USL1 New England Revolution II

Revolution II Draws South Georgia Tormenta FC, 1-1

September 5, 2021 - United Soccer League One (USL1)
New England Revolution II News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - New England Revolution II (7-8-4, 25 pts.) played to a 1-1 draw with South Georgia Tormenta FC (7-11-4, 25 pts.) on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium. Defender Ryan Spaulding scored his third goal of the season for New England in the 23rd minute to open up an early lead. Azaad Liadi equalized for Tormenta FC just 10 minutes after Spaulding's opener.

In the first half, Damian Rivera set up New England's opening goal with an individual run past three Tormenta defenders. Rivera's cross deflected right to Ryan Spaulding, who poked a shot off Tormenta goalkeeper Pablo Jara and into the net.

Goalkeeper Joe Rice made his first start since Aug. 21, stopping three shots on the night, including a second half drive from Marco Micaletto to keep the game knotted at 1-1. Revolution II defender Pierre Cayet saw his first action since Aug. 14, playing his first 90 minutes since July.

Academy midfielder Esmir Bajraktarevic (2005 - Appleton, Wis.) made his third consecutive appearance for New England, coming on as a second-half substitute. Six other Academy graduates featured for Revolution II on Sunday - Justin Rennicks, Damian Rivera, Noel Buck, and Tyler Freitas all started the match while Colby Quiñones and Meny Silva came off the bench.

New England will hit the road next weekend for their first visit to face North Carolina FC on Saturday, Sept. 11. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

POSTGAME NOTES

New England Revolution II 1, Tormenta FC 1

September 5, 2021 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

New England Revolution II drew with South Georgia Tormenta on Sunday night in Foxborough, 1-1, moving their record to 7-8-4 (24 points) on the season.

Defender Ryan Spaulding netted his third goal of the season. The left back played 90 minutes, finishing the night with a team-high nine recoveries and a blocked shot.

Midfielder Noel Buck created a team-high five chances on the night, adding two shots in a 90-minute shift.

Forward and Homegrown Player Damian Rivera had a team-high four shots, including one on target, and created two chances in his eighth 90-minute outing of the season.

Defender Sean O'Hearn won three tackles and nine of his 11 duels in a 90-minute performance.

Defender Pierre Cayet made his first appearance since Aug. 14, playing 90 minutes at center back and finishing with team highs in clearances (6) and interceptions (5).

Defender Collin Verfurth registered a shot on target, completed 91.3 percent of his passes, and added six clearances.

Defender and Academy graduate Tyler Freitas made his first appearance since July 17, starting for the third time this season.

Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay made three changes to the Starting XI from New England's last match on Sept. 1 vs. North Carolina FC, with Joe Rice, Tyler Freitas, and Pierre Cayet replacing Yannik Oettl, Colby Quiñones, and Hikaru Fujiwara, respectively.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Benjamin Meyer.

Assistant Referees: Jessica Carnevale (AR1), Andre Carr (AR2).

Fourth Official: Brandon Miskin.

Weather: 67 degrees and showers.

Scoring Summary:

NE - Ryan Spaulding 3 (Unassisted) 23'

TRM - Azaad Liadi 4 (Kristo Strickler 1) 33'

Misconduct Summary:

None.

New England Revolution II: Joe Rice; Ryan Spaulding, Pierre Cayet, Collin Verfurth ©, Sean O'Hearn, Tyler Freitas (Esmir Bajraktarevic 79'); Michel, Noel Buck, Connor Presley (Colby Quiñones 78'), Damian Rivera, Justin Rennicks (Meny Silva 79').

Substitutes Not Used: Yannik Oettl, Dennis Ramirez, Brandonn Bueno, Hikaru Fujiwara.

Tormenta FC: Pablo Jara ©; Curtis Thorn, Nick O'Callaghan, Sergi Nus; Luca Mayr-Fälten, Raheem Sommmersall, Ricardo Gomez (Vincenzo Candela 56'), Stefan Mueller; Kristo Strickler (Rodney Michael 46'), Azaad Liadi (Niki Jackson 72'), Marco Micaletto (Kobe Perez 81').

Substitutes Not Used: Carlos Avilez, Luis Ángel Rodríguez, Clayton Adams.

New England Revolution II Team Statistics Tormenta FC

13 (3) Shots (on Target) 7 (4)

5 Blocked Shots 1

3 Saves 2

5 Corner Kicks 3

0 Offsides 2

10 Fouls 12

426 (82.2%) Passes Attempted (% Completed) 516 (83.7%)

46.1% Possession 53.9%

POSTGAME QUOTES:

New England Revolution II 1 vs. Tormenta FC 1

New England Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay

On Sunday night's match:

Peay: "I thought the guys put in a decent effort for 90 minutes. I thought we lacked a little bit of urgency in our transition. I thought we lacked a little bit of creativity in the final third and the moments that we were able to actually get at them, we didn't execute."

On changing formations and Tyler Freitas playing in midfield:

Peay: "Yeah, Tyler did okay. It's not a position he's used to playing regularly so I thought that he was going to bring some energy. He's good and comfortable on the ball and added some leadership and some bite in the midfield and help our guys in there. I thought the shape helped. It limited them to not a ton [of shots], a lot of distance shots. And unfortunately for us, I think we just needed to be better in transition in and out of that shape to be able to counter a little quicker."

On conceding goals quickly after scoring first in three straight games:

Peay: "It's just about mentally letting down a little bit, maybe feeling comfortable about where you are in the game and guys need to be able to recognize this is a critical, critical moment that we can't take the foot off and we have to stay dialed in. We just didn't do it tonight."

On Ryan Spaulding adding an attacking threat:

Peay: "He's an athletic guy, he's decent on the dribble, he's able to go at guys, he can shoot from distance, and I think tonight was a scenario where he was able to play a little bit of combination play and find himself kind of on the back end of the cross. Kudos to his work rate and effort tonight."

On the team's confidence:

Peay: "I think it's a question we have to ask all of ourselves individually. Do we have the belief, and our ability to get the wins? And I still think we do. I think our guys do. You know, it's a tough league in terms of the parity, everyone's pretty even so it just comes down to little plays. We've got to be able to make those plays when we have them in games."

On younger players maturing on and off the field:

Peay: "Well, it's about getting experience. The maturity process is a long process, so it's really just about getting experience, getting used to the level, kind of seeing what they can do, and that's kind of what we're looking at right now."

New England Revolution II Defender Collin Verfurth

On defending against set pieces:

Verfurth: "Coaches prepared us for it. We know [Tormenta FC] likes to like to be savvy on their corner kicks. We just didn't stick to our man, got lost for that simple pass shot. So, it's just staying awake during those time periods when a team, especially this team, has good set pieces. If you fall asleep for a little bit like we did, a man's wide open and it leads to a goal. So, we just got to clean up, look at in film, and really harp on it this time. It's been a lot of set piece goals. So, we really got to learn from it because especially with the tight race, that goal, that's a huge difference between three points and one point and going from seventh as a third."

On protecting leads better:

Verfurth: "It's been a lot of games where guys are getting mentally tired. That's just the difference between being a pro and going from Academy to Pro, every single game matters, and you've got to be locked in for 90 minutes. And every single goal we've given up, it's just been someone falls asleep, someone doesn't do their job, and leads to a goal. So, we've got to clean that up and try to prevent it."

On switching formations to have three center backs:

Verfurth: "Yeah, we had a one day of training and I didn't play the first time we did that three back system. I've played in the three back system before, but defensively, I think [Tormenta FC] didn't do much with attacking three with our back three. We just need to be able to break more lines, if you will, maybe a little cleaner on the ball, and get more opportunities."

On the team's confidence and getting back on track:

Verfurth: "Yeah, I mean it's just stick to the next game, especially with this tight race, going one game at a time. We've got to have some leadership, be ready for the next game, and this time get all three points."

Check out the New England Revolution II Statistics



United Soccer League One Stories from September 5, 2021


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