FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution II (7-7-3, 24 pts.) fell to FC Tucson, 2-1, on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium. Damian Rivera scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season in the 10th minute – the earliest goal of the season for New England – to give Revolution II the lead. FC Tucson struck on either side of halftime to erase the early deficit.
Homegrown Player Damian Rivera made his first appearance for Revolution II since Aug. 5, having spent the past month with the Revolution first team. The Cranston, R.I. native made his MLS debut for Bruce Arena’s side in a winning effort on Aug. 21 vs. FC Cincinnati. Rivera’s goal was his fifth goal of the season and sixth as a pro. Rivera scored by collecting a pass from fellow Revolution Academy product Hikaru Fujiwara and firing a shot from 20 yards that beat Tucson keeper Wallis Lapsley.
New England goalkeeper Yannik Oettl made his professional debut, starting for the first time since he signed with the club in July. Oettl made four saves on the night, becoming the 30th player to make his professional debut with Revolution II since the club began play in 2020.
Revolution Academy midfielder Esmir Bajraktarevic (2005 – Appleton, Wisc.) made an appearance for a second consecutive match. Six other Academy graduates appeared in Wednesday’s contest – Rivera, Fujiwara, Justin Rennicks, Colby Quiñones, and Noel Buck all started while Meny Silva came off the bench.
New England will close out its two-game week on Sunday, Sept. 5, hosting South Georgia Tormenta FC. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
POSTGAME NOTES
New England Revolution II 1, FC Tucson 2
September 1, 2021 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
- New England Revolution II fell at home on Wednesday night to FC Tucson, 2-1, dropping their record to 7-8-3 (24 points) in USL League One. The defeat snapped New England’s unbeaten run at four games (2-0-2).
- Goalkeeper Yannik Oettl became the 30th different player to make his professional debut for Revolution II. Oettl made four saves in his New England debut.
- Forward Damian Rivera and Revolution Homegrown Player made his return to the Revolution II lineup for the first time since Aug. 5, scoring his fifth goal of the season on the night. Rivera added two shots on target and three key passes on the night.
- Revolution Academy graduate Hikaru Fujiwara provided his third assist of the season on Rivera’s strike.
- Defender Sean O’Hearn registered team highs in blocked shots (4), clearances (6), and interceptions (2) while winning six of his 10 aerials.
- Forward and Revolution Academy graduate Meny Silva made his seventh appearance of the season off the bench to set a new career high in games played.
- Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay made two changes to the Starting XI from New England’s last match on August 5 vs. North Carolina FC, with Yannik Oettl, Collin Verfurth, Damian Rivera, and Justin Rennicks and replacing Joe Rice, Jon Bell, François Dulysse, and Edward Kizza, respectively. Rivera, Verfurth, and Rennicks returned after a call up to the Revolution first team to close the month of August.
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Anya Voigt.
Assistant Referees: Ian Mangione (AR1), Eric Schreiber (AR2).
Fourth Official: Jessica Carnevale
Weather: 66 degrees and rain
Scoring Summary:
NE – Damian Rivera 5 (Hikaru Fujiwara 3) 10’
TUC – Shak Adams 7 (Daniel Bedoya 3) 43’
TUC – Daniel Bedoya 3 (Free Kick) 49’
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Hikaru Fujiwara (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 38’
TUC – Mohamed Kone (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 54’
TUC – Deri Corfe (Yellow Card – Time Wasting) 89’
NE – Michel (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 90’+1
TUC – Luca Mastrantonio (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 90’+3
New England Revolution II: Yannik Oettl; Ryan Spaulding, Collin Verfurth ©, Sean O’Hearn, Colby Quiñones; Michel, Noel Buck, Hikaru Fujiwara (Esmir Bajraktarevic 69’); Connor Presley, Damian Rivera (Meny Silva 69’), Justin Rennicks.
Substitutes Not Used: Joe Rice, Tyler Freitas, Pierre Cayet, Dennis Ramirez, Brandonn Bueno.
FC Tucson: Wallis Lapsley; Noah Franke, Dakota Barnathan ©, Kaelon Fox, Maximiliano Schenfeld; Daniel Bedoya (Joao Delgado 81’), Mohamed Kone, Charlie Dennis (Manu Ferriol 52’); Shak Adams (Deri Corfe 65’), Tobenna Uzo (Alex Knox 80’), Gio Calixtro (Luca Mastrantonio 81’).
Substitutes Not Used: Ryan Shellow, Franco Pérez.
