USL1 New England Revolution II

Revolution II Fall to FC Tucson, 2-1

Published on September 1, 2021 under United Soccer League One (USL1)
New England Revolution II News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - New England Revolution II (7-7-3, 24 pts.) fell to FC Tucson, 2-1, on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium. Damian Rivera scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season in the 10th minute - the earliest goal of the season for New England - to give Revolution II the lead. FC Tucson struck on either side of halftime to erase the early deficit.

Homegrown Player Damian Rivera made his first appearance for Revolution II since Aug. 5, having spent the past month with the Revolution first team. The Cranston, R.I. native made his MLS debut for Bruce Arena's side in a winning effort on Aug. 21 vs. FC Cincinnati. Rivera's goal was his fifth goal of the season and sixth as a pro. Rivera scored by collecting a pass from fellow Revolution Academy product Hikaru Fujiwara and firing a shot from 20 yards that beat Tucson keeper Wallis Lapsley.

New England goalkeeper Yannik Oettl made his professional debut, starting for the first time since he signed with the club in July. Oettl made four saves on the night, becoming the 30th player to make his professional debut with Revolution II since the club began play in 2020.

Revolution Academy midfielder Esmir Bajraktarevic (2005 - Appleton, Wisc.) made an appearance for a second consecutive match. Six other Academy graduates appeared in Wednesday's contest - Rivera, Fujiwara, Justin Rennicks, Colby Quiñones, and Noel Buck all started while Meny Silva came off the bench.

New England will close out its two-game week on Sunday, Sept. 5, hosting South Georgia Tormenta FC. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

POSTGAME NOTES

New England Revolution II 1, FC Tucson 2

September 1, 2021 - Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

New England Revolution II fell at home on Wednesday night to FC Tucson, 2-1, dropping their record to 7-8-3 (24 points) in USL League One. The defeat snapped New England's unbeaten run at four games (2-0-2).

Goalkeeper Yannik Oettl became the 30th different player to make his professional debut for Revolution II. Oettl made four saves in his New England debut.

Forward Damian Rivera and Revolution Homegrown Player made his return to the Revolution II lineup for the first time since Aug. 5, scoring his fifth goal of the season on the night. Rivera added two shots on target and three key passes on the night.

Revolution Academy graduate Hikaru Fujiwara provided his third assist of the season on Rivera's strike.

Defender Sean O'Hearn registered team highs in blocked shots (4), clearances (6), and interceptions (2) while winning six of his 10 aerials.

Forward and Revolution Academy graduate Meny Silva made his seventh appearance of the season off the bench to set a new career high in games played.

Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay made two changes to the Starting XI from New England's last match on August 5 vs. North Carolina FC, with Yannik Oettl, Collin Verfurth, Damian Rivera, and Justin Rennicks and replacing Joe Rice, Jon Bell, François Dulysse, and Edward Kizza, respectively. Rivera, Verfurth, and Rennicks returned after a call up to the Revolution first team to close the month of August.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Anya Voigt.

Assistant Referees: Ian Mangione (AR1), Eric Schreiber (AR2).

Fourth Official: Jessica Carnevale

Weather: 66 degrees and rain

Scoring Summary:

NE - Damian Rivera 5 (Hikaru Fujiwara 3) 10'

TUC - Shak Adams 7 (Daniel Bedoya 3) 43'

TUC - Daniel Bedoya (Free Kick) 49'

Misconduct Summary:

NE - Hikaru Fujiwara (Yellow Card - Bad Foul) 38'

TUC - Mohamed Kone (Yellow Card - Bad Foul) 54'

TUC - Deri Corfe (Yellow Card - Time Wasting) 89'

NE - Michel (Yellow Card - Bad Foul) 90'+1

TUC - Luca Mastrantonio (Yellow Card - Bad Foul) 90'+3

New England Revolution II: Yannik Oettl; Ryan Spaulding, Collin Verfurth ©, Sean O'Hearn, Colby Quiñones; Michel, Noel Buck, Hikaru Fujiwara (Esmir Bajraktarevic 69'); Connor Presley, Damian Rivera (Meny Silva 69'), Justin Rennicks.

Substitutes Not Used: Joe Rice, Tyler Freitas, Pierre Cayet, Dennis Ramirez, Brandonn Bueno.

FC Tucson: Wallis Lapsley; Noah Franke, Dakota Barnathan ©, Kaelon Fox, Maximiliano Schenfeld; Daniel Bedoya (Joao Delgado 81'), Mohamed Kone, Charlie Dennis (Manu Ferriol 52'); Shak Adams (Deri Corfe 65'), Tobenna Uzo (Alex Knox 80'), Gio Calixtro (Luca Mastrantonio 81').

Substitutes Not Used: Ryan Shellow, Franco Pérez.

New England Revolution II Team Statistics FC Tucson

14 (6) Shots (on Target) 23 (6)

5 Blocked Shots 8

4 Saves 5

4 Corner Kicks 4

0 Offsides 0

14 Fouls 10

416 (77.6%) Passes Attempted (% Completed) 454 (82.4%)

48.0% Possession 52.0%

POSTGAME QUOTES:

New England Revolution II 1 vs. FC Tucson 2

New England Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay

On tonight's performance:

Peay: "I thought it was a tough match. Both teams had chances. You know, they were just a little bit better in taking theirs than we were."

On scoring an early goal at home:

Peay: "That's what we talk about trying to do every game. We were fortunate enough to get on top early and had a few more opportunities to get the second one and just botched some plays up. And unfortunately, we didn't put them under enough pressure to go into halftime with a comfortable lead."

On Yannik Oettl's performance:

Peay: "He did okay. I think that we'll have to look at the film and kind of look at some of this more stuff in detail, but my impression was that he was decent in the goal."

On the message to the team at the half after giving up the equalizer:

Peay: "Well, I think at halftime, we just had to be better in the final third with taking our chances or at least getting to create a chance. And so that was a big thought process going into the second half. And then going down a goal, look, we have to be able to bounce back from those things. I thought the guys responded fairly well and we were able to put pressure on Tucson but weren't good enough to create the final goal."

New England Revolution II Defender Sean O'Hearn

On how much the size and physicality of FC Tucson affected the game:

O'Hearn: "It was all about getting stuck in. We knew that they were going to be a physical and bigger team than us. And we just had to win our individual battles. And that was the most important thing. Our kryptonite really this year has been the bigger teams like Richmond and Tucson. So, we need to get that figured out for the latter games and postseason."

On the message at halftime and how it changed when they scored early in the second half:

O'Hearn: "It was just don't let the late goal affect us. Just come out sharp in the first part of the second half. Obviously, they came out in the second half and they scored a goal, but it was really about trying to keep our mentality right and keep on getting stuck in on tackles and a good start to the second half."

On the chances created and how not finishing those chances effects the team:

O'Hearn: "We were having really good opportunities on the counterattack. It was just, I think most

of our problems are just not hitting the target at the end of the day in the final third. I think we had one or two shots on target and one of them went in. So, we should keep on shooting and getting the ball on target. That's the most important thing. Missing those chances is obviously a little bit demoralizing, but just keep on creating opportunities and it'll come eventually."

On the most important things in the upcoming days before a quick turnaround:

O'Hearn: "Just obviously getting treatment and getting in with the trainers. Just making sure your body is ready for the game. So, hydrating, getting massages, everything like that is really important. And then just really getting into the film room and getting ready for [Sunday's match with South Georgia] Tormenta FC."

Check out the New England Revolution II Statistics

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