FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution II (1-6-2, 5 pts.) lost on the road Wednesday night at FC Tucson, 1-0. An eighth-minute goal off a corner by Tucson’s Elivelton Oliveira was the difference on the night.

Forward Justin Rennicks made his USL League One debut for Revolution II, playing 70 minutes in the contest. Much of his service came from Connor Presley, who finished the match with a game-high 16 crosses and three chances created.

“We’ve got to put the ball in the net and put pressure on the other team,” said Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay. “When you don’t do that, the game becomes difficult. We didn’t do that and obviously [FC Tucson] had some chances as well but we’ve got to be better in that regard.”

Goalkeeper Joe Rice started his third straight match, making five saves in the defeat. In front of him, Tiago Mendonca earned his first start since Sept. 4 and his first start at center back this season. Mendonca had four tackles and won each of his four aerial duels.

“I think we did really good positionally, we moved the ball well, and we created good chances,” said Mendonca. “Defensively, we did good but we gave up a goal on a set piece that was very unlucky but I think the team did well. We just need to finish our opportunities inside the box.”

New England remains on the road for its second match of the week at Union Omaha on Saturday, September 19. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+ in the United States.

FC Tucson 1, New England Revolution II 0
September 16, 2020 – Kino North Stadium (Tucson, Az.)

Rennicks Makes Revolution II Debut

• Forward Justin Rennicks made his USL League One debut with New England on Wednesday night, starting and playing 70 minutes in his longest professional appearance of his career.
• Rennicks, who has played in four MLS matches during the 2020 season, contributed three shots on the night including one on target.

Quinones, Souza Earn Starts on Defense

• Academy defenders Colby Quinones and Diego Souza started as New England’s full back tandem for the second game in a row.
• Souza played just 45 minutes but led the team with six possessions gained to go along with three tackles and two clearances.
• Quinones factored in a game-high five interceptions as well as three possessions gained and two clearances.

Presley Puts in Strong Shift at Forward

• Forward Connor Presley started and played 90 minutes on the right wing for the second straight match, finishing the night with 16 crosses, including 11 from open play, while completing 92 percent of his passes on the night.
• Presley created a trio of scoring chances for New England and added a quality chance of his own with a shot that was blocked in the 83^rd minute.

Revolution II Makes Two Changes to the Starting Lineup

• New England made a pair of changes to the starting lineup from its most recent match on Sep. 9 vs. Chattanooga. Tiago Mendonca and Justin Rennicks slotted into the starting lineup, replacing Collin Verfurth and Mayele Malango.
• Mendonca made his first start at center back after playing 22 minutes at the position as a substitute on Sep. 9 as well as during preseason. He finished the night with four tackles, three interceptions, and two clearances and won all four of his aerial duels.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: Isaiah Vlad
Assistant Referees: Mark Novosel (AR1), Melissa Beck (AR2)
Fourth Official: Jordan Vlad
Weather: 91 degrees and clear

Scoring Summary:
TUC – Elivelton Oliveira (Charlie Dennis) 8’

Misconduct Summary:
NE – Maciel (Yellow Card- Bad Foul) 30’
TUC – Azaad Liadi (Yellow Card- Bad Foul) 90’+1

New England Revolution II: Joe Rice; Diego Souza (Ryan Spaulding HT), Tiago Mendonca, Jon Bell, Colby Quinones; Maciel, Nicolas Firmino ©, Damian Rivera (Hikaru Fujiwara 67’); Connor Presley, Orlando Sinclair, Justin Rennicks (Mayele Malango 70’).

Substitutes Not Used: Keegan Meyer, Collin Verfurth, Ryo Shimazaki, Isaie Louis.

FC Tucson: Amahl Knight; Roberto Alarcon (Jordan Hill 90’+4), Samuel Biek, Niall Logue ©, Derrick Silva; Erik Virgen, Charlie Dennis, Elivelton Oliveira (Manuel Ferriol 72’); Joshua Coan (Esteban Calvo 84’), Shak Adams (Azaad Liadi 72’), Giovanni Ramos Godoy (Ramone Howell 84’).

Substitutes Not Used: Carlos Merancio Valdez, Raheem Sommersall.