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USL1 New England Revolution II

Revolution II Edges Toronto FC II, 1-0

July 23, 2021 - United Soccer League One (USL1)
New England Revolution II News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - New England Revolution II (6-7-1, 19 pts.) defeated Toronto FC II (5-6-4, 19 pts.) on Friday night at Gillette Stadium, 1-0, behind a first career game-winning goal from Ryan Spaulding. New England picks up its second win in the last three games and the team's sixth shutout of the season.

After a scoreless first half, New England broke the ice in the 68th minute, when midfielder Jake Rozhansky found Ryan Spaulding open inside the penalty area for the game's lone tally. Rozhansky picked up his fifth assist of the season, tied for second most in League One this season.

Goalkeeper Joe Rice made one save en route to his fourth clean sheet of the season in Friday's win, setting a new career high. His record moves to 4-3-1 on the year. Toronto nearly took the lead at the half-hour mark, but Revolution II defender Pierre Cayet headed a curling shot off the line to preserve the shutout.

Homegrown Players Justin Rennicks and Damian Rivera once again featured for New England on Friday. Rivera set a new career high with seven shots on the night.

New England will be off next weekend and will return to action on Thursday, August 5 against North Carolina FC at Gillette Stadium in the first-ever meeting between the teams. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

New England Revolution II 1, Toronto FC II 0

July 23, 2021 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

New England Revolution II defeated Toronto FC II, 1-0, on Friday night at Gillette Stadium. The win improves New England's record to 6-7-1 on the year - a new team record for wins in a season - and their record in the all-time series with Toronto to 2-0-0.

New England is 5-0-0 against MLS developmental sides in USL League One play this season, outscoring opponents 7-0 in those contests.

Defender Ryan Spaulding netted his second goal of the season, his first career game-winner and the 800th goal in USL League One history. Spaulding also added three recoveries and an interception defensively.

Midfielder Jake Rozhansky recorded his team-leading fifth assist of the season, second most in League One this year. For the ninth straight match, Rozhansky completed over 90 percent of his passes, added team highs in recoveries (12) and chances created (4), and won nine duels.

Goalkeeper Joe Rice made one save to preserve his fourth clean sheet and fourth victory of the season, setting career highs in both categories.

Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay made one change to the Starting XI from last Saturday's match at FC Tucson, with Sean O'Hearn making his first start June 30, replacing Tyler Freitas at right back. O'Hearn recorded a game-high four interceptions in his return to the starting lineup.

Forward and Homegrown Player Justin Rennicks played 76 minutes, lifting him over 1,000 minutes played in a season for the first time in his career. Rennicks had two shots, one on target, and added three chances created offensively.

Forward Damian Rivera put in an 88-minute shift, setting a new career high with seven shots on the night, also adding eight possessions gained.

First-team defender Collin Verfurth saw action with Revolution II for a seventh-consecutive match since returning from injury, recording a team-high four clearances along with five recoveries and a blocked shot.

Midfielder Michel won a team-high 10 duels and three tackles in Friday's win, also registering three shots.

Midfielder Noel Buck continued to feature in every game for Revolution II this season making his ninth start of the season and finishing the game with 88.9 percent of his passes completed along with three tackles and six possessions gained.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Ernie Constantine.

Assistant Referees: Amilcar Sicaju (AR1), Ian Mangione (AR2).

Fourth Official: Andre Carr.

Weather: 72 degrees and partly cloudy.

Scoring Summary:

NE - Ryan Spaulding 2 (Jake Rozhansky 5) 68'

Misconduct Summary:

TOR - Themi Antonoglou (Yellow Card - Bad Foul) 38'

TOR - Dante Campbell (Yellow Card - Bad Foul) 45'+1

NE - Sean O'Hearn (Yellow Card - Bad Foul) 79'

NE - Damian Rivera (Yellow Card - Simulation) 82'

TOR - Kevin Politz (Yellow Card - Bad Foul) 90'+2

New England Revolution II: Joe Rice; Ryan Spaulding, Collin Verfurth, Pierre Cayet, Sean O'Hearn (Colby Quinones 86'); Jake Rozhansky ©, Michel, Noel Buck; Justin Rennicks (Michael Tsicoulias 76'), Damian Rivera (Hikaru Fujiwara 88'), Edward Kizza (Ryan Sierakowski 76').

Substitutes Not Used: Marzuq Puckerin, Tyler Freitas, Dennis Ramirez.

Toronto FC II: Andreas Vaikla; Luca Petrasso, Antony Curic, Kevin Politz ©, Talen Maples (Antonio Carlini 74'), Kobe Franklin; Dante Campbell (Nicolas Ovalle 67'), Themi Antonoglou (Kosi Thompson 60'), Steffen Yeates; Julian Altobelli (Erickson Gallardo 74'), Garrett McLaughlin.

Substitutes Not Used: Caleb Patterson-Sewell, Nyal Higgins, Enric Bernat.

New England Revolution II Team Statistics Toronto FC II

18 (4) Shots (on Target) 5 (2)

7 Blocked Shots 1

2 Saves 3

5 Corner Kicks 4

3 Offsides 0

13 Fouls 17

489 (85.3%) Passes Attempted (% Completed) 444 (79.7%)

52.7% Possession 47.3%

POSTGAME QUOTES:

New England Revolution II 1 vs. Toronto FC II 0

New England Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay

On tonight's overall performance:

Coach Peay: "I thought it was a good team effort on both sides of the ball, created a number of good chances, defended well. You know, maybe one or two moments in the first half, but I thought in the second half, we really wanted to limit them to very little, so I was happy."

On breaking down the Toronto FC II defense in the wide areas of the pitch:

Coach Peay: "Yeah. I thought the guys were able to have good composure on the ball. We were able to move the ball cleanly and had a decent tempo. And when we got it wide, I thought we could have had a few more ideas sometimes, but yeah, I thought, in terms of advancing the ball up the field, we did a good job all night."

On limiting Toronto FC II to minimal shot attempts in the second half:

Coach Peay: "You know, guys just wanted it. They played hard. They were clear in their roles and their responsibilities and they just executed defensively."

On what Jake Rozhansky has done to consistently remain accurate passing the ball:

Coach Peay: "Well, he's, you know, comfortable on the ball. He's got good vision. He's simple with his ideas and he's got it with some experience. So, for him, the game is probably a little bit slower than most of the guys."

On Pierre Cayet clearing the ball off the goal line and what it did for the team:

Coach Peay: "Yeah. It's good. I mean, it's all part of defending, right? So, I think he had a role and he did it and we knew that they had some clever set pieces that we had to be ready for, and he did a good job in that moment."

On being at the midpoint of the season and what a win like this can do for the team going forward:

Coach Peay: "It's game by game. We're happy about the win and the next one will be the next one and we just have to be prepared for it and ready to go."

New England Revolution Defender Ryan Spaulding

On what he has been doing this year to become more involved offensively:

Spaulding: "Honestly, I think it's just how we're playing as a team, what the coaches are asking from me. Today, a focus for me, was just staying high and wide and just trying to go at the outside back whenever I got the ball, get into the attack. And specifically on my goal, Jake [Rozhansky] played a phenomenal ball to me and all I had to do is take a touch and shoot. It doesn't get easier than that. So, it just works out how well the team was playing."

On winning the wide battles early and taking advantage of those areas:

Spaulding: "Yeah. I think that just comes down to every guy just wanting to win those individual duels. And when you have a team full of guys who are willing to put in that extra effort, it shows, and you get good chances."

On how they were able to limit Toronto FC II to so few opportunities on goal:

Spaulding: "Honestly, that goes just back again to the 1-on-1 duels. Just working harder, being one step ahead of your man, and working for each other, covering, and just being strong, solid defensively, collective as a unit. And I think we did great with that tonight."

On what needs to be done to get more consistent performances:

Spaulding: "Yeah, so, I mean, obviously we're comfortable playing here at Gillette. It's our home field. We take pride in defending our home and getting good results here. I think it's just mentality on the road. You know it's going to be a battle. You know the away fans are going to get on you. You just have to kind of keep that out of your head and just try to play our game anywhere we are."

New England Revolution II Midfielder Jake Rozhansky

On what allowed him to consistently be involved in the playmaking aspect of the game:

Rozhansky: "I think they sat back a little bit. So, when they sit back, I'm kind of the one that's like the deep line that can get the ball and honestly, I was just kind of trying to keep the ball moving the whole game. But I remember one time I got the ball and Clint [Peay] yelled at me from behind me and was like, somebody needs to drive with the ball. And so, the next time I got the ball, I kind of just start, let me take a couple of steps forward with it, let me dribble a little bit. And the guys just kind of collapsed and I saw Ryan [Spaulding] was sitting alone of the far end. I kind of just chipped it over to him and he finished the rest."

On completing over 90 percent of his passes:

Rozhansky: "Like I said earlier in the season, I'm playing in a position where I'm kind of getting on the ball a lot. I'm supposed to get on the ball a lot. And I think the guys like Collin [Verfurth] and Pierre [Cayet] are just trying to give me the ball and then I'm trying to break the lines of the passes and I'm just happy that I'm completing them."

On the team playing solid defense consistently:

Rozhansky: "We need to do what we did today, which is just bunker down. I still think we got a lot of work to do. I still think we made some mistakes today defending, especially on the counter and just managing the game at the end. And these are mistakes that we've been making throughout the season. We had it last game and so, we got punished. And so, we could've got punished a few times today, honestly. But I think we're a little bit more gritty and we just had it our heads, we weren't going to get scored on today and that's what we need to do the rest of the season."

On if the win can be used as a turning point of the season going forward:

Rozhansky: "It could be. I mean, it's hard to say right now. I think this stretch of games is really important for us. We have this game, and we have the next game at home. And we have a lot of time to prepare for the next game. These are all teams around us in the table. So, these are six-point games. So, if we can take points with these games, it could be a turning point."

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