FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution II midfielder and Homegrown Player Damian Rivera has been named USL League One Player of the Week for Week 18 following New England’s 3-0 win over North Carolina FC at Gillette Stadium on Thursday, August 5.
Rivera scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season in Thursday’s contest, his second game-winning goal of the year (WATCH GOAL). The Revolution Homegrown Player recorded a game-high six shots on the night. The Cranston, R.I. native was instrumental in the midfield, winning 12 of his 16 duels on the night. Rivera has scored three goals in his last four matches, including another game winner on July 9 vs. Toronto FC II (WATCH GOAL).
Rivera becomes the third Revolution II player to be named USL League One Player of the Week. Defender Sean O’Hearn was named Player of the Week in Week 1 this season, and Nicolas Firmino took home Player of the Week in Week 13 of the 2020 season.
In addition to his Player of the Week honor, Rivera was also named to the Week 18 USL League One Team of the Week, presented by Cleer Audio. Three other Revolution II players joined Rivera on Team of the Week, with Joe Rice and Edward Kizza making their first appearances this season and Ryan Spaulding collecting his fifth Team of the Week selection of 2021. Rice collected his league-leading fifth clean sheet of the season with a three-save shutout. Spaulding, who has now been selected to seven Team of the Week rosters in his first two seasons, matched a career high with four shots and added three key passes. Kizza scored his first two professional goals, just the second multi-goal game in team history, and had three shots on target in the win.
Rivera was signed as New England’s seventh Homegrown Player out of the Revolution Academy on Nov. 8, 2019. The 18-year-old made his professional debut on Aug. 7, 2020 for Revolution II against Orlando City B. Over his first two professional seasons, Rivera has made 28 appearances at the USL League One level, starting on 23 occasions, and owns six goals and one assist. Rivera ranks first in Revolution II team history in goals (6), shots (61), and shots on goal (19) and is second in games played (28), games started (23), and game-winning goals (2) since the team began play in 2020.
Revolution II (7-7-1; 22 pts.), currently in sixth place in the USL League One table, will hit the road next weekend to face Richmond Kickers (5-6-5, 20 pts.) for the third time this season. The match kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET on August 14 and airs nationally on ESPN+.
