FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution II (9-9-4, 31 pts.) defeated Forward Madison FC (6-4-11, 29 pts.), 1-0, on Friday night at Gillette Stadium. Edward Kizza scored the lone goal of the match for New England midway through the second half, tapping home a rebound for his fifth tally of the season.

With the teams knotted at 0-0, Damian Rivera strode toward the box in possession, seeing his shot blocked before Noel Buck picked up the loose ball at the top of the penalty area. Buck fired in a cross that was headed on frame by Justin Rennicks. Madison goalkeeper Phil Breno parried away the shot, but Kizza tucked home the rebound.

Goalkeeper Joe Rice and the New England defense recorded a second consecutive clean sheet and extended their shutout streak to 268 minutes dating back to Sept. 17. Rice collected four saves to record his seventh shutout of the season and improve his record to 8-3-4 on the year.

Five first-team players featured in the contest for New England, with Justin Rennicks, Damian Rivera, Collin Verfurth, Edward Kizza, and Maciel all starting. Maciel, who was the only Revolution II player to start all 16 games during the 2020 season, made his first League One appearance of the year. Maciel started alongside fellow Brazilian and Botafogo academy teammate Michel for the first time as professionals. 

Six former Revolution Academy players made an appearance for New England in the match – Justin Rennicks, Damian Rivera, and Noel Buck all started with Colby Quiñones, Tyler Freitas, and Meny Silva coming off the bench – as well as current Academy midfielder Esmir Bajraktarevic.

New England returns to action next Friday, Oct. 8, embarking on their first of two trips this month to face Toronto FC II. Friday’s kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+. 

POSTGAME NOTES
New England Revolution II 1, Forward Madison FC 0
October 1, 2021 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

• New England Revolution II defeated Forward Madison FC on Friday night in Foxborough, 1-0, improving their record to 10-9-4 (34 pts.) on the season, pushing their record above the .500 mark.
• Revolution II improved to 7-4-2 at Gillette Stadium this season, moving their current unbeaten streak at Gillette Stadium to three straight games (2-0-1).
• Forward Edward Kizza scored his fifth goal in his last four appearances for Revolution II dating back to Aug. 5 and added a pair of shots in 82 minutes.
• Defender Colby Quiñones played 74 minutes as a sub, recording team highs in duels won (12) and tackles won (7) as well as seven recoveries, three interceptions, and two clearances.
• Defender Collin Verfurth won all seven of his duels, including five aerials, and had a team high eight clearances.
• Defender Ryan Spaulding recorded team highs in recoveries (9) and interceptions (4) while winning eight duels and firing two shots.
• Forward Damian Rivera also tallied two shots, with one on target and a key pass.
• Midfielder Maciel made his first appearance of the season for Revolution II after featuring on 17 occasions for New England’s MLS side this season. Maciel played 45 minutes alongside his compatriot Michel as the two Botafogo products appeared together for the first time professionally.
• Michel finished the night with a team best five chances created to go with eight recoveries and three tackles.
• Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay made three changes to the Starting XI from New England’s last match on Sept. 25 at Chattanooga, with Maciel, Michel, and Edward Kizza all starting in place of Colby Quiñones, Jake Rozhansky, and Esmir Bajraktarevic, respectively.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Thomas Snyder.
Assistant Referees: Tom Felice (AR1), Amilcar Sicaju (AR2).
Fourth Official: Jessica Carnevale.
Weather: 64 degrees and partly cloudy.

Scoring Summary:
NE – Edward Kizza (Unassisted) 59’

Misconduct Summary:
NE – Colby Quiñones (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 26’
MAD – Tyler Allen (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 61’
MAD – Aaron Molloy (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 64’

New England Revolution II: Joe Rice; Ryan Spaulding, Collin Verfurth ©, Pierre Cayet, Connor Presley (Colby Quiñones 16’); Maciel (Tyler Freitas 45’), Michel (François Dulysse 90'+1), Noel Buck; Justin Rennicks, Damian Rivera (Esmir Bajraktarevic 82’), Edward Kizza (Meny Silva 82’).

Substitutes Not Used: Yannik Oettl, Hikaru Fujiwara.

Forward Madison FC: Phil Breno; Cyrus Rad, Connor Tobin ©, Eric Leonard; Tyler Allen, Audi Jepson (Christian Diaz 65’), Aaron Molloy, Christian Enriquez (Carlos Gomez 82’), Derek Gebhard; Jake Keegan (Josiah Trimmingham 69’), Ryan Sierakowski.

Substitutes Not Used: Aidan Hogan, Gustavo Fernandes, Noah Fuson, Justin Sukow.