5 Things to Know About the New England Revolution & the U.S. Open Cup
Joe Calabro, GoLocalProv Sports Team
5 Things to Know About the New England Revolution & the U.S. Open Cup
The match will take place on Wednesday, June 14 at 7:30 p.m. at PC’s Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium. GoLocalProv is teaming up with the Revolution for complete coverge including live from the game.
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The last time the Revolution played in Providence was against the Rhinos in the fifth round of the 2014 U.S. Open Cup at Brown University. The Revolution won the game 2-1 on first half goals by Saer Sene and Kelyn Rowe.
“It’s great to be back there, we haven’t been back there in awhile. The fans there always show great support. We are looking forward to going down to Providence and hopefully getting a W for the fans," said midfielder Lee Nguyen.
With the game approaching, GoLocalProv highlights five things you should know about the New England Revolution entering Wednesday's game.
See 5 Things to Know about the Revolution & the U.S. Open Cup in the Slideshow Below
5 Things to Know About the NE Revolution & the U.S. Open Cup
Revolution in the U.S. Open Cup
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the longest running national soccer competition in the United States and the third longest in the world.
The Revolution have made it to the final three times in their history.
They made it for the first time in 2001, losing to the LA Galaxy 2-1 before winning the U.S. Open Cup in 2007, 3-2 over FC Dallas.
New England got to the final in 2016, but lost to FC Dallas 4-2.
“Yea that was a tough loss because we worked so hard to get there, that was our goal and it will be the same this year. We want to get back to the championship and have another chance at an Open Cup,” said midfielder Lee Nguyen.
2017 U.S. Open Cup
MLS Teams do not enter the tournament until the fourth round, so this is New England's first game.
The Revs opponent, the Rochester Rhinos of the USL are coming off a 2-1 win over GPS Omens in the third round and a 3-0 win over FC Motown in the second round.
The Revolution This Season
The New England Revolution enter the U.S. Open Cup playing some of their best soccer of the season.
The Revolution are 3-1-1 in their last five games and 5-5-5 overall.
“I think the team morale is definitely rising, a big tie in New York, that’s not an easy place to play and then coming home and beating a top team in the league 3-0, it’s big for our chemistry and morale,” said New England forward Juan Agudelo.
In their last match, the Revolution shut out first-place Toronto FC 3-0 at Gillette Stadium.
New England got a goal from Benjamin Angoua to give them a 1-0 lead, before Diego Fagundez and Juan Agudelo added goals to give the Revs a 3-0 win.
PHOTO: New England Revolution/flickr
Key Players
Forward Juan Agudelo (pictured) and Midfielder Lee Nguyen are two of the key players for the Revolution heading into the U.S. Open Cup.
Agudelo leads New England with seven goals on the season in 13 games.
Nguyen is second on the team in goals with six, while leading the Revs with seven assists.
Both players are tied for third on the team with 10 shots on goal and 21 shots overall.
PHOTO: New England Revolution/flickr
Goalkeeper Cody Cropper
Cody Cropper is the Revolution's starting goalkeeper and will make his first U.S. Open Cup start after backing up Brad Knighton in last year's tournament.
Cropper has played 14 games for New England this season and has stopped 37 of the 57 shots that he has faced. He has four shutouts on the year.
Cropper, a native of Maple Grove, Minnesota, is in his second season with the Revolution after spending six years playing in England with Southhampton F.C.
PHOTO: New England Revolution/flickr
Head Coach Jay Heaps
Heaps, a former defender for the Revolution, is in his sixth season as head coach and is the sixth head coach in team history.
He led the Revolution to the 2016 U.S. Open Cup Final where they fell to F.C. Dallas.
"For us, we have to be mindful of guys being ready to play. We did a good job with that last year and got to the final. We have to use that disappointment of losing as motivation this year," said Heaps.
He also led New England to three straight MLS Cup playoff appearances, including the MLS Cup final in 2014.
As a player, Heaps helped anchor New England's defense from 2001 to 2009 and ranks in the top five in club history in games played (243), games started (238), and minutes played (21,619).
He was part of two U.S. Open Cup Finals appearances, losing in 2001 and winning in 2007.
PHOTO: New England Revolution/flickr
