New England Revolution II (1-0-1, 5 pts.) defeated Rochester New York FC (0-0-2, 0 pts.) in their home opener at Gillette Stadium by a score of 3-1 on Sunday night. Midfielder Michel and defender Sean O’Hearn each scored the first goals of their professional careers in the first half. Midfielder Damian Rivera, a Homegrown Player from Cranston, R.I., recorded his third goal of the season in the 65th minute.
“Well, I'm the one who thinks I should take it, but I've let Esmir [Barjraktarevic] and other people like Tico [Damian Rivera] take it in the past because they feel confident and I stepped up and I took it," O'Hearn stated postgame. "It was a tall wall, like probably everyone in the wall is like 6-5 or 6-4. I just got it up over the wall and I was really excited to get my first goal on a free kick like that.”
Jacob Jackson earned his second start of the season where he made eight saves on nine shots. The goalkeeper made several point-blank stops including a denial on an indirect free kick near the goal line to preserve New England’s two-goal advantage.
Revolution Academy midfielder Jack Panayotou made his professional debut tonight, coming in as a sub in the 45th minute for Revolution Academy graduate Hikaru Fujiwara. Panayotou is the 20th player from Revolution Academy to make their professional debut with New England’s developmental team to date.
"Jack [Panayotou] has been very good at the Academy level – a real standout," Head Coach Clint Peay stated. "He’s earned an opportunity and a chance to get on the field. So, we wanted to be able to get him some significant minutes tonight and kind of see what it looked like. I thought he came in and acquainted himself fairly well.”
Forward Ryan Lima also made his professional debut in tonight’s match, coming in for Meny Silva in the 63rd minute. With Lima and Panayotou, 36 total players have made their pro debuts with Revolution II since the team launched in 2020.
“I’m pleased that the guys kind of competed and battled and weathered some storms," Peay said. "And it was opportunistic, in some key moments in the game, to help us get the win.”
New England returns to action on Sunday, April 17 as Revolution II hosts Cincinnati FC 2 at Gillette Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and tickets are available on Ticketmaster. The match will also stream on MLSNEXTPro.com.
New England Revolution II 3, Rochester New York FC 1
April 3, 2022 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
- 17-year-old Academy midfielder Jack Panayotou made his professional debut, logging 45 minutes, becoming the 20th current or former Revolution Academy player to make his pro debut with Revolution II.
- In addition to the professional debut of Brazilian forward Ryan Lima, 36 total players have now made their pro debuts with the team since 2020.
- Brazilian midfielder Michel notched the first goal of his career in the 29th minute after recording his first career assist in last week’s match vs. New York City FC II.
- Sean O’Hearn also recorded the first goal of his professional career off a free kick in first-half extra time, scoring with a right-footed strike into the top-left corner.
- Homegrown midfielder Damian Rivera made his second start of the season and notched his third goal of the season in the 65th minute with the assist coming from O’Hearn following a set piece.
- Goalkeeper Jacob Jackson made eight saves on nine shots in his second shot of the season.
- Alongside Rivera, Esmir Bajraktarevic, Ben Reveno, and Jake Rozhansky each earned their second starts of the season, all logging 90-minute shifts.
GAME CAPSULE
Referee: Katherine McCormick.
Assistant Referees: Alexandru Focea (AR1), Nicola Vesia (AR2).
Fourth Official: Kenneth Rojas.
Weather: 45 degrees and showers.
Scoring Summary:
NE – Michel 1 (Unassisted) 29’
RNY – Dante Brigida 1 (Willterlynd Inalien) 37’
NE – Sean O’Hearn 1 (Free Kick) 45’+3
NE – Damian Rivera 3 (Sean O’Hearn 1) 64’
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Sean O’Hearn (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 8’
RNY – Pedro Dolabella (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 37’
NE – Trevor Zwetsloot (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 49’
RNY – Bubacar Boi Djalo (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 55’
New England Revolution: Jacob Jackson; Ryan Spaulding (Ítalo 45’), Ben Reveno, Trevor Zwetsloot (Pierre Cayet 75’), Sean O’Hearn (Colby Quiñones 81’); Jake Rozhansky ©, Hikaru Fujiwara (Jack Panayotou 45’), Michel; Damian Rivera, Esmir Bajraktarevic, Meny Silva (Ryan Lima 63’).
Substitutes Not Used: Max Weinstein, Isaie Louis, Malcolm Fry.
Rochester New York FC: Caique; Milan Vanacker, Gerardo Lopez, Lamar Batista, Christian Wood; Jesus Batiz (Gibran Rayo 65’), Bubacar Boi Djalo, Pedro Dolabella, Dante Brigida (Preston Popp 57’); Willterlynd Inalien, Gabriel Costa (Raymond Drai 73’).
Substitutes Not Used: Phillipp Ejimadu, Davis Smith, Gustavo Rissi, Paulo Soares.
