Jeremy Zelanes heard the noise Sunday morning and looked outside and his heart sank. A loud, heavy downpour had just begun.

“I was a little bit nervous,” he said.

But, it was just a fast storm, as skies cleared and the day for the most part was bright, sunny, and warm, in the low 70s. As Zelanes said, “A perfect day for soccer in New Hampshire.”

That soccer was the first of eight games at Southern New Hampshire University’s Mark Ouetllette Stadium for the New England Revolution II, the MLS Revs’ Triple A team, if you will. They downed Inter Miami II 3-1 in front of probably what amounted to 100, 150 fans, but for the Rev II players, it may have felt like 1500 because they’ve played their home games also at Gillette Stadium, where maybe 500 feels like 50. And at SNHU, the fans are much closer. Players stopped to sign autographs for kids who were shouting for them as they were coming off the field.

“It was a new experience playing here,” said Revs II forward Patrick Leal, who scored his first career goal, one of their three first half goals that held up in a scoreless second half for win. “At Gillette it (kids wanting autographs) does happen, but here it was a little bit more. It was great to see. You can definitely hear them (during the game). And because the stadium’s smaller, you could definitely hear (the fans) and it seemed like there were more people, even it there wasn’t. But I think there was. … It’s a great stadium to play in.”

It was a good way to break in their new home away from home. Leal admitted when the players learned they’d be playing eight games at SNHU, “We were confused at first, but when we saw the stadium and we saw why we’re here, we’re actually very happy to be here.”

“It was nice setup,” Revs II coach Richie Williams said. “The field was nice, you’ve got nice stand, the locker rooms, everything fine. If we could fill that up in the future, it’d be a great home field advantage. It was nice to have a little bit of a crowd tonight, which I think helped the guys. Moving forward, hopefully more and more people will come out.”

In Williams’ eyes, it’s a win-win. The region gets to see pro soccer, and the players feel like they’re being appreciated.

“Obviously I think it’s something here to drum up interest in soccer…support a team. So yeah, it’s nice to have fans at the games to support you and cheer you on. Anytime you win it’s awesome. We didn’t know anything about the facility – it’s good to get the three points and more and more people to come.”

The Revs II actually have a New Hampshire player, Colby Quinones, but he was ill and unavailable. But they’ll likely enjoy their next visit, which is May 19.

Zelanes wears many soccer hats. He’s the Nashua High School North head boys varsity coach, and also the general manager of the International Soccer Club of Nashua’s semi pro team, the Eagles, whose second half he raced down to see Sunday evening at Rivier’s Merrill Field. They’re a good take for local soccer fans as well, and have staying power. Meanwhile, he has been working on trying to get professional soccer to the state for awhile, in some way shaper or form. Plans look good, then not, and then he tries another way. This one clicked, getting eight New England Revolution II games to SNHU through the spring,summer and early fall.

“We’ve been working pretty hard on this for awhile,” he said. “It’s like Christmas today. It’s finally here.”

Inter Miami’s Ryan Sailor heads the ball away from Revs II defender Santiago Suarez (43) during Sunday’s inaugural Revs match at SNHU’s Ouellette Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

It was a big soccer weekend, as the big Revolution club hosted a guy named Messi on Saturday night vs. Inter Miami, a game that drew a franchise record crowd of over 65,000 at Gillette.

But this event at SNHU was important in local soccer circles.

“I’m really excited about what it’s going to do for youth soccer in the state,” Zelanes said. “I’m already seeing a lot of kids out there and that’s what it’s all about. The fact they can watch Messi play last night at Gillette and then come here today in New Hampshire , it doesn’t get any better than that. Professional soccer in New Hampshire. … That excitement hopefully spilled over to today.

“I think the more they play here the excitement will continue to build. … The focus has always been to have pro soccer here, and this is New England’s team, so I don’t think it gets any better than this.”

Merry Christmas, Jeremy.

Tom King can be reached at

tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on X, formerly twitter, @Telegraph _TomK.

Revs II players Gevork Diarbian, left, and Victor Souza sign autographs for fans on Sunday after their 3-1 win over Inter Miami II at SNHU’s Ouellette Stadium in Manchester. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

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