FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The top two teams in the Eastern Conference will square off on national television this weekend when the New England Revolution visit D.C. United at RFK Stadium.
The second-place Revs (6-4-6, 24 pts.) trail first-place United (8-5-4, 28 pts.) by four points entering another top-of-the-table clash, but New England does have a game in hand on their longtime rivals.
ESPN2’s coverage begins at 5 p.m. as part of MLS Soccer Sunday, while the radio call will be available in English on both 98.5 The Sports Hub and SiriusXM FC Channel 94, and in Portuguese on WMVX 1570 AM.
Current Form: Revs bow out of Open Cup in early rounds; DCU suffers back-to-back losses
Champions in 2007 and quarterfinalists each of the past two years, New England was bounced from this year’s installment of the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night following a 1-0 loss to the Charlotte Independence.
With an eye on next week’s hectic three-games-in-seven-days stretch from Sunday to Saturday, head coach Jay Heaps used a heavy dose of roster rotation against Charlotte, making nine changes to the side which beat the Chicago Fire in a league match last weekend at Gillette Stadium.
The result was a side which lacked chemistry, and although they came together late in the desperate search for an equalizer, they were unable to break through their resolute USL opponent.
“Obviously we would’ve liked to have gotten more guys in that game, but with three games in a week coming up, it was literally impossible from a fatigue standpoint,” Heaps said. “So we move on.
“There were obviously moments in that game that we want to take back, because I thought we could’ve been a lot better. There are players that did alright, and there are players that didn’t approach it in the right manner. But that said, we move on quickly and we use it as motivation going forward.”
DCU traveled to Pennsylvania midweek, advancing to the fifth round of the Open Cup with a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, although they required extra time after the USL side pushed them to the limit.
It was a welcome boost for Ben Olsen’s group, which has encountered some recent struggles in league play. United has suffered back-to-back losses for the first time this season – including a loss to Toronto FC at RFK Stadium which snapped a 20-game home unbeaten streak – and has gone just 2-4-1 in the last seven games.
Past Meetings: Nine-man Revs battled to draw with D.C. just four weeks ago
Despite playing the final 32 minutes with just nine men following red cards to both Lee Nguyen and Chris Tierney, the Revs battled to a 1-1 draw with D.C. four weeks ago at Gillette Stadium.
WATCH: Valiant nine-man Revs battle for a precious point against DCU
Charlie Davies put the Revolution in front on the stroke of halftime that night, and although Jairo Arrieta pulled the visitors level in the late stages after the pair of ejections, Heaps believes there are elements of that performance which will help the Revs as they prepare for Sunday’s rematch.
“I think you look closely at the first half and what we were able to do well, and what they were able to do well,” Heaps said. “So you look at that as at least a measuring stick.
“But at the same time, things have changed since then. The game itself was definitely turned on its side after the red cards. So there are moments in that game, but in terms of the complete spectrum, it’s probably a small piece.”
The Revs haven’t visited Our Nation’s Capital since last April, suffering a 2-0 loss at RFK Stadium. But overall they’ve found recent success in Washington, D.C., winning on three of their last six visits to the District.
Injury Report: Heaps and staff plan for the unknown through hectic stretch
With three games scheduled during a frenzied seven-day stretch, Heaps and the rest of New England’s technical staff are prepared to rotate their roster through the next week.
But while they have a general outline of how they’d like to handle these upcoming fixtures, they’re also cognizant of the fact that circumstances are likely to change throughout the course of the next seven days.
“You have to manage these three games,” Heaps said. “We have an idea and a plan of what we want to do, but each game itself is going to present different challenges. You can draw it out perfectly now, but something’s going to change on Sunday.
“So we go into it with the right mindset, but all preparation and all focus is on Sunday’s game. Then we’ll look at it and assess the situation and make the proper decisions for Wednesday.”
Final Thoughts: Davies says trip to D.C. will show Revs “how far we’ve come as a team”
“We have to refocus,” Davies said after the Revolution’s Open Cup exit. “Obviously it was a disappointing loss. It was a great crowd at Harvard. Unfortunately, we got knocked out.
“But it’s another big opportunity this weekend. For us, this is our biggest game of the season – in D.C., first place versus second place, on ESPN2. So we’re excited. This is where we can test ourselves and see how far we’ve come as a team. We’re looking forward to it.”
