FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution II (9-9-4, 31 pts.) defeated first-place Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (10-3-10, 40 pts.) on Saturday night in Tennessee, 1-0. Revolution Homegrown Player Justin Rennicks scored the lone goal of the contest in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, his second consecutive match with a goal, to provide the latest winning goal in Revolution II’s history.
Chattanooga was reduced to 10 men in the 78th minute when Sebastian Capozucchi was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in quick succession. The host Red Wolves still found themselves with a late corner in second half stoppage time. After Revolution II cleared the initial cross, Justin Rennicks took the ball from the edge of the New England penalty area all the way down field, eluding two Chattanooga defenders before slotting a shot past Sebastian Mora-Mora for the win.
Goalkeeper Joe Rice recorded his sixth clean sheet of the season, making five saves on the night. Rice was solid in the first half, parrying away four shots in the opening 45 minutes. Revolution II center backs Collin Verfurth and Pierre Cayet were also instrumental, each recording 10 clearances in the contest.
Revolution Academy midfielder Esmir Bajraktarevic started for the third consecutive game, making his sixth straight appearance since joining the club in August. Six other Academy graduates featured for Revs II, with Damian Rivera, Justin Rennicks, Colby Quiñones, and Noel Buck all starting, and Meny Silva and Hikaru Fujiwara coming off the bench.
New England returns home on Friday, Oct. 1, hosting Forward Madison FC for the first time this season. Friday’s kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
POSTGAME NOTES
New England Revolution II 1, Chattanooga Red Wolves SC 0
September 25, 2021 – CHI Memorial Stadium (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
- New England Revolution II defeated Chattanooga Red Wolves SC at CHI Memorial Stadium on Saturday night, 1-0, improving their record to 9-9-2 (31 pts.) on the season.
- This marks the first time New England has defeated Chattanooga in the all-time series.
- Justin Rennicks scored the lone goal, his third of the season, in second-half stoppage time. The Homegrown Player from South Hamilton, Mass. had a team-high three shots, including two on frame, along with two key passes.
- Forward Connor Presley recorded his third assist of the season, his second game-winning assist of the year.
- Midfielder and Academy product Noel Buck had a team-high three chances created and added one shot.
- Damian Rivera also tallied three shots, with two on target, and two chances created.
- Defender Ryan Spaulding had his night cut short due to injury, but posted team highs in tackles (4), interceptions (3), and blocked one shot in a 67-minute effort.
- Defender Francois Dulysse made his first appearance since Aug. 21, playing 23 minutes off the bench and completing 14 of his 15 passes.
- Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay made two changes to the Starting XI from New England’s last match on Sept. 17 against the Richmond Kickers, with Pierre Cayet and Colby Quinones all starting in place of Jon Bell and Luis Caicedo, respectively. Both Bell and Caicedo were on the bench for New England’s MLS side on Saturday night.
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Jalen Gray.
Assistant Referees: Zach McWhorter (AR1), Chana Forstall (AR2).
Fourth Official: Sergii Demianchuk.
Weather: 68 degrees and cloudy.
Scoring Summary:
NE – Justin Rennicks 3 (Connor Presley 3) 90’+5
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Damian Rivera (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 22’
CHA – Sebastian Capozucchi (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 77’
CHA – Sebastian Capozucchi (Red Card – Second Yellow Card) 78’
NE – Francois Dulysse (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 88’
New England Revolution II: Joe Rice; Ryan Spaulding (Francois Dulysse 67’), Collin Verfurth, Pierre Cayet, Colby Quiñones (Michel 62’); Jake Rozhansky © (Meny Silva 35’), Noel Buck, Esmir Bajraktarevic (Hikaru Fujiwara 46’); Connor Presley, Justin Rennicks, Damian Rivera.
Substitutes Not Used: Marzuq Puckerin, Tyler Freitas, Dennis Ramirez.
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC: Sebastian Mora-Mora; Ronaldo Pineda, Jason Ramos, Jorge Luna (Sebastian Capozucchi 40’), Jonathan Ricketts; José Carrera-Garcia ©, Jimmie Villalobos (Jackson Dietrich 74’), Ualefi (Jonathan Esparza 82’), Marky Hernandez (Angel Espana 74’), Ricky Ruiz; Blake Frischknecht (Juan Galindrez, 46’).
Substitutes Not Used: Cristian Zaragoza, Rey Ortiz.
