Brad Knighton got mobbed by his New England Revolution teammates for stopping two penalties in a shootout victory over Philadelphia in the US Open Cup quaterfinals.
Brad Knighton emerged as the New England Revolution’s latest hero, stopping two penalty kicks in a 4-2, extra time shootout victory over the Philadelphia Union in the US Open Cup quarter-finals at Jordan Field on Harvard’s campus Wednesday night.
Je-Vaughn Watson, who gave the Revs a 1-0 lead just before halftime, converted the decisive spot kick in the shootout after Philadelphia’s Fabian Herbers equalized moments prior to second half stoppage time.
The Revolution will now play the Chicago Fire on August 10 in the semi-finals, though the venue has not yet been announced.
If New England can beat Chicago, it will mean booking a place in the US Open Cup final for the first time since 2007, when the Revolution won the tournament.
Knighton, who is typically a second-stringer behind usual starter Bobby Shuttleworth, deserves the brunt of the praise for helping the Revolution take the next step forward in the tournament.
Not only did he stop two penalties in the shootout, but he also recorded four saves within the 120 minutes of action.
There is usually a discernible amount of talent between the first-choice goalkeeper and his back-up, but that’s not the case with Shuttleworth and Knighton.
Both players are veterans, Knighton entering the league in 2007 and Shuttleworth joining up two years later. On Wednesday night, Knighton showed off his command of the penalty area and his shot-stopping ability.
Philadelphia and New England engaged in a mostly wide-open affair which generated 39 shots, meaning both Knighton and Union shot-stopper Andre Blake had to be alert. And the pair were, providing a number of impressive stops, though it was the Philly keeper who got beat first, Watson’s slick finish off a quickly taken freekick giving the Revs the lead just before halftime.
From there, Knighton conceded a late goal to Herbers after Philadelphia amped up the pressure, but came up with two huge saves in extra time. One was on a line drive by Herbers in the first extra time period from the right side of the box. The other came as Knighton dropped low to block a drive by Leo Fernandes in the heart of the penalty area.
Blake also made an impressive double save in the first extra time period. He first stopped Andrew Farrell’s low drive, then recovered to parry away Kelyn Rowe’s rebound on what seemed to be an open net.
With that save – which seemed to even draw respect from the New England-heavy crowd in attendance – it appeared as though the Union would have more momentum headed into the shootout.
But Knighton quickly quelled that notion. He saved the first penalty by diving left to block an effort by Sebastien Le Toux, the US Open Cup’s all-time leading scorer.
Prior to that, Lee Nguyen, who came on for Daigo Kobayashi midway through the second half, converted to give the Revolution the lead. Chris Tierney, another second half substitute for the Revolution, slotted his kick into the back of the net with a left-footed drive to make it 2-0.
Philadelphia’s Ilsinho put his side on the board next, while New England midfielder Scott Caldwell gave his side a brief scare when he rolled his effort wide of the left post.
Knighton restored confidence in the Revolution by stopping the Union’s next shooter, CJ Sapong. Revs captain Jose Goncalves scored next, while Philly’s second goal in the shootout came from Herbers. Watson sank the final shot, forcing Blake to react prematurely, before firing to the back of the net.
Email Julian at julianccardillo@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @juliancardillo.
Philadelphia Union
New England Revolution
