Foxborough, Massachusetts – The Greenville Triumph return to action after the team’s first seven-day break in two weeks. The Triumph finally met the end of a physically demanding five-match stretch last Saturday night against the Chattanooga Red Wolves.
From Sunday, June 13 to Saturday, June 26, Greenville played two home matches and traveled to three different states: Texas, Georgia and Tennessee. Regardless, John Harkes’ side collected five points and remained near the top of the table, sitting one game behind league-leading Union Omaha. Greenville put on valiant performances across the last two weeks, fighting through several injuries to key players and some controversial on-field calls. With a week’s rest under their belt, Greenville heads back to normal one-match-per-week cadence starting with a trip to Gillette Stadium to face New England Revolution II.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Kick off: 2:00 PM EST at Gillette Stadium
Local TV: The CW-62
Streaming TV: ESPN+
International Stream: YouTube
Social Media: Greenville Triumph SC on Twitter
App: Download for free on Apple or Android
scouting the revs
Before the 1-0 loss to Forward Madison on Wednesday, Revolution II put together consecutive clean-sheet performances including a 3-0 victory over North Texas SC and had scored multiple goals in five consecutive games. A season-high three Revolution II players were selected to the USL League One Team of the Week for Week 12 following the shutout win over North Texas. New England sits below the playoff line with a 4-5-1 record and 13 points through 10 games played.
what to watch for
Final Third Creativity: Head coach Clint Peay and Revs II captain Jake Rozhansky felt their side struggled with creativity in the final third following the 1-0 loss to Forward Madison Wednesday night. Although they held possession well, Rozhansky said, “We were missing the creativity, and that’s what we needed to have to break them down.” That ideal won’t change for Revolution II as Greenville is arguably the most disciplined and patient team without the ball in the league. On the flip side, Triumph SC head coach John Harkes feels his team also needs a spark in the attack stating that the team is a bit too predictable heading into this portion of the season.
Rested, But…: This is the first seven-day rest the Upstate side has found since voyaging on a five-match streak across less than two weeks. When you put the past 13 days into perspective, three road games and two mid-week home matchups, Greenville has done quite well to collect five points and remain in second place, just one game behind the league-leading Union Omaha. The Triumph have pushed through adversity since game one of this season when they gritted out a 1-0 win with 10-men on the pitch, and while the team has found rest this week, the adversity is not yet gone. Injuries have plagued the Triumph, taking away several key players from the starting lineup and the subbing rotation who aren’t quite back into form. The Upstate side has been without Aussie striker Lachlan McLean for two matches, starting midfielder Noah Pilato for two matches, winger Don Smart for two matches and right back Abdi Mohamed for one match all due to injury. Understanding the on-field and off-field adversity the 2020 League One champions have toughed out makes the previous five results even more impressive.
NEWS AND NOTES
Injury Report: All-League midfielder Noah Pilato continues to be sidelined with a back injury and Lachlan McLean continues to rest a knee injury. Veteran Don Smart remains unavailable for the third week due to a hamstring injury that occurred during the Tormenta FC match. Right back Abdi Mohamed is probable as he nurses a quad injury.
League One Standings: With the 1-1 draw to Chattanooga on Wednesday night, Greenville remains in second place with 18 points through ten matches played. Omaha tops the table with 21 points through ten and a 6-1-3 record, while Chattanooga sits closely underneath the Triumph at third boasting 17 points through just eight games played. Rounding out the cut-off point is Fort Lauderdale CF, Forward Madison and Toronto FC II, respectively.
Golden Boot: Marios Lomis continues to lead the league in goals with eight after scoring the game-tying penalty in Triumph SC’s 2-2 draw with Forward Madison. The Dutch striker remains Greenville’s points leader with 17 from eight goals and one assist. Omaha’s Greg Hurst has tallied six goals and three players are tied with five.
Women’s Soccer in GVL: The Greenville Triumph Soccer Club will launch a women’s soccer team to begin play in 2022 as part of a new league announced today by the United Soccer League (USL). Greenville is among a group of exciting founding markets awarded franchises as part of the newly formed W League. For more information, click here.
upcoming
Greenville returns to the Upstate for two consecutive home matches beginning next Saturday for a July 10 matchup against North Carolina FC. It will be the third meeting between the two sides this season. Kickoff is at 7:00pm with gates opening at 6:00pm.
