Kelyn Rowe missed two good chances as his team fell 1-0 in Open Cup play. Photo/Kari Heistad
ALLSTON, Mass. — The New England Revolution bowed out of the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night at Soldiers Field on Harvard’s athletic grounds, falling in lackluster fashion to the Charlotte Independence 1-0.
The round of 32 loss is an upset on paper, since Charlotte, who play in the United Soccer League, which is two steps below Major League Soccer on the American soccer pyramid, are out of playoff contention in their own league. But the Revolution leveled the playing field when they opted for a starting lineup comprised mostly of reserves that had little team chemistry.
“It’s a completely different team,” said head coach Jay Heaps of his team after the game. “We don’t get this many opportunities in this setting to run out younger guys together. We had experienced guys on the field, but sometimes it takes time for the chemistry to develop.”
Heaps’ lineup changes included putting in back-up goalkeeper Brad Knighton and swapping out central defenders Jose Goncalves and Andrew Farrell for London Woodberry and Donnie Smith. Andy Dorman did not dress and Scott Caldwell was benched, meaning Steve Neumann and his former Georgetown University teammate Tyler Rudy set up shop together in central midfield. And Kelyn Rowe and Diego Fagundez were pushed wide and made to play the wings while Sean Okoli played forward in place of Charlie Davies.
But the changes didn’t produce much, the Revolution lacking the sharpness and tactical understanding to produce chances and boss midfield play.
After a slow first half from both sides, Charlotte’s captain, Jorge Herrera, produced the pivotal play. In the 55th minute, he volleyed Alex Martinez’s layoff up and over Knighton’s outstretched reach to give his team a lead they would not relinquish.
The Revolution upped the pressure after conceding, coming close to scoring but never actually bulging the net with an equalizer. Rowe went in behind off a Fagundez pass (64th) but had his bid saved by Hunter Gilstrap, while Okoli flashed a cross by Rowe wide (64th) moments later, and Neumann hit the crossbar on a freekick that was won on the edge of the penalty area by Rudy (69th).
“Our urgency in the first half wasn’t there,” Heaps added. “You can make plays out of heart and hustle and we didn’t quite do that. In the second half we started to do that. We felt like there was a goal in the game, but unfortunately we didn’t capitalize.
“Credit them, they did a great job. We were close a few times, but our chemistry was a little bit lacking and their guys were strong.”
Caldwell and Juan Agudelo came on as substitutes to settle the game down, but they didn’t have enough time to appropriately influence the game. Heaps used his final substitution to bring Zach Herivaux, an Academy product, for Daigo Kobayashi in the waning minutes of the game, but the offensive move produced very little.
“They defended well when they got back in their blocks of four,” said Neumann. “They did a good job at the end of the game closing the game out.”
Ultimately, the crowd of 2,763, which seemed to be in lively spirits to be watching their home team on a sun-splashed evening on the outskirts of Boston, dispersed quickly once the final whistle blew. So too did a slew of the Revolution’s starters, who were dressed in civilian clothes and were enjoying the match from the stands with friends and family.
This wasn’t part of the plan.
“I didn’t think we produced the full 90,” said Neumann. “I guess we focus on the league now.”
If you want to reach Julian email him at julianccardillo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @juliancardillo
