FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution’s Under-16 team finished sixth in the Premier Division of the Generation adidas Cup last week in Dallas. The Revs were placed in Group D along with fellow MLS Academy sides the Colorado Rapids and the Portland Timbers, as well as Colombian club Independiente Medellin. The U-16s finished second in their group with a 1-2-0 record before topping Chivas USA 1-0 in the Knockout Round and suffering a 2-0 defeat to Brazilian side Recife in the fifth-place game. All five games were played at the Toyota Soccer Center in Frisco, Texas.
The Generation adidas Cup is Major League Soccer’s annual elite youth tournament for U-17 academy teams. For this final stage of the competition the Revs sent a combination of their U-16 and U-14 sides, with six of the club’s U-14 players taking part. The Revolution began play in the Generation adidas Cup back in October 2014 with a pair of games in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania before they played another three games in February 2015 in Sanford, Florida. The Revs finished sixth in their preliminary group with a 0-3-2 record and qualified to the Premier Division for the final stage of the tournament.
The Revs kicked off their Premier Division play with a 3-0 win over the Colorado Rapids behind two goals from forward Izaiah Jennings (Barrington, R.I.). The U-16s went ahead early, as a goal kick from Revolution goalkeeper Trey Miller (Monson, Mass.) found Justin Rennicks (South Hamilton, Mass.) behind the Colorado defense. He played the ball to his strike partner Jennings who slotted his shot home, putting the Revs up 1-0 in the 11th minute. Jennings notched his second goal of the game, and his fifth goal of the tournament, six minutes later when Isaque Couto (Marlborough, Mass.) forced a turnover in midfield and played Jennings through for a one-on-one with the Rapids goalkeeper, who he beat to make the score 2-0 New England. The score remained the same until the 68th minute when substitute Andrew Barrowman (Marshfield, Mass.) picked up a backheel pass from Joe Brito (Bolton, Conn.) in the Colorado area and he slotted his shot past the goalkeeper to make the final score 3-0. Miller finished the game with four saves for his second shutout in Generation adidas Cup play and his ninth shutout in all competitions this season.
New England Revolution U-16s vs. Colorado Rapids U-17s (Group D)
Sunday, March 29, 2015 – Toyota Soccer Center (Frisco, Texas)
New England Revolution 3, Colorado Rapids 0
Scoring Summary:
NE – Izaiah Jennings 4 (Justin Rennicks 1) 11’
NE – Izaiah Jennings 5 (Isaque Couto 1) 17’
NE – Andrew Barrowman 1 (Joe Brito 1) 68’
New England Revolution: Trey Miller; Tyler Freitas, Matt Ranieri, Nick Woodruff, Connor Haskell; Kevin Vang (Alex Shterenberg 58’), Joe Brito, Isaque Couto, Santi Cardona (Andrew Barrowman 58’); Justin Rennicks (Laz Dorogi 45’), Izaiah Jennings (Gustavo Cassemiro 45’)
Substitutes Not Used: Eddie Walsh, Jose Gonzalez, Travis van Brewer
Misconduct Summary:
None
The Revolution continued with group play the following day, suffering a 1-0 defeat to the Portland Timbers. With both teams having played the day before, fatigue played a part in the early stages, causing the game to be played at a slow pace. Portland went ahead just before halftime when Blake Bodily’s corner kick from the right hit the inside of the post and Jose Perez was on hand to bundle the ball over the line, putting his team in front. The Timbers saw out the second half to claim a 1-0 win.
New England Revolution U-16s vs. Portland Timbers U-17s (Group D)
Monday, March 30, 2015 – Toyota Soccer Center (Frisco, Texas)
New England Revolution 0, Portland Timbers 1
Scoring Summary:
POR – Jose Perez (Blake Bodily) 35’
New England Revolution: Eddie Walsh; Travis van Brewer, Matt Ranieri, Nick Woodruff, Connor Haskell (Jose Gonzalez 57’); Alex Shterenberg (Kevin Vang 55’), Joe Brito (Santi Cardona 36’), Isaque Couto; Andrew Barrowman, Gustavo Cassemiro (Justin Rennicks 45’), Laz Dorogi (Izaiah Jennings 45’)
Substitutes Not Used: Trey Miller, Tyler Freitas
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Matt Ranieri (Yellow Card) 26’
The Revs’ final Group D game saw the side fall to a 3-1 defeat against eventual group-winners Independiente Medellin. The Revs fell behind in the 13th minute and Medellin doubled their lead on the stroke of halftime, taking a 2-0 lead into the break. The Colombian side added a third goal just after the restart, but the Revs pulled a goal back in the 55th minute. The U-16s won a free kick 25 yards away from goal, and Barrowman struck a shot over the wall that the Medellin goalkeeper could only push away before Kevin Vang (Cranston, R.I.) followed up and fired the rebound into the net to make the final score 3-1. It was Vang’s first goal at Under-16 level after spending the majority of the 2014-15 season playing with the Revs’ U-14s. The Revolution finished second in Group D with three points, above Portland and Colorado on goal difference.
New England Revolution U-16s vs. Independiente Medellin U-17s (Group D)
Wednesday, April 1, 2015 – Toyota Soccer Center (Frisco, Texas)
New England Revolution 1, Independiente Medellin 3
Scoring Summary:
MED – #123 (#50) 13’
MED – #121 (Unassisted) 35’
MED – #123 (Unassisted) 36’
NE – Kevin Vang 1 (Unassisted) 55’
New England Revolution: Trey Miller; Tyler Freitas, Matt Ranieri, Nick Woodruff, Connor Haskell; Isaque Couto, Joe Brito (Alex Shterenberg 57’), Andrew Barrowman, Santi Cardona (Kevin Vang 41’); Justin Rennicks (Gustavo Cassemiro 55’), Izaiah Jennings (Laz Dorogi 55’)
Substitutes Not Used: Eddie Walsh, Jose Gonzalez, Travis van Brewer
Misconduct Summary:
MED – #121 (Yellow Card) 25’
The U-16s were paired with Chivas USA in the Knockout Round, and the Revolution earned a 1-0 win after an early goal from Gustavo Cassemiro (Framingham, Mass.). It took the U-16s just 11 minutes to get on the scoresheet, as Matt Ranieri (Natick, Mass.) dribbled through two Chivas USA defenders before driving a low cross to the back post where Cassemiro knocked the ball into the net for his first goal at Under-16 level. Cassemiro is currently the leading scorer for the Revolution’s U-14 side with seven goals in the 2014-15 season. Both sides enjoyed extended spells of possession but the Revs saw out the remaining time to qualify for the fifth-place game, with Miller making three saves as he reached double figures for shutouts in all competitions this season.
New England Revolution U-16s vs. Chivas USA U-17s (Knockout Round)
Thursday, April 2, 2015 – Toyota Soccer Center (Frisco, Texas)
New England Revolution 1, Chivas USA 0
Scoring Summary:
NE – Gustavo Cassemiro 1 (Matt Ranieri 2) 11’
New England Revolution: Trey Miller; Matt Ranieri, Jose Gonzalez (Tyler Freitas 45’), Nick Woodruff, Travis van Brewer; Kevin Vang (Joe Brito 50’), Alex Shterenberg, Isaque Couto (Justin Rennicks 36’); Izaiah Jennings, Gustavo Cassemiro, Laz Dorogi (Andrew Barrowman 55’)
Substitutes Not Used: Eddie Walsh, Connor Haskell, Santi Cardona
Misconduct Summary:
CHV – Jose Ponce (Yellow Card) 22’
NE – Isaque Couto (Yellow Card) 31’
NE – Gustavo Cassemiro (Yellow Card) 65’
CHV – Gerardo Lopez (Yellow Card) 70’
The Revolution played their final game of the tournament against Brazilian side SC Recife, suffering a 2-0 defeat that meant a sixth-place finish for New England. Both sides created plenty of chances throughout the opening half, but neither was able to break the deadlock. However, Recife would pull in front in the 45th minute as Francisco put his side up 1-0. Eight minutes later, Kelvenny made the score 2-0, clinching the win and a fifth-place finish for Recife.
New England Revolution U-16s vs. SC Recife U-17s (Fifth-Place Game)
Saturday, April 4, 2015 – Toyota Soccer Center (Frisco, Texas)
New England Revolution 0, SC Recife 2
Scoring Summary:
SCR – Francisco 45’
SCR – Kelvenny 53’
New England Revolution: Trey Miller (Eddie Walsh 58’); Matt Ranieri, Jose Gonzalez, Nick Woodruff, Connor Haskell (Travis van Brewer 65’); Joe Brito, Kevin Vang (Tyler Freitas 48’), Isaque Couto (Laz Dorogi 60’); Andrew Barrowman (Gustavo Cassemiro 53’), Izaiah Jennings, Justin Rennicks
Substitutes Not Used: Alex Shterenberg, Santi Cardona
Misconduct Summary:
SCR – #3 (Yellow Card) 24’
The Revolution Under-14 team is the only Academy side in action this weekend, as they first take on Met Oval at 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 11 at Medway High School before travelling to Connecticut to take on Beachside SC on Sunday at the University of Bridgeport with kickoff set for 12:30 p.m. The Under-18 and Under-16 teams are next in action when they face Seacoast United on Saturday, April 18 at the Seacoast United Soccer Complex in Epping, New Hampshire.
