FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution II (5-8-3, 18 pts.) fell in its final game of the 2020 season at Forward Madison FC (5-5-6, 21 pts.), 2-1, on Saturday night. Homegrown Player Justin Rennicks (South Hamilton, Mass.) scored the lone goal of the night for New England with a first-career assist from fellow homegrown product Damian Rivera (Cranston, R.I.).

Rennicks gave New England the lead in the 30^th minute, finishing off a through ball from Rivera to beat Madison keeper Chris Brady. The goal was one of 12 first-half shots for New England, a season high. Madison scored twice in a span of three minutes, with goals from Noah Fuson and Jiro Barriga Toyama.

“I think the mentality was there, the commitment to defend with some passion, and the intelligence was there,” said Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay. “We were getting good ball movement, we were able to switch the ball to the point of attack comfortably to create some overloads in wide areas and get crosses or shots off. And I thought the guys executed very well.”

With the goal, Rennicks tied midfielder Nicolas Firmino for the team lead in goals with four, though Firmino captured the team’s scoring title with four goals and two assists this season.

Forward Connor Presley led New England with four shots on the night including two on target, both season highs. Presley also finished the match with seven crosses, bringing his total for the year to 68, fifth-most in USL League One. Midfielder Maciel finished the season with the most minutes played on the team at 1,414, the most passes at 801, and as the only member of Revolution II to start all 16 matches in 2020.

“It was definitely a different kind of season with COVID-19 but we continually progressed throughout the season and that was a good thing,” said Presley. “We had a rough go of it at one point and were able to really grow and start to play well together and click.

“There was point in time when we didn’t even think we were going to be able to have a season so to have the opportunity to play 1,000 minutes, get that experience, and contribute to the team was a great thing.”

New England closes out its inaugural season with a ninth-place finish in USL League One with 18 points, ahead of fellow MLS second teams Orlando City B and Fort Lauderdale CF.

New England Revolution II 1, Forward Madison FC 2
October 24, 2020 – Hart Park (Wauwatosa, Wis.)

Rennicks Tallies His Fourth Goal of the Season

• Homegrown Player Justin Rennicks netted his fourth goal of the season in the first half to give New England the lead with the first-career assist from midfielder Damian Rivera.
• Rennicks’ goal pulled him level for the team lead in goals with fellow Homegrown Player Nicolas Firmino (Somerville, Mass.) who takes home the team’s scoring title with four goals and two assists.

Three More Revolution II Players Hit 1,000 Minutes

• A trio of New England players added their names to the 1,000-minute club, with midfielder Tiago Mendonca and forwards Orlando Sinclair and Connor Presley all surpassing the mark for the 2020 season.
• Mendonca’s 83 minutes were exactly the amount needed for 1,000 minutes on the season while Sinclair and Presley finished the year with 1,027 and 1,032 minutes, respectively.

Verfurth Finishes With Most Clearances in League One

• With five clearances on Saturday against Forward Madison FC, New England defender Collin Verfurth finishes the season with 73 total clearances, the most in USL League One this year.
• Verfurth finished the match with six recoveries and two interceptions while completing 85 percent of his passes on the night including one key pass.

Revolution II Makes One Change to the Starting XI

• Revolution II made just a single change to the starting lineup on Saturday night, with Orlando Sinclair slotting into the lineup for Nicolas Firmino.
• Sinclair made his first start since suffering an injury on Oct. 9, starting on the right wing while Damian Rivera moved back into a central midfield role to replace Firmino.
• Saturday marked the first time this season Firmino did not start a match this season, though he did enter the game in the 37^th minute to replace an injured Sinclair.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Scott Irwin
Assistant Referees: John Krill (AR1), Ethan Buege (AR2)
Fourth Official: N/A
Weather: 38 degrees and mostly cloudy

Scoring Summary:
NE – Justin Rennicks (Damian Rivera) 30’
MAD – Noah Fuson (Louis Bennett) 81’
MAD – Jiro Barriga Toyama (Josiah Trimmingham) 83’

Misconduct Summary:
NE – Ryan Spaulding (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 57’
MAD – Jiro Barriga Toyama (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 63’
MAD – J.C. Banks (Yellow Card – Dissent) 89’
NE – Diego Souza (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 90’+5

New England Revolution II: Keegan Meyer; Ryan Spaulding, Jon Bell, Collin Verfurth, Colby Quinones; Maciel, Damian Rivera (Diego Souza 85’), Tiago Mendonca (Hikaru Fujiwara 83’); Connor Presley, Orlando Sinclair (Nicolas Firmino 37’), Justin Rennicks (Meny Silva 86’).

Substitutes Not Used: Matthew Tibbetts, Ryo Shimazaki, Isaac Angking.

Forward Madison FC: Chris Brady; Jiro Barriga Toyama, Josiah Trimmingham, Connor Tobin, Eli Lockaby (Louis Bennett 79’); J.C. Banks, Eric Leonard, Michael Vang (Carl Schneider 79’); Paulo Jr., Don Smart (Allan Rodriguez HT), Wojciech Wojcik (Noah Fuson 69’).

Substitutes Not Used: Philipp Marceta, Jamael Cox, Vital Nizigiyimana.