FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution II (1-4-2, 5 pts.) fell to Forward Madison FC, 4-0, on Friday night at Gillette Stadium. Madison pulled ahead with a goal from Michael Vang in the first half, and added tallies from Adolfo Fito Ovalle and Wojciech Wojcik in the second half, along with an own goal from New England’s Collin Verfurth.

“It’s a tough loss but you can’t dwell on it too much,” said Revolution II midfielder Nicolas Firmino. “Obviously, it can’t be a regular thing, it can’t keep occurring over and over again. But we’ll watch the film, we’ll rest and recover, and get ready for our next game and hopefully forget about tonight.”

Revolution Academy forward Michael Tsicoulias made his professional debut in the match, playing 68 minutes. The 17-year-old from Newton, Mass. became the 18^th player and 11^th current or former Revolution Academy player to make his pro debut with Revolution II. New England goalkeeper Joe Rice returned to the starting lineup for the first time since August 26, matching a season high with his third six-save performance of the year. Revolution II forward Orlando Sinclair and midfielder Damian Rivera each tallied two shots, including one on target.

New England will cap its two-game homestand on Wednesday at Gillette Stadium, hosting Chattanooga Red Wolves SC. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET with the match streaming live on ESPN+ in the United States.

“If we continue on the path we’re on of gifting goals to the opponent, it’s going to be a tough day for us,” said Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay. “We definitely are familiar with them and they’re a difficult team to play against. They will be again. It’s for us now to refocus and get prepared to hopefully have a better outcome.”

New England Revolution II 0, Forward Madison FC 4
September 4, 2020 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

Michael Tsicoulias Makes Professional Debut

• Academy forward Michael Tsicoulias (Newton, Mass. – 2002) earned his professional debut on Friday, starting and playing 68 minutes.
• The University of Virginia commit was an unused substitute in the season opener and an inclusion to the matchday roster for the past three games.

Nicolas Firmino Records Season Highs

• Midfielder Nicolas Firmino recorded season-high marks in two categories, recording 89 touches and completing 63 of his 77 passes (81.2 percent), including 24 in the opposing half.
• Firmino led New England two key passes on the night and also factored in five possessions gained.

Revolution II Makes Four Changes to the Starting Lineup

• New England saw four changes to its starting lineup from the most recent match against Chattanooga on August 29. Joe Rice, Tiago Mendonca, Damian Rivera, and Michael Tsicoulias replaced Keegan Meyer, Isaac Angking, Colby Quinones, and Mayele Malango.
• Additionally, Ryan Spaulding, who started last Saturday’s match against Chattanooga at left wing, moved to left back while Ryo Shimazaki returned to the right back position.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Kenneth Rojas
Assistant Referees: Justin Lopez (AR1), Ian Mangione (AR2)
Fourth Official: Jeremy Scheer
Weather: 75 degrees and clear

Scoring Summary:
MAD – Michael Vang (Unassisted) 39’
MAD – Collin Verfurth (Own Goal) 61’
MAD – Adolfo Fito Ovalle (Paulo Junior) 88’
MAD – Wojciech Wojcik (Unassisted) 90’

Misconduct Summary:
NONE

New England Revolution II: Joe Rice; Ryan Spaulding, Jon Bell, Collin Verfurth ©, Ryo Shimazaki (Colby Quinones 87’); Nicolas Firmino, Maciel, Tiago Mendonca (Hikaru Fujiwara 68’); Damian Rivera, Michael Tsicoulias (Mayele Malango 68’), Orlando Sinclair (Connor Presley 87’).

Substitutes Not Used: Keegan Meyer, Nathan Metsack, Isaie Louis.

Forward Madison FC: Philipp Marceta; Jiro Barriga Toyama; Connor Tobin ©, Josiah Trimmingham; Christian Diaz; Eric Leonard, Don Smart (Jamael Cox 68’), J.C. Banks (Adolfo Fito Ovalle 68’); Paulo Junior (Noah Fuson 88’), Michael Vang (Eli Lockaby 82’), Wojciech Wojcik.

Substitutes Not Used: Chris Brady, Gustavo Fernandes, Louis Bennett.