FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution II (8-9-4, 28 pts.) defeated the Richmond Kickers (6-8-7, 25 pts.) on Friday night at Gillette Stadium, 3-1, behind goals from three Revolution Academy graduates. Homegrown Players Justin Rennicks and Damian Rivera each scored to help New England erase an early deficit while Academy graduate Noel Buck added a third late for Revs II to seal the three points. 

Rennicks scored his second goal of the season in the 33rd minute for New England, nodding home a pass from midfielder Jake Rozhansky to tie the game at 1-1. Rozhansky, playing his first game since Aug. 14, pushed his assists total to a team-high six on the season.

At the start of the second half, fellow Academy alum Damian Rivera put New England ahead, intercepting a free kick on one end before tapping home his sixth tally of the campaign on the other end. Noel Buck finished, a 16-year-old from Arlington, Mass., capped the scoring in second-half stoppage time, slotting home a feed from Rivera to seal the win.

Five first team players started Friday’s match for Revolution II, with Justin Rennicks, Damian Rivera, and Collin Verfurth all continuing to see action. Luis Caicedo and Jon Bell also featured as they returned from injuries. In total, seven Revolution Academy graduates featured for Revolution II on the night, with Rennicks, Rivera, and Buck starting while Meny Silva, Colby Quiñones, Hikaru Fujiwara, and Tyler Freitas all came off the bench.

New England will hit the road next Saturday, Sept. 25, to face Chattanooga Red Wolves SC. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

POSTGAME NOTES
New England Revolution II 3, Richmond Kickers 1
September 17, 2021 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

• New England Revolution II defeated the Richmond Kickers, 3-1, on Friday in Foxborough, improving their record to 8-9-4 (28 pts.) on the season. It was New England’s second victory over Richmond in the all-time series, and first at Gillette Stadium.
• New England’s home record jumps to 6-4-2 following Friday’s win.
• Revolution II set a new team record with 26 shots on the night, surpassing the previous mark of 21 set on July 9, 2021.
• Forward Justin Rennicks scored his second goal of the season, a first-half equalizer, and added a team-high three shots on target in a 90-minute effort.
• Midfielder and Revolution II captain Jake Rozhansky made his first appearance since Aug. 14 after missing four games due to injury. In his return to action, Rozhansky recorded his team-leading sixth assist of the season, a team-high nine recoveries, and four chances created in 90 minutes.
• Forward Damian Rivera scored his team-leading sixth goal of the year early in the second half and added his first assist of the season late in the match. The 18-year-old created a career-high seven chances on the night and also won 14 duels.
• Midfielder Noel Buck scored his fifth goal of the season as the 16-year-old closed his night with a team-high six shots.
• Defender Connor Presley started at right back for the seventh time this season, recording team highs in tackles (3) and interceptions (3).
• Academy midfielder Esmir Bajraktarevic made his second consecutive start and fifth straight appearance for Revolution II since joining the club in August, finishing with two shots and one key pass.
• First team defender Jon Bell and midfielder Luis Caicedo each made their second appearance of the season for Revolution II as the two continue to rehab from injuries.
• Bell played his first minutes since Aug. 21 with Revolution II, finishing his 45-minute shift completing 90.2 percent of his passes.
• Caicedo suited up for the first time since April 17 and played 90 minutes in a match for the first time since Sept. 29, 2019. He finished with two shots, three chances created, and 11 duels won.
• Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay made four changes to the Starting XI from New England’s last match on Sept. 11 at North Carolina FC, with Joe Rice, Jon Bell, Luis Caicedo, and Jake Rozhansky all starting in place of Yannik Oettl, Pierre Cayet, Sean O’Hearn, and Michel, respectively. 

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Kenneth Rojas.
Assistant Referees: Eric Schreiber (AR1), Alexandru Focea (AR2).
Fourth Official: Amilcar Sicaju.
Weather: 67 degrees and mostly cloudy.
Attendance: 125

Scoring Summary:
RIC – Jonathan Bolanos 4 (Zacarías Morán 1) 3’
NE – Justin Rennicks 2 (Jake Rozhansky 6) 33’
NE – Damian Rivera 6 (Unassisted) 47’
NE – Noel Buck (Damian Rivera 1) 90’+1

Misconduct Summary:
RIC – Emiliano Terzaghi (Yellow Card – Handball) 36’
RIC – Jalen Crisler (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 49’
NE – Jake Rozhansky (Yellow Card – Handball) 70’
NE – Joe Rice (Yellow Card – Time Wasting) 74’
NE – Esmir Bajraktarevic (Yellow Card – Time Wasting) 75’
RIC – Oalex Anderson (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 79’
NE – Hernan Gonzalez (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 90’

New England Revolution II: Joe Rice; Ryan Spaulding, Collin Verfurth, Jon Bell (Pierre Cayet 46’), Connor Presley (Colby Quiñones 70’); Luis Caicedo, Jake Rozhansky ©, Noel Buck (Hikaru Fujiwara 90’+3), Esmir Bajraktarevic (Meny Silva 77’); Justin Rennicks, Damian Rivera (Tyler Freitas 90’+3).

Substitutes Not Used: Yannik Oettl; Francois Dulysse.

Richmond Kickers: Akira Fitzgerald; Esteban Calvo (Denso Ulysse 69’), Jalen Crisler, Ivan Magalahaes ©, Chris Cole; Jonathan Bolanos, Zacarías Morán (Mumbi Kwesele 85’), Ethan Bryant (Nathan Aune 79’), Nil Vinyals (Hernan Gonzalez 79’); Emiliano Terzaghi, Matthew Bolduc (Oalex Anderson 69’).

Substitutes Not Used: Austin Causey, Juan Pablo Monticelli.