FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution II (4-5-1, 13 pts.) fell on the road Wednesday night at Breese Stevens Field against Forward Madison FC (4-2-4, 16 pts.), 1-0. Madison striker Jake Keegan scored the lone goal of the match in the 20th minute.
Revolution II controlled possession for much of the match, outshooting Madison 16-12 on the night. Homegrown Player and forward Damian Rivera added to his team lead in shots for the season with five on the night, moving his total on the year to 28. Rivera was denied twice by Madison keeper Phil Breno, who made three saves on the night.
“I thought the guys played a really good game,” said Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay. “I thought we created some chances, we tried different ways to get at them, but were unsuccessful obviously with the final product. I thought for large stretches of the game we defended very well and limited a very good team to very few opportunities.”
The best chance of the match for New England came in the second half, when midfielder Noel Buck saw his shot ring off the crossbar in the 76th minute. Buck was one of seven Revolution Academy products to feature in Wednesday’s contest, doing so as a substitute along with Meny Silva, Tyler Freitas, and Michael Tsicoulias. Fellow Academy product Hikaru Fujiwara and Homegrown Players Justin Rennicks and Rivera all started the match.
“I think we were missing you know a little bit of creativity in the attack,” said Revolution captain and midfielder Jake Rozhansky. “A little disguised pass, something creative to just break them down. We did a good job of keeping the ball, but in this game it wasn't enough. We need to create more in those games. We need to counter-attack better when we don't have the ball and when they're open, and I think that's something we need to work on.”
New England will return home on Sunday, July 4 to host reigning USL League One champions Greenville Triumph SC at Gillette Stadium. Kickoff for Sunday’s matinee is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
New England Revolution II 0, Forward Madison FC 1
June 30, 2021 – Breese Stevens Field (Madison, Wis.)
- New England Revolution II fell on the road Wednesday night against Forward Madison FC at Breese Stevens Field, 1-0. The defeat drops New England’s record to 4-5-1 on the season and shifts the all-time series to 3-1-0 in favor of Madison.
- Defender Ryan Spaulding became the first Revolution II player to appear in 25 matches for the club after starting in Wednesday’s match. Spaulding played all 90 minutes and completed 92.6 percent of his passes, including two key passes, while adding a team-high seven recoveries.
- Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay made three changes to the Starting XI from last Saturday’s victory, with Joe Rice, Hikaru Fujiwara, and Ryan Sierakowski all starting in place of Earl Edwards Jr., Noel Buck, and Connor Presley, respectively.
- Homegrown Player Damian Rivera recorded five shots, including one on target, his second-highest shot total of the season. Rivera also recorded five recoveries and two tackles in 76 minutes.
- Homegrown Forward Justin Rennicks appeared in his 10th match of the season for Revs II, creating a pair of chances and completing all 15 of his passes.
- Defender Pierre Cayet put in his seventh straight 90-minute performance since signing with the club back in April. Cayet finished the contest with a team-best eight clearances along with five recoveries, three interceptions, and a shot on target.
- Defender Sean O’Hearn started his second consecutive match at left back, playing 83 minutes and finishing with a team-high four interceptions to go along with three recoveries, two clearances, and a shot on target.
- Midfielder Jake Rozhansky completed 99 of 108 passes on the night, including three key passes, and added five duels won and four recoveries on the night.
- Midfielder and Academy product Hikaru Fujiwara made his second start of the season – and first since the season opener on April 10 – playing 68 minutes and concluding the night with two chances created and 29 of his 30 passes completed.
- Forward Ryan Sierakowski made his first start since July 12, replacing the injured Connor Presley up front, finishing his 90-minute effort with a team-high two tackles along with one chance created.
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Katherine McCormick;Assistant Referee: Art Arustamyan (AR1), Rachel Smith (AR2);Fourth Official: Dylan Seitz;Weather: 83 degrees and partly cloudy.Attendance: 3,607
Scoring Summary:
MAD – Jake Keegan (Christian Diaz) 20’
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Michel (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 42’
NE – Jake Rozhansky (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 48’
MAD – Christian Diaz (Yellow Card – Dissent) 60’
MAD – Phil Breno (Yellow Card – Time Wasting) 90’+2
New England Revolution II: Joe Rice; Sean O’Hearn (Tyler Freitas 83’), Collin Verfurth, Pierre Cayet, Ryan Spaulding; Jake Rozhansky ©, Michel, Hikaru Fujiwara (Noel Buck 68’); Damian Rivera (Meny Silva 77’), Ryan Sierakowski, Justin Rennicks (Michael Tsicoulias 68’).
Substitutes Not Used: Marzuq Puckerin, Colby Quinones, Dennis Ramirez.
Forward Madison FC: Phil Breno; Jiro Barriga Toyama, Connor Tobin ©, Gustavo Fernandes, Christian Diaz; Aaron Molloy, Carlos Gomez (Eric Leonard 65’), Christian Enriquez (Audi Jepson 80’); Noah Fuson, Derek Gebhard, Jake Keegan.
Substitutes Not Used: Aidan Hogan, Ronaldo Lomeli, Heath Martin, Michael Vang, Tyler Allen.
