FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution II (4-6-2, 14 pts.) returns home to Gillette Stadium on Friday night for the team's first meeting with fellow first-year side Fort Lauderdale CF (4-7-2, 14 pts.). The contest kicks off at 7:00 p.m. ET and is available nationally on ESPN+.
Revolution II enters Friday’s match on a three-game winning streak, most recently defeating Richmond Kickers, 4-0, on the road last Saturday. Homegrown Players Nicolas Firmino and Damian Rivera tallied goals in the victory for New England while goalkeeper Keegan Meyer made three saves to preserve his first-career win and clean sheet. Rivera's goal marked the first as a professional for the Cranston, R.I. native. With the win, New England extended its shutout streak to 352 minutes, dating back to Sept. 16.
“They've been consistent. I think over the course of the last few weeks they've developed a chemistry amongst them and have given the group in general a level of consistency that's really important," Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay said of his team, while also noting that Fort Lauderdale presents a new test for the squad. "It’s a group that is constantly moving. Everyone is comfortable on the ball, they’ve got some very creative players on the attack that can get at you a number of a different ways so they’ll be tough.”
Fort Lauderdale CF, the League One affiliate of 2020 MLS expansion team Inter Miami CF, has lost four of its last five matches, including a 3-0 defeat at the hands of North Texas SC last Saturday night. Goalkeeper Dylan Castanheira enters Friday’s match with 44 saves on the season, one behind Revolution II goalkeeper Joe Rice for the league lead. On the road this season, Fort Lauderdale is 2-3-1 with wins coming at FC Tucson and South Georgia Tormenta SC.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR against Fort Lauderdale CF:
- Revolution II extending its shutout streak which currently stands at 352 minutes dating back to Sept. 16.
- Several Revolution first-team players continuing to see action in League One play, including Isaac Angking, Damian Rivera, Nicolas Firmino, Justin Rennicks and Collin Verfurth.
- Firmino adding to his team-leading three goals this season after scoring from the penalty spot last weekend.
- Firmino, defender Jon Bell, and midfielder Maciel each making their 13th starts of the season after surpassing the 1,000-minute mark for the 2020 season last weekend.
- Verfurth playing 48 minutes to become the fourth Revolution II player this season to reach 1,000 minutes.
- Bell continuing to play every minute of the League One season, having logged 1,080 minutes at center back thus far.
- Goalkeeper Keegan Meyer starting back-to-back games for the first time in his career after posting his first-career victory and clean sheet on Saturday at Richmond.
- Academy defender Colby Quinones continuing to lead all Revolution youth players in professional minutes, having logged 794 so far. Two other current Academy players have logged over 100 minutes this season: Hikaru Fujiwara and Diego Souza.
Match #13: Revolution II vs. Fort Lauderdale CF
Date: Friday, October 9, 2020
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Streaming:ESPN+ (National) / YouTube (International)
Talent: Chris Wittyngham (play-by-play)
