Clint Peay and Revolution II returned to action Wednesday night, looking to build off the momentum generated from shutout victories in their previous two outings, as they returned to Breese Stevens Field for the second time in 2 weeks. Their last trip saw Michael Tsicolulias and Noel Buck pick up goals in a 2-0 win over Forward Madison.
There were three changes to the Revs II starting lineup from their 3-0 victory over North Texas S.C. as Joe Rice, Hikaru Fujiwara, and Ryan Sierakowski returned to the starting lineup.
Forward Madison came into Wednesday’s match looking to get back on the right foot after a 2-2 draw against the Greenville Triumph.
It had been a rough set of outings for Madison as they looked to secure their first win during June. Their last victory came on May 29th against Tormenta. During June, Madison went a mere 0-2-3, including a 2-0 defeat at home to Revs II.
Sean O’Hearn looked to get the Revs II offense going in the 11th minute. After a poor-headed clearance would find a waiting O’Hearn just outside the 18-yard-box. O’Hearn would find the headed ball on a bouncing volley towards Forward Madison’s goal. Keeper Philip Breno would dive to his left and careen the ball out of play for a Revolution II corner kick.
Revs II’s offense came close to scoring in the 14th minute as Justin Rennicks would drive down the right side of the pitch. Rennicks would spot and cross the ball to Damian Rivera, who found himself inside the 18 with tons of space. Rivera looked to volley Rennicks’ cross but did not hit it right as it went out high and wide for a Forward Madison goal kick.
Jake Keegan would score his fifth goal of the season in the 20th minute for Madison. A long ball from the midfield would skip past the Revs II backline and roll into the 18. Keegan would turn on the jets as he darted past the scrambling backline and found himself on top of the ball.
With the Revs II shutout streak now out of the picture, they had to buckle down if they wanted to leave Breese Stevens Field with any points.
Rivera looked to capitalize in the 36th minute after shaking off his defender just outside the box. Rivera would send a shot towards Breno, but it was just a tad left and rolled out for a Madison goal kick. Michel would also receive a yellow card in the 42nd minute after fouling Aaron Molloy.
Rivera looked to equalize it for Revs II in the 44th minute as he found Ryan Spaulding’s pass just outside the 6-yard-box. Rivera sent a shot towards the net, but it would deflect off the keeper. An aware Rivera would find himself picking up the rebound and looked to put the ball in the back of the net, but the ball was hit too hard and was out for a goal kick.
Pierre Cayet looked to add on to his goal total after heading Spaulding’s cross on the net. Unfortunately, Breno got his hands on the header and prevented Revs II from finding the equalizer.
Aaron Molloy looked to double Madison’s lead in the 58th minute. Christian Enriquez would send a cross into the box to a wide-open Molloy. Molloy just did not hit it right as it soared far left of the net and out for goal kick. A big break for Revs II, who was still looking to find the equalizer.
The first Revs II substitutions came in the 66th minute as the two-goal scores from the previous meeting, Tsicoulias and Buck, would come on for Rennicks and Fujiwara.
Buck came close to adding to his team-leading four goals in the 76th minute as he found Michel’s cross inside the box. A wide-open Buck would charge up and send a shot at Madison’s net, but it would ricochet off the crossbar. Meny Silva would then come on and replace Rivera in the 77th minute.
Rice would again keep Revs II in the hunt after making a fingertip save on Derek Gebhard’s shot in the 78th minute. Tyler Freitas would come on for O’Hearn in the 83rd minute.
Sierakowski looked to capitalize on a bad back pass to the keeper in the 88th minute. As the keeper sent the ball away from the net, Sierakowski’s leap came close to knocking the ball back towards Forward Madison’s goal, but it missed Sierakowski by inches.
Revs II was unable to find an equalizer as the final whistle indicated a 1-0 win for Forward Madison. Wednesday’s loss snaps a two-game winning and shutout streak for Revolution II.
After the loss to Forward Madison and Toronto FC II’s win over Greenville, Revs II slides down to 8th place.
Revs II return to action on July 4th as they host second-place Greenville Triumph at 2 PM EST on ESPN+.