FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – All four New England Revolution Academy teams opened their inaugural MLS Next campaign over the weekend, with the Under-19s, Under-17s, and Under-15s facing Oakwood SC on the road in Portland, Conn., and the Under-14s taking on NEFC in Mendon, Mass. In addition, five current and former Revolution Academy players featured for Revolution II in the 2-0 win at Union Omaha on Sept. 19.
Both the U-17s and U-15s played to draws on the road, with the U-17s tying Oakwood 1-1 and the U-15s rescuing a 2-2 result. The U-19s fell, 1-0, at Oakwood while the U-14s dropped a 2-0 result to NEFC. Next Saturday, the Under-19s, Under-17s, and Under-15s will all travel to face Empire Academy in Albany, N.Y., while the Under-14s take on Valeo FC in Newton, Mass. at 3 p.m. The U-19s will kick off at 3:15 p.m. and the U-17s and U-15s will both kick off at 5:30 p.m.
For more information about the New England Revolution’s youth teams and Revolution Academy programming, please visit revolutionsoccer.net/academy.
Revolution MLS NEXT Highlights
Defender Steban Lopera (2005 – Revere, Mass.) scored his first goal of the season for the U-17s with an assist from midfielder Samson Kpardeh (2005 – Worcester, Mass.), who made his Revolution Academy debut.
Defender Alex Rapo (2006 – Dover, Mass.) recorded two assists for the U-15s in their 2-2 draw on Saturday. Rapo’s second assist helped Diego Xhikneli (2006 – Glastonbury, Conn.) score an equalizer on his Revolution Academy debut. Goalkeeper Ryan Carney (2006 – Dunstable, Mass.) made six saves for the U-15s, including stops on a pair of breakaways in the second half.
The draw for the U-15s marked the debut of Shalrie Joseph as the team’s head coach. Joseph, a member of the Revolution’s All-Time Team, spent 11 seasons as a player for New England and has prior head coaching experience with the Grenada Men’s National Team.
Revolution II Highlights
Defender Colby Quinones (2003 – Bedford, N.H.) made his eighth straight appearance for Revolution II, playing 90 minutes in both matches during the week and totaling six clearances, seven possessions gained, and three interceptions defensively. He leads all current Academy players in professional minutes with Revolution II.
Defender Diego Souza (2002 – Hyannis, Mass.) started for the second time this season on Wednesday at FC Tucson, playing 45 minutes and finishing with the a team-high six possessions gained along with two clearances and two tackles.
Midfielder Hikaru Fujiwara (2003 – Lexington, Mass.) and forward Michael Tsicoulias (2002 – Newton, Mass.) each made substitute appearances during the week while forward Isaie Louis (2005 – Everett, Mass.) made the bench on Wednesday at FC Tucson.
Academy alums and Homegrown Players Justin Rennicks (South Hamilton, Mass.), Nicolas Firmino (Somerville, Mass.), and Damian Rivera (Cranston, R.I.) all made a pair of appearances for the second team over the past week, with the first two tallying a goal each in a 2-0 win on Saturday at Union Omaha.
REVOLUTION II
New England Revolution II vs. Union Omaha
Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020 – Werner Park (Papillion, Neb.)
New England Revolution II 2, Union Omaha 0
Scoring Summary:
NE – Justin Rennicks (Orlando Sinclair) 11’
NE – Nicolas Firmino (Ryan Spaulding) 90’+8
Revolution II: Joe Rice, Colby Quinones, Collin Verfurth, Jon Bell, Ryan Spaulding; Maciel, Tiago Mendonca, Nicolas Firmino; Connor Presley (Michael Tsicoulias 90’), Orlando Sinclair (Damian Rivera 70’), Justin Rennicks (Mayele Malango 90’+5).
Substitutes Not Used: Keegan Meyer, Ryo Shimazaki, Nathan Metsack, Meny Silva.
*Academy players above in italics
UNDER-19s
New England Revolution U-19s vs Oakwood SC U-19s
Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020 – Oakwood Soccer Park (Portland, Conn.)
New England Revolution 0, Oakwood SC 1
Scoring Summary:
OAK – 51’
Revolution U-19s: Nick Cardona (Matthew Tibbetts 63’); Zach Sardi-Santos (Greg McLean 63’), Taha Kina, Cole Dewhurst, Michael Te Duits; Joe Buck, Henri Richter (Aidan Farwell 58’), Sam White; Felipe Viera (Cole Richardson 63’), Brandonn Bueno (Lucas Fernandez 70’), Jorge Garcia (Triton Beauvois 58’).
Substitutes Not Used: None
UNDER-17s
New England Revolution U-17s vs Oakwood SC U-17s
Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020 – Oakwood Soccer Park (Portland, Conn.)
New England Revolution 1, Oakwood SC 1
Scoring Summary:
OAK – 3’
NE – Steban Lopera (Samson Kpardeh) 69’
Revolution U-17s: Matthew Tibbetts (Brady Elmblad 60’); Jack Burkhardt, Dylan Walsh, Alexi Karalis, Steban Lopera; Matteo Gomes (Samson Kpardeh 60’), Noel Buck, Jack Panayotou (Brady Lewis 70’); Jason Zacarias (Randy Vang 70’), Malcolm Fry (Ed Fundunyan 60’), Patrick Garcia (Matt Bergquist 70’).
Substitutes Not Used: None
UNDER-15s
New England Revolution U-15s vs Oakwood SC U-15s
Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020 – Oakwood Soccer Park (Portland, Conn.)
New England Revolution 2, Oakwood SC 2
Scoring Summary:
NE – Giuseppe Ciampa (Alex Rapo) 12’
OAK – 28’
OAK – 33’
NE – Diego Xhikneli (Alex Rapo) 73’
Revolution U-15s: Ryan Carney; Daniel Woodward, Kian Charris (Enrique Dias 61’), Alex Rapo, Alejandro Palacios (Luke Churchill 61’); Giusseppe Ciampa (Kevin Medina 66’), Hayes Benzan (Jamie Kabuusu 61’), Diego Xhikneli; Jordy Tornberg Ayala, Enzo Goncalves (Olger Escobar 52’), Angel Ortez (Alessandro Bacabac 52’).
Substitutes Not Used: Sebastian Wraga.
UNDER-14s
New England Revolution U-14s vs NEFC U-14s
Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020 – NEFC Park – Field 1 (Mendon, Mass.)
New England Revolution 0, NEFC 2
Scoring Summary:
NEFC – 20’
NEFC – 43’
Revolution U-14s: Miles Fleming (Ethan Virmalo 41’); Sage Kinner, Lucas Nuernberg, T.J. Levisee (J.T. Newbury 55’), Jackson Danforth (Matias Xhikneli 20’); Ian Hecker, Ryan Viana (Gavin Foley 41’), Jaime Vega (Caleb Chao 41’); Everson Goglia, Conrad Sweatman, Luka Hislop (Fabian Alzate 41’).
Substitutes Not Used: Evan Deasy.
