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USL1 New England Revolution II

Revolution II Opens 2021 Campaign with 1-0 Win at Fort Lauderdale CF

April 10, 2021 - United Soccer League One (USL1)
New England Revolution II News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - New England Revolution II (1-0-0) opened the 2021 USL League One season with a victory in their first-ever trip to face Fort Lauderdale CF (0-1-0) on Saturday night, 1-0. Forward Ryan Sierakowski provided the scoring for New England, notching a goal in his club debut in the 50th minute of the contest with an assist from Revolution Academy midfielder Hikaru Fujiwara (2003 - Lexington, Mass.).

Revolution II saw five players make their professional debut, including two current Revolution Academy players - Noel Buck and Cole Dewhurst - along with Academy graduate Dennis Ramirez. Buck (2005 - Arlington, Mass.), who earned a spot in the starting lineup, became just the fourth Academy player to start a match with Revolution II.

In addition, nine current and former Revolution Academy players made an appearance, including five active Academy players and two Homegrown Players.

Goalkeeper Joe Rice made his return to the Revolution II lineup for the first time since Sept. 26, 2020 and made one save in his fourth-career clean sheet performance.

New England returns to action on Saturday, April 17 as Revolution II kicks off its home schedule hosting Richmond Kickers at Gillette Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. and is available on ESPN+.

New England Revolution II 1, Fort Lauderdale CF 0

April 10, 2021 - DRV PNK Stadium (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Five Revolution II Players Make Their Professional Debuts on Saturday

- New England saw five players appear in their first professional match, with Sean O'Hearn, François Dulysse, and Noel Buck all starting and Dennis Ramirez and Cole Dewhurst both making a substitute appearance.

- Buck, who earned his first professional start, played the full 90 minutes and finished the night with eight possessions gained and two clearances in the midfield.

- Ramirez, a Revolution Academy product, signed with Revolution II in March 2020 before missing the entirety of last season with a shoulder injury. He played 14 minutes.

- Dewhurst entered the match in the 82nd minute, recording an interception and completing his only pass.

- O'Hearn and Dulysse were both signed by New England early in the offseason and made up the center back tandem in the season opener. O'Hearn factored in with seven clearances, four recoveries, three tackles, and two interceptions while Dulysse recorded a team-high 11 clearances.

Five Revolution Academy Players Feature in Season Opener

- Defender Cole Dewhurst, midfielders Hikaru Fujiwara, Noel Buck, Morris Matthews, and forward Michael Tsicoulias comprised the quartet of Academy players to feature for Revolution II on Saturday.

- Buck and Fujiwara earned a spot in the starting lineup, with the former playing 90 minutes and the latter coming off in the 76th minute after recording an assist.

- Dewhurst, Matthews and Tsicoulias each earned a substitute appearance, including a professional debut for Dewhurst while Matthews and Tsicoulias both made their professional debuts with New England last season.

Homegrown Players Rennicks and Rivera See Action for Revs II

- Forwards Justin Rennicks and Damian Rivera both started for Revolution II in their season opener. The two first-team players were both key contributors for New England in 2020, combining for six goals and two assists over the last eight games.

- Rennicks played 65 minutes, finishing the night with one shot and four duels won, while Rivera was subbed off in the 76th minute, recording two shots with one on target and a key pass.

Sierakowski Opens His Account for the 2021 Season

- Forward Ryan Sierakowski, signed by New England on March 26, scored a goal in his club debut - the first of the USL League One season - to give Revolution II the lead early in the second half.

- Sierakowski, who set the program scoring record in four years at Michigan State, finished his club debut playing 81 minutes, registering a shot on target and two duels won.

Six Returning Members of Revolution II Earn Starting Spot

- New England had six players from their 2020 roster feature in the starting lineup on Saturday night, including Homegrown Players Justin Rennicks and Damian Rivera, Revolution Academy midfielder Hikaru Fujiwara, and USL signed players Joe Rice, Ryan Spaulding, and Connor Presley.

- Fujiwara, who recorded his second career assist, made his 11th professional appearance, second-most among Academy players for the club.

- Rice kept a clean sheet in his first game since Sept. 26, 2020, making just one save along with a goalkeeper clearance.

- Spaulding recorded a team-high three interceptions to go along with three recoveries and two clearances.

- Presley made his first career start at right back after playing primarily at forward last season, making five tackles and six recoveries.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Elvis Osmanovic

Assistant Referees: Diego Lucio (AR1) Juan Pablo Casas (AR2)

Fourth Official: Alejo Calume

Weather: 77 degrees and partly cloudy

Scoring Summary:

NE - Ryan Sierakowski (Hikaru Fujiwara) 50'

Misconduct Summary:

NE - Jake Rozhansky (Yellow Card - Persistent Infringement) 54'

New England Revolution II: Joe Rice; Ryan Spaulding, Sean O'Hearn, François Dulysse, Connor Presley; Jake Rozhansky (Morris Matthews 76'), Hikaru Fujiwara (Dennis Ramirez 76'), Noel Buck; Damian Rivera (Meny Silva 76'), Ryan Sierakowski (Cole Dewhurst 81'), Justin Rennicks (Michael Tsicoulias 65').

Substitutes Not Used: Marzuq Puckerin, Collin Verfurth.

Fort Lauderdale CF: Luis Zamudio; Christian Lue Young, Modesto Mendez, Ethan Hardin Âé, Noah Allen; Joshua Saveedra (Francisco Raggio 71'), Drew Hardin, George Acosta (Braxton Najib HT); Edison Azcona (Cesar Cuellar HT), Shaan Hundal (Roberto Poplawski 60'), Abel Caputo (Frank Nodarse 88').

Substitutes Not Used: Andre Zuluaga.

Fort Lauderdale CF Team Statistics New England Revolution II

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

5 Blocked Shots 1

1 Saves 1

8 Corner Kicks 3

4 Offsides 1

11 Fouls 13

471 (83.4%) Passes Attempted (% Completed) 347 (75.8%)

58.5% Possession 41.5%

POSTGAME QUOTES: New England Revolution II 1 at Fort Lauderdale CF 0

Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay

On the team's overall performance in the season-opening victory:

Peay: "It was a good game in terms of our ability to solve some problems. We didn't have a great start to the first half but I thought our second half response was good. And after the weather break, I thought the guys came out and basically saw the game through and in a very disciplined and professional way."

On the team talk at halftime:

Peay: "It was difficult. We had a couple new guys join us and they haven't played with us yet. Some of the concepts that we do with the second team are a little different than with the first team. So it just took a while for us to kind of understand what we're asking of the guys. And I thought the other piece was we were too far apart as a group and we wanted to be more collective as we pressed and as we moved the ball. I thought that got better for us in the second half."

On breaking down Fort Lauderdale CF through the midfield:

Peay: "I think they came out and they pressed high and we again were not solving the problems with creating a numerical advantage in our buildup and I didn't think we were particularly good with keeping the ball early in the game. And I think in the second half, we were able to create more opportunities straight from the goalkeeper and keep the ball and advanced the ball in a more systematic way as we we moved the ball up the field."

On Revolution Academy midfielder Noel Buck earning his first start in his professional debut:

Peay: "Noel [Buck] has been good all preseason. He's a young guy and we see a lot of promise in him so we wanted to get him on the field. He's earned it. I thought he had, for a first professional game, he made a good account of himself and grew into the game as the game went on so we're very pleased with his performance."

On Connor Presley moving to the right back position:

Peay: "Well, due to a little bit of personnel challenges for us, Connor [Presley] slotted in as the right back and it's something as you mentioned he's been doing in preseason. I thought overall, he had a slow start, but I think again, he grew into the game and was much better in the second half. It's a position that we know that he can do based on the reps he got with the first team in preseason and for us it just adds versatility to our team in terms of being able to move some guys around."

Revolution II Defender François Dulysse

On making his professional debut:

Dulysse: "It was surreal having my name on the back of my jersey representing the New England Revolution. It just felt so good. It was a dream come true making my professional debut. I thought my performance was solid defensively. We were solid all around. I thought it went pretty well, we got the win, grinded it out, and I was really pleased with everything all around."

On playing with the backline for the first time:

Dulysse: "We're all friends and have a very strong relationship off the field so I think that helped a lot. Our communication was good throughout the entire match. We're talking from minute one to minute 90. I thought that we just laid it out and gave our all. We have some stuff to work on like playing out of the back and stuff like that but that'll come with time. But I thought that defensively we were solid. We were tuned in the entire match, didn't give up any easy fouls or bad turnovers playing out of the back so I thought that was a plus as well. And having Joe Rice behind us the entire match, that helped as well."

On limiting Fort Lauderdale's chances in the attacking third:

Dulysse: "I think it was just communication and staying locked in the entire match. We knew that anything coming in the air or on the ground we would definitely get out and clear it. We were bigger and stronger so we were comfortable. Our coaches told us to be clean in our clearances and we wouldn't have any problems, make everything sharp, no mistakes, no easy fouls, and just stay locked in for the entire game. So I think that was what we did and we executed well. We're pleased with the overall performance from the backline and the rest of the team."

Revolution II Forward Ryan Sierakowski

On scoring his New England Revolution II debut:

Sierakowski: "It's been a long offseason so I'm so excited to just get back on the field once again after a long few months. And to be able to provide a goal in my debut for such a great organization is an honor and it couldn't be possible without my teammates and their performance. The way it happened, I believe we got down the left channel to the endline and Hikaru [Fujiwara] cut it back. I saw an opening to hit it first time and I hit it with my left foot and scored at the near post. I couldn't be happier with the goal, but I think overall we can we can be a lot better than that."

On the second half adjustments offensively:

Sierakowski: "I think it just being the first game back, everyone was anxious and didn't really settle down into the game. Up until the second half I think we were just rushing our attack a little bit. And then we made the adjustment at halftime to try to get on the ball more, be more confident, more composed and, ultimately, it led to a goal and a win."

On playing with Justin Rennicks and Damian Rivera for the first time:

Sierakowski: "It was my first time playing with Justin [Rennicks] and [Damian Rivera] but it was great. As the game went on, our chemistry built, and I think that it'll take time to continue to grow and the more we play together, the better we get. But overall, I'm very happy with the partnership there and I'm looking forward to see what's to come with that."

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