FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution II (1-6-2, 5 pts.) will close out its week-long road trip with a first-ever visit to face Union Omaha at Werner Park on Saturday night. It will be the second time the teams have played each other, the first coming on July 25 in the season-opener, a 0-0 draw. Saturday’s contest kicks off at 8:00 p.m. ET and is available nationally on ESPN+.
Revolution II played a mid-week match at FC Tucson on Wednesday night, losing by a 1-0 margin via an eighth-minute goal off a corner kick. Three Homegrown Players earned starts in the match, including forward Justin Rennicks making his Revolution II debut. The 21-year-old from South Hamilton, Mass. started and played 70 minutes in his first League One action.
“We’re going to have to defend set pieces better than we have in the past,” said Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay. “The first thing is addressing that and from there we’ve got to be able to find ways to get in behind them a little quicker to create chances because there’s not going to be the space on the field to pass it around and break down a team that’s done pretty good defending in blocks of eight to ten guys behind the ball.”
Union Omaha is coming off a mid-week match itself, having played a Tuesday matinee at Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, falling 2-0 and becoming the final team in USL League One to lose this season. Omaha is unbeaten at home this season, going 3-0-1 while only allowing two goals in those matches.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR against Union Omaha:
- Several Revolution first-team players continuing to see action in League One play, including Damian Rivera, Nicolas Firmino, Justin Rennicks and Collin Verfurth.
- Firmino, defender Jon Bell, and midfielder Maciel each making their 10th starts of the season.
- Goalkeeper Joe Rice earning his eighth start in net after claiming his second USL League One Save of the Week honor after an eight-save performance on Sept. 9 vs. Chattanooga.
- Defender Jon Bell continuing to play every minute of the League One season.
- Academy defender Colby Quinones continuing to lead all Revolution youth players in professional minutes, having logged 524 so far. Two other current Academy players have logged over 100 minutes this season: Hikaru Fujiwara and Diego Souza.
Match #10: Revolution II vs. Union Omaha
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2020
Kickoff: 8:00 p.m. ET
Location: Werner Park (Papillion, Neb.)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Streaming:ESPN+ (National) / YouTube (International)
Talent: Joe Malfa (play-by-play)
