FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution II (2-3-1, 7 pts.) dropped a 3-2 result on the road Saturday night against the Richmond Kickers (3-3-1, 10 pts.). Matthew Bolduc opened the scoring for Richmond in the first minute of the match before 16-year-old Revolution Academy midfielder Noel Buck equalized at the half-hour mark. Juan Pablo Monticelli put Richmond ahead before halftime and Emiliano Terzaghi extended the lead shortly into the second half. Defender Pierre Cayet scored his second goal in as many matches late in the second half.

“I think fight is a good word for tonight's performance,” said Cayet. “I think everybody, we gave everything we had. It was hard, it was not an easy environment, but I think we all played very hard and hopefully these games are going to be in our favor. But we got to make sure we keep the grind up and we work on those little mistakes we've made.”

Three Revolution Academy products started the match, with Damian Rivera and Noel Buck in the midfield with Colby Quiñones appearing along the backline. Quiñones created three scoring chances in a 69-minute effort, while Buck netted his second goal of the USL League One season. Fellow Academy product Hikaru Fujiwara, who signed with the second team in April, played 22 minutes as a substitute.

Four first-team players started the match for New England, with goalkeeper Brad Knighton and forward Edward Kizza each making their USL League One debuts. Kizza was New England’s first-round selection in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft and has made five MLS appearances in his rookie season. Fellow MLS players Damian Rivera and Christian Mafla also earned starting nods, while Justin Rennicks played 45 minutes as a halftime substitute.

“I think [Kizza] is still trying to get match fit, still trying to get match sharp, but I thought he had a decent presence as a target forward,” said Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay. “He had a moment there where he got loose, and give credit to Richmond's keeper who made a really good save on him. And he had another moment where you thought maybe he could do it and I think [Damian Rivera] ended up shooting the ball and having it blocked. So, for the first time playing with us, I thought he did well, in moments, but certainly could add more in the final third.”

New England will continue its three-match road swing next Saturday night, June 12, with a visit to face Union Omaha at Werner Park in Papillion, Neb. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

New England Revolution II 2, Richmond Kickers 3
June 5, 2021 – City Stadium (Richmond, Va.)

• New England Revolution II fell on the road Saturday night at the Richmond Kickers, 3-2, bringing the team’s record to 2-3-1 in the 2021 regular season and to 1-3-0 in the all-time series with Richmond.
• Revolution Academy midfielder Noel Buck (2005 – Arlington, Mass.) made his sixth appearance of the season and third start, playing 45 minutes and scoring his second professional goal.
• Defender Pierre Cayet score his second goal in as many matches late in the second half, slotting home a rebound off a corner kick. Cayet finished the night with team highs in recoveries (11), interceptions (2) , and tackles (5) while adding three clearances and winning six of seven duels.
• Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay made five changes to the Starting XI from last Friday’s victory, with Brad Knighton, Colby Quiñones, Ryan Spaulding, Noel Buck, and Edward Kizza started in place of Earl Edwards Jr., François Dulysse, Connor Presley, Justin Rennicks, and Ryan Sierakowski.
• Goalkeeper Brad Knighton, a 15^th-year veteran including 14 seasons in MLS, recorded four saves in his first start since March 7, 2020.
• Forward Edward Kizza made his first professional start and his first Revolution II appearance. He has made five MLS substitute appearances to date. The University of Pittsburgh product recorded one shot on target and two chances created.
• Defender Christian Mafla started for the second consecutive contest and third time this season with Revolution II. The Colombian left back submitted his first 90-minute shift of the season, recording five tackles and winning 11 of 12 duels.
• Defender and Revolution Academy alum Colby Quiñones made his second start of the season, finishing with a team-high three chances created.
• Midfielder Jake Rozhansky completed over 90 percent of his passes for the second consecutive match.
• Midfielder Hikaru Fujiwara made his first appearance since signing with Revolution II in May. He created two scoring chances in a 22-minute substitute appearance.

GAME CAPSULE

Referee: JC Griggs;
Assistant Referees: Nicholas Seymour (AR1); Jonah Kind (AR2)
Fourth Official: Andrew Charro
Weather: 90 degrees and sunny.

Scoring Summary:
RIC – Matthew Bolduc 1 (Jonathan Bolanos) 1’
NE – Noel Buck 2 (Unassisted) 30’
RIC – Juan Pablo Monticelli 2 (Nil Vinyals) 40’
RIC – Emiliano Terzaghi 3 (Nil Vinyals) 51’
NE – Pierre Cayet 2 (Unassisted) 76’

Misconduct Summary:
RIC – Jalen Crisler (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 36’
RIC – Nil Vinyals (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 84’
NE – Michel (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 90’+1

New England Revolution II: Brad Knighton; Colby Quiñones (François Dulysse 68’), Pierre Cayet, Sean O’Hearn, Ryan Spaulding (Hikaru Fujiwara 68’); Christian Mafla, Noel Buck (Justin Rennicks 46’), Jake Rozhansky ©, Michel, Damian Rivera; Edward Kizza (Ryan Sierakowski 68’).

Substitutes Not Used: Joe Rice, Collin Verfurth, Joe Buck.

Richmond Kickers: Akira Fitzgerald; Juan Pablo Monticelli, Ivan Magalhaes, Jalen Crisler (Nathan Aune 69’), Esteban Calvo; Nil Vinyals, Zaca Moran, Victor Falck; Matthew Bolduc (Luka Pavone 63’), Jonathan Bolanos (Oalex Anderson 63’), Emiliano Terzaghi (Cameron Vickers 88’).

Substitutes Not Used: Austin Causey, Chris Cole, Hernan Gonzalez.