: Keegan Meyer, Oskar Bloch, Meny Silva

North Texas SC: Luis Zamudio; Derek Waldeck, Brecc Evans, Justin Che, Juan Alvarez © (Lamar Batista 37'); Alisson (Philip Ponder 83'), Jorge Almanguer, Benjamin Redzic (Alex Bruce 83'); Ronaldo Damus, Thomas Roberts (Oscar Romero 73'), Collin Smith (David Rodriguez 73')

Substitutes Not Used: Carlos Avilez, Diego Hernandez

North Texas SC Team Statistics New England Revolution II

26 (9) Shots (on Target) 7 (7)

4 Saves 6

8 Corner Kicks 9

2 Offsides 1

13 Fouls 9

479 (85.4%) Passes Attempted (% Completed) 324 (76.5%)

59.6% Possession 40.4%

POSTGAME QUOTES: New England Revolution II 3 at North Texas SC 3

Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay

On the offensive impact of Isaac Angking

Peay: "Based on the personnel that we had and what North Texas wanted to do, I felt it was important to have Isaac in that position to give us some possession a little higher up the field. We wanted to be able to use Mayele [Malango's] pace to maybe stretch and threaten in behind against a team that's aggressive and keeps a high line. I would say that Isaac was probably more impactful in that endeavor."

On Colby Quinones' performance in his professional debut

Peay: "He did great. He was fearless, made some good plays, and defended hard. He hasn't played 90 minutes yet so obviously got tired towards the end of the game so that started to take a toll. But overall, he was great.

On the extreme heat throughout the game

Peay: "You can't pace yourselves against teams like that. The heat is a factor but it's not an excuse. They've got to deal with it and we've got to deal with it. I think you've just got to fight through it and understand you've got five subs on the bench that can come in so we didn't want to use that as an excuse."

On the result providing a boost heading into a busy stretch

Peay: "I think that we have a lot of confidence in our guys, it's more about cleaning up the mistakes that lead to goals against us. As we've talked about in the first two games already, we're creating some chances, tonight more so, but we're creating chances and being able to be clinical in those moments to capitalize off those opportunities."

Revolution II Midfielder Isaac Angking

On scoring his first two goals for New England

Angking: "Obviously I was excited score my first two goals, I couldn't do it without the rest of the team. But it doesn't matter, we didn't get the result we wanted so we've just got to keep pushing forward and get ready for the next game."

On fighting back in the game after falling behind early

Angking: "I think we just had adapt to the game play by play. Coach [Peay] gave us a good pep talk at the half, that's why I feel like we played a lot better in the second half."

On the midfield working together

Angking: "We just had to close passing lanes and press the center backs so they didn't have too much time on the ball. I thought the back line did very well, specifically Colby who made his pro debut and played excellent. But the back line did their thing and helped us out as much as they could."

Revolution II Defender Colby Quinones

On making his professional debut

Quinones: "It was great. I've been working so hard for this moment and I tried to make the most of it tonight. We didn't get the result we wanted but it was an experience, I'll tell you that."

On adjusting throughout the game to North Texas SC's attack

Quinones: "It was very important. We knew this game was going to be tough. We knew they were going to play a lot of balls in behind and we planned on the wingers cutting inside so we had to be communicative throughout the backline as well as the players in front of us. And it was key for us as we held tough for this game."

On gaining confidence ahead of a busy stretch

Quinones: "We gained a lot of confidence. The locker room is in very high heads right now. We would've liked the three points but we knew [North Texas] was extremely good. So coming down here and battling, getting the lead, and scoring our first goals, it was great for the team."

Check out the New England Revolution II Statistics

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United Soccer League One Stories from August 15, 2020


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