TAMPA, Fla. - After spending the 2019 season as Akira Fitzgerald’s back up for the Richmond Kickers, Joe Rice joined New England Revolution II and immediately showed his quality and demonstrated his ability to be a No. 1 goalkeeper in League One.
Rice made several impressive saves for the first-year club, none perhaps more impressive than the stop that earned him the Fans’ Choice Save of the Year award. The 24-year-old made a brilliant fingertip save in a midseason loss to Forward Madison FC, backpedaling quickly to tip JC Banks’ cushioned header over the bar.
The save did not earn the Revolution II a win, but it did help Rice capture the end of season honor, as he earned 90 percent of the fan vote to beat out Madison’s Chris Brady in the Final.