FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution II (2-6-2, 8 pts.) picked up their first road victory of the year, handing fellow first-year club Union Omaha their first home loss of the season, 2-0, at Werner Park in Papillion, Neb. on Saturday night.

A pair of Homegrown Players and Massachusetts locals provided the scoring on the night. Revolution Academy product Justin Rennicks (South Hamilton, Mass.), on loan from the first team, put Revolution II ahead in the 11^th minute with his first goal of the season, slotting home a pass from Orlando Sinclair who picked up his first assist of the year. Nicolas Firmino (Somerville, Mass.) added a second goal deep into second-half stoppage time, his second of the season.

“It’s really what I’ve needed,” said Rennicks. “I didn’t come down here just to play games, I came down here to score goals. That’s my job, I’m a number-9 so I came out there and I told myself ‘I’ve got to at least get one goal, we’ve got to get this win’ because we haven’t gotten many wins. But tonight we got that and everybody’s happy.”

Goalkeeper Joe Rice made four stops, keeping his third clean sheet of the season and raising his league-leading tally in saves to 42. Defender Collin Verfurth returned to the starting lineup, adding nine clearances to his league-leading tally of 47 on the season.

“They did an excellent job,” said Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay. “I thought we were fairly compact and limited their opportunities on goal and through the run of play. And I thought defensively through set pieces the guys did a great job.”

New England will continue its four-game road swing next Saturday, September 26 with a trip to face Orlando City B for the second-ever meeting between the two teams. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. ET on ESPN+ in the United States.

Union Omaha 0, New England Revolution II 2
September 19, 2020 – Werner Park (Papillion, Neb.)

Rennicks Opens His Account in USL League One

• Forward Justin Rennicks scored his first goal for Revolution II in his second appearance, slotting home a pass from Orlando Sinclair in the 11^th minute for his second tally as a professional.
• Rennicks, who was subbed out during second-half stoppage time, finished the night with three shots, including two on target, while completing 81 percent of his passes.

Mendonca Has Another Strong Night Defensively

• Mendonca made his second consecutive start, this time in central midfield, playing 90 minutes and registering a pair of shots on target in the victory.
• The midfielder led the team with 72 touches while putting in a strong shift defensively with 11 possessions gained, six clearances, three tackles, and two interceptions.

Firmino Leads Midfield in Victory

• Nicolas Firmino scored his second goal of the season, adding three more shots to his team-leading 17 on the year, including two on target.
• Firmino, who had a goal disallowed off a free kick early in the second half, led the team winning 13 of his 20 duels including five aerials while recording 47 passes including 34 in the opposing half.

Verfurth Returns to the Starting Lineup

• Defender Collin Verfurth made his return to the starting lineup after going as an unused substitute on Sept. 16 at Tucson. He recorded nine clearances on the night.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Jon Freeman
Assistant Referees: Justin Mack (AR1), Esad Omanovic (AR2)
Fourth Official: Brittney Hageman
Weather: 72 degrees and partly cloudy

Scoring Summary:
NE – Justin Rennicks (Orlando Sinclair) 11’
NE – Nicolas Firmino (Ryan Spaulding) 90’+8

Misconduct Summary:
NE – Orlando Sinclair (Yellow Card- Bad Foul) 57’
OMA – Tyler David (Yellow Card- Bad Foul) 60’
OMA – John Scearce (Yellow Card- Bad Foul) 88’
OMA – Ethan Vanacore-Decker (Red Card- Serious Foul) 90’+1

New England Revolution II: Joe Rice; Ryan Spaulding, Collin Verfurth, Jon Bell, Colby Quinones; Maciel, Tiago Mendonca, Nicolas Firmino; Orlando Sinclair (Damian Rivera 70’), Justin Rennicks (Mayele Malango 90’+5), Connor Presley.

Substitutes Not Used: Keegan Meyer, Nathan Metsack, Ryo Shimazaki, Michael Tsicoulias, Meny Silva.

Union Omaha: Rashid Nuhu; Nathan Aune, Lucas Hauswirth (Ferrety Sousa 64’), Abdul Illal Osumanu, Jake Crull; Tyler David (John Scearce 64’), Devin Boyce (Elvir Ibisevic HT), Sebastián Contreras (Daltyn Knutson 74’), Evan Conway; Ethan Vanacore-Decker, Elma N’For (Austin Panchot 80’).

Substitutes Not Used: Sam Howard, Christian Molina.