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MLS NEXT Pro New England Revolution II

Revolution II Secure First Shootout Victory in MLS NEXT Pro History vs. NYCFC II

March 27, 2022 - MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
New England Revolution II News Release


QUEENS, N.Y. - New England Revolution II (0-0-1, 2 pts.) opened the 2022 MLS NEXT Pro season with a 2-2 draw against New York City FC II (0-0-1, 1 pts.), earning an extra point with the first shootout victory in MLS NEXT Pro history, 4-3. Homegrown midfielder Damian Rivera notched both the game-opener and the game-tying goal to record the third brace in team history. Rivera opened the scoring in the sixth minute.

Esmir Bajraktarevic, Trevor Zwetsloot, Jake Rozhansky, and Meny Silva all converted in the shootout to earn New England the extra point in their season opener, marking the third consecutive season Revolution II has earned at least one point in their first game of the season.

Revolution II saw five players make their professional debut, including current Revolution Academy U-17 forward Malcolm Fry (2005 - Groton, Mass.). He becomes the 19th Academy product to make his professional debut with New England's second team.

Goalkeeper Jacob Jackson made his professional debut and recorded eight saves on ten shots faced. New England's 2022 MLS SuperDraft first round pick's point-blank save in the 69th minute gave his team the momentum needed to head into the attacking zone where Rivera would score the game-tying goal.

New England returns to action on Sunday, April 3 as Revolution II kicks off its home slate hosting Rochester New York FC at Gillette Stadium with fans in the stands for the first time in team history. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and tickets are available on Ticketmaster. The match will also stream on MLSNEXTPro.com.

New England Revolution II 2 (4), New York City FC II 2 (3)

March 27, 2022 -Belson Stadium (Queens, N.Y.)

Five Revolution II Players Make Their Professional Debuts on Saturday

New England saw five players appear in their first professional match, with Jacob Jackson, Jose Italo, Ben Reveno and Trevor Zwetsloot all starting with Malcolm Fry making a substitute appearance.

Italo, who logged the full 90 minutes, was one of three Brazilian players to sign with Revolution II this offseason.

Reveno, New England's second round pick in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft, and Zwetsloot, who signed from the Melbourne Knights, also both played the full 90.

Homegrown Midfielder Damian Rivera Records a Brace

Midfielder Damian Rivera earned the start for Revolution II in their season opener for the second consecutive season, logging 79 minutes.

Rivera recorded the third brace in team history - the first since August 5, 2021 (Edward Kizza) - and the first multi-goal game of his career.

Four Revolution Academy Graduates Start in Season Opener

Alongside Rivera, Esmir Bajraktarevic, Meny Silva and Hikaru Fujiwara all earned a starting spot in the lineup.

Bajraktarevic and Silva each played the full 90 and both scored in the penalty shootout. For the former, it was his first appearance since signing a professional contract last November.

Additionally, Academy alum Colby Quiñones, along current Academy forwards Isaie Louis and Malcolm Fry, all made appearances off the bench.

Fry became the 36th different player to make his professional debut with Revolution II and 19th Academy player to do so.

Louis, who became the youngest player ever to suit up for Revs II in 2020, made his fourth professional appearance, logging a career-high 22 minutes off the bench.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Chrisitan Centeno

Assistant Referees: Tom Felice (AR1) Nicola Vesia (AR2)

Fourth Official: Kenneth Rojas

Weather: 44 degrees and cloudy

Scoring Summary:

NE - Damian Rivera 7'

NYC - John Denis 9'

NYC - Chris Gloster 36'

NE - Damian Rivera 70'

Misconduct Summary:

NE - Damian Rivera (Yellow Card - Foul) 60'

NYC - Nicholas Benalcazar (Yellow Card - Foul) 61'

NYC - Piero Elias (Yellow Card - Persistent Infringement) 82'

New England Revolution II: Jacob Jackson; Jose Italo, Trevor Zwetsloot, Ben Reveno, Sean O'Hearn (Colby Quinones 71'); Hikaru Fujiwara (Isaie Louis 68'), Jake Rozhansky, Michel (Malcolm Fry 79'); Damian Rivera (Mike DeShields 79'), Esmir Bajraktarevic, Meny Silva.

Substitutes Not Used: Max Weinstein, Pierre Cayet.

New York City FC II: Luis Barraza; Chris Gloster, Vukasin Bulatovic, Samuel Owusu, Nicholas Benalcazar; Jack Beer, Justin Haak; Jonathan Jimenez, John Denis, Kevin O'Toole; Massimo Murania Yankowitz (Piero Elias 62').

Substitutes Not Used: Klevis Haxhari, Kenan Hot, Julian Gomez, Stephen Turnbull, Andrew Maia, Diego Rossi, Alex Rando, Stevo Bednarsky.

New York City FC II Team Statistics New England Revolution II

16 (10) Shots (on Target) 7 (5)

3 Blocked Shots 0

3 Saves 8

6 Corner Kicks 1

3 Offsides 4

16 Fouls 13

501 (82.8%) Passes Attempted (% Completed) 348 (72.1%)

58.8% Possession 41.2%

POSTGAME QUOTES: New England Revolution II 2 (4) at New York City FC II 2 (3)

Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay

On his overall assessment of the team from start to finish:

Peay: "I thought the guys worked hard. I thought a lot of the things that we wanted to improve upon and correct on both sides of the ball, it was good to kind of see some of it take shape on the field. Certainly, I think we can still be better sustaining possession at times and even get a little bit better with our pressure. But overall, I was pleased, and it was a tough game because the wind played a major role for both teams, so that made it difficult."

On Damian Rivera scoring the game-opener and game-tying goals:

Peay: "Yeah, first of all, it was huge. We talked about scoring first, so it was good for not only Damian [Rivera], but the team, to give us a lift and give us a boost and then going down a goal, getting back the way we did, fighting and taking a moment of transition, going straight to goal in an effective way was something that we talked about a lot and it's good to see that we were able to capitalize on it."

On his assessment of goalkeeper Jacob Jackson:

Peay: "He's steady. I think he held the ball well for us. As balls were shot at him, he didn't give any rebounds up. He had a good attitude and really helped command the box on crosses and things like that. It's never easy for him or any player to come in, but I thought he was steady and did well.

On being the first team in the league to take part in the penalty shootout:

Peay: "It's a little strange, to be honest. I think it's a good feeling to win, but I think for me, it's just going to depend on how those points add up as the season progresses. I think we'll kind of learn more to how it affects the standings, and I think that will be the big thing, but I think for the fans and for the players involved, it's exciting. So, in that regard, I think it probably hits the market MLS is trying to get, but from a coach's standpoint, you feel like you get punished a little bit for tying a game."

Revolution II Midfielder Damian Rivera

On how the team performed overall:

Rivera: "Yeah, you know, I thought we had a pretty good preseason. Those games were kind of practice for this first game of the season. I thought the chemistry was well this game and it showed."

On scoring his first two goals of the season:

Rivera: "Yeah, definitely excited to get those two goals under my belt. I've been working hard this preseason and to get those goals, it's another confidence booster, and it's really exciting."

On his team earning the shootout victory:

Rivera: "This new penalty shootout added to league brings a lot more intensity into the game. And to win, it's even more exciting for us, gives us an extra point. We'll all go home happy."

On how he hopes the team uses this momentum heading into the home opener:

Rivera: "I think we need to still look at things we could have done better, and we'll look at the film and things like that and continue to grow off this win for next week at home."

Revolution II Forward Meny Silva

On his assessment of his and his team's performances:

Silva: "I started a little sloppy in the first half, and then as the game progressed, I got to understand and read the team a little bit more and got more confident on the ball. And as a team, in the first half we had the wind against us, so it was kind of tough to play out of the back, so we were just going long most of the time. But in the second half, I feel like we kept more of the ball and just played our way.

On the pressure of the shootout and scoring the game winner:

Silva: "I was a bit nervous because the other team's fans were just behind the net, you know, a lot of pressure but I was also thinking to myself, 'if you score, you get to just watch them not say anything anymore because you won the game for you team.' But yeah, I was kind of nervous."

On taking the momentum of this game into next week:

Silva: "Since we're going to be home, we're going to be much harder to play against. We're going to teach them how to play the New England way, which is to pass the ball, moving the ball quick. We're not going to give the opponent's any chances. They have to earn their chances. That's how coach taught us how to play."

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