Revolution II defeat Forward Madison 2-0

The New England Revolution II closed out a three-game road trip as they traveled to a packed and energetic Breese Stevens Field in Madison, Wisconsin, as they took on Forward Madison FC.

Clint Peay and Revs II looked to get back on track after suffering defeats in their previous two games on the road. The previous being a 4-2 loss against Union Omaha last Saturday.

There were three changes to the Revs II lineup as Joe Rice, Colby Quiñones, and Noel Buck returned to the Starting XI in place for Brad Knighton, François Dulysse, and Ryan Sierakowski.

Rice would come up big after failing to settle a back pass in the 6th minute. The ball continued to roll towards the net as Forward Madison forward Jake Keegan looked to take advantage of the mishap. Rice would come in clutch as he swiped the ball away from Keegan and prevented Madison from scoring early.

Forward Madison had their foot pressed down on the gas pedal in the first 25 minutes as they came close to scoring on multiple occasions, but all shots were thankfully wide of the net and went out for Revs II goal kicks.

The Revs II offense started in the 34th minute as Quiñones sent a cross towards Connor Presley, who sent a diving header towards the goal. Unfortunately, the ball would go wide and out for a Madison goal kick.

Jake Rozhansky would receive the first of many bookings in the 35th minute after pulling midfielder Christian Enriquez back. Forward Madison would seek revenge minutes later as midfielder Carlos Gómez would enter the books with a yellow card in the 36th minute after fouling Rozhansky.

Forward Madison looked to enter the score column in the 38th minute as Enriquez lobbed a ball into the box with white and blue jerseys scattered around. Luckily for Rice and Revs II, no one could get on to the ball as it bounced out for a goal kick.

Michel would then receive a yellow card in the 42nd minute of the match.

The 16-year-old academy product Buck would put Revs II up 1-0 in stoppage time of the first half. As Justin Rennicks was nearing the touchline near the left goalpost, he flicked it back to an awaiting Buck, who would slot the ball past two Madison defenders and the keeper. That would be Buck’s third goal on the season and put him atop the Revs II scoring leaderboard.

Rice would be booked with a yellow card for dissent after confronting officials after the halftime whistle sounded.

There was one change at halftime for Revs II as the goal scorer Buck would come off as Hikaru Fujiwara would enter the match.

The yellow cards continued to pile up in the second half as a total of four players would be booked in 8 minutes. Madison defender Christian Diaz would receive a yellow in the 47th minute. Presley would also receive a yellow card in the 49th minute. Things would escalate in the 53rd minute after Ryan Spaulding would receive a yellow card. Both sides would exchange words and even some shoves. Madison midfielder Aaron Molloy would receive a yellow card in the 54th minute for his actions in the minor scuffle between Revs II and Forward Madison.

Jake Keegan looked to even it in the 63rd as he sent a ball on the ground towards the far post. Rice laid out attempting to get a hand on it but was unable to get to it. Luckily, the ball traveled a tad too left and bounced off the far post and away from the goal.

The second Revs II substitution came in the 69th minute as Sierakowski would come on for Justin Rennicks.

A double substitution came for Revs II in the 77th minute as Colin Verfurth and Michael Tsicoulias would come on for Quiñones and Damian Rivera.

Tsicoulias would double the lead in the 80th minute after receiving a pass inside the box from Jake Rozhansky and slotted the ball into the top right corner after shaking off the defender. The 18-year-old academy product scored his second goal in as many games.

The final Revs II substitution came in the 88th minute as Dennis Ramirez would come on for Michel. Ramirez would receive the final booking of the night in the third minute of stoppage time as he would receive a yellow card.

Rice would make a huge save towards the end of stoppage time as Gustavo Hernandez looked to head the ball into the back of the net and avoid the shutout. Rice had other ideas as he got a hold on the ball and prevented Forward Madison from scoring.

As the final whistle sounded at Breese Stevens Field, Revolution II walked away with a 2-0 victory over Forward Madison, their first win over the club in three meetings.

After Saturday’s win, Revs II sit in 9th place with a 3-3-1 record and sit just 2 points shy of playoff contention.

It was a busy day for referee Chris Ruska. A total of 30 fouls and 9 yellow cards were issued throughout the match.

Revolution II return to action on Saturday, June 26th, as they host North Texas FC at 7:00 PM EST on ESPN+.