FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution II (1-2-0, 3 pts.) lost to Union Omaha (3-0-0, 9 pts.) on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium, 1-0. Omaha forward Greg Hurst scored a late winner in the 84th minute as New England moves to 1-2-0 on the season.
Revolution Academy midfielder Joe Buck made his professional debut for New England, starting and playing 79 minutes before being replaced by his younger brother, Noel, making his third appearance of the year. The elder Buck became the 26th different player to make his professional debut for New England since the start of last season, and the 16th Revolution Academy product. Academy forward Michael Tsicoulias also cracked the starting lineup for the first time this season.
“I thought Joe [Buck] showed some good composure. He battled hard,” said Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay. “Mike [Tsicoulias] probably needed to take care of the ball a little bit better, but provided us some good width in moments and was able to get into the attack for us a couple times and create some opportunities.”
New England Homegrown Players Justin Rennicks and Damian Rivera each recorded their third start of the season. Revolution II goalkeeper Joe Rice made a season-high four saves, with the Omaha goal snapping his personal shutout streak at 412 minutes, dating back to Sept. 16, 2020.
“We’ll reflect on it. I think, overall, it was a good battle from us,” said Rice. “Moving forward, I think we’ll just look at this game as a learning moment. Like I said, I think we battled pretty well tonight. But moving forward, I think we’ll have no issues. We’ll just come into every single game just to fight.”
New England will be back in action on Sunday, May 16 at 8:30 p.m. ET, hosting Chattanooga Red Wolves SC in the nightcap of a doubleheader following the MLS match between the New England Revolution and Columbus SC (6:00 p.m. ET – ESPN2).
New England Revolution II 0, Union Omaha 1
May 12, 2021 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
- New England Revolution II fell to Union Omaha on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium, moving their record to 1-2-0 for the 2021 season. The result drops New England’s all-time record against Omaha to 1-1-1.
- New England deployed a 4-4-2 formation, making four changes to the Starting XI from their home opener back on April 17 against Richmond Kickers, with
- Joe Rice, Ryan Spaulding, Joe Buck, and Michael Tsicoulias all slotting into the lineup, replacing Earl Edwards Jr., Christian Mafla, Colby Quiñones, and Luis Caicedo, respectively.
- Academy Midfielder Joe Buck (2002 – Arlington, Mass.) became the 26th different player and the 16th Revolution Academy product to make his professional debut for Revolution II since the club began play in 2020. Buck played 79 minutes, finishing the night with one shot, two interceptions, and six recoveries.
- Academy forward Michael Tsicoulias made his third appearance and first start of the season on Wednesday night. Tsicoulias played 57 minutes and finished with one shot and one key pass along with two interceptions and six recoveries.
- Academy midfielders Noel Buck (2005 – Arlington, Mass.) and Hikaru Fujiwara (2003 – Lexington, Mass.) both made substitute appearances, the third of the season for both players.
- Homegrown Players Justin Rennicks and Damian Rivera both started for the third time in as many games this season. Rennicks played 72 minutes while Rivera put in a 90-minute effort. Rivera finished with seven recoveries and a team-high two shot attempts.
- Defender Sean O’Hearn led the way for the Revolution backline with 10 clearances, nine recoveries, and two blocked shots while winning three tackles and 10 duels.
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Adam Kilpatrick
Assistant Referees: Tom Felice (AR1); Eric Schreiber (AR2)
Fourth Official: Katherine McCormick
Weather: 63 degrees and partly cloudy
Scoring Summary:
OMA – Greg Hurst (Rashid Nuhu) 84’
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Joe Buck (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 26’
NE – Connor Presley (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 28’
NE – François Dulysse (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 38’
OMA – J.P. Scearce (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 52’
OMA – Greg Hurst (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 90’+1
New England Revolution II: Joe Rice; Ryan Spaulding, Sean O’Hearn, François Dulysse, Connor Presley; Joe Buck (Noel Buck 79’), Jake Rozhansky, Damian Rivera, Michael Tsicoulias (Michel 57’); Ryan Sierakowski, Justin Rennicks (Hikaru Fujiwara 72’).
Substitutes Not Used: Marzuq Puckerin, Tyler Freitas, Cole Dewhurst, Meny Silva.
Union Omaha: Rashid Nuhu; Damia Viader, Daltyn Knutson, Illal Osumanu, Ferrety Sousa; Devin Boyce, John Scearce (Emir Alihodzic 69’), Nick Firmino, Ethan Vanacore-Decker (Conor Doyle 69’); Elma N’For (Evan Conway 58’), Austin Panchot (Greg Hurst 58’).
Substitutes Not Used: Kevin Piedrahita, Jake Crull, Christian Molina.
