FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (April 25, 2023) – The New England Revolution defeated Hartford Athletic, 2-1, in the third round of the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday night at Gillette Stadium. Justin Rennicks and Dave Romney provided the goals for New England, as goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. made four saves to lead New England into the Round of 32.  

Rennicks opened the scoring in the 13th minute with his second career U.S. Open Cup goal, heading home a cross off a tight angle a corner kick by fellow Revolution Academy product Damian Rivera in the 13th minute. Rennicks and Rivera were among a club-record five Homegrown Players to feature in the Revolution starting lineup, alongside Esmir Bajraktarevic, Noel Buck, and Jack Panayotou. Including last Saturday’s win over Sporting Kansas City in MLS play, this marks the second straight game all five players have appeared in a match. 

After Hartford forward Antoine Hoppenot equalized for the visitors in the 52nd minute, the Revolution brought in reinforcements, including Carles Gil and Dave Romney, off the bench. The duo linked up for the go-ahead goal in the 70th minute. Gil crossed the ball to the center of the six-yard box where Romney buried the shot for the winner. Gil’s assist marks the Revolution captain’s third helper in three U.S. Open Cup appearances.

New England’s resumes the MLS regular season on Saturday, April 29, when the top two teams in the MLS standings face off at Gillette Stadium. The first-place Revolution will put their six-game MLS unbeaten streak to the test against FC Cincinnati, who are off to an identical 6-1-2 start through nine games as they sit second in the Eastern Conference behind New England. Watch the 7:30 p.m. kickoff on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV in English and Spanish. Listen to Brad Feldman and Charlie Davies on 98.5 The Sports Hub (WBZ-FM), also available as an audio option on MLS Season Pass, and available nationally on SiriusXM FC. 

TEAM NOTES

• New England advances to the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 for the second consecutive season with Tuesday’s 2-1 win over USL Championship side Hartford Athletic.
• The Revolution improve to 5-0-1 at home across all competitions and are outscoring opponents 13-3 in Foxborough. 
• The Revolution improved to 10-3-3 against USL sides in Open Cup play, including a 7-2-1 mark at home.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Bruce Arena improved to 17-10-0 in U.S. Open Cup play, including a 3-2-0 mark with the Revolution.
• For the first time in club history, New England deployed a starting lineup featuring five Homegrown Players – Esmir Bajraktarević, Noel Buck, Jack Panayotou, Justin Rennicks, and Damian Rivera.
• Rennicks tallied his second career U.S. Open Cup goal in the 13th minute to open the scoring. The South Hamilton, Mass. native finished the night with a team-high three shots on target. 
• Rivera provided the assist on Rennicks’ opening tally, his fifth professional helper and first in U.S. Open Cup play. The 20-year-old midfielder from Rhode Island registered a team-high three chances created.
• Dave Romney tallied the winning goal for New England, scoring six minutes after entering the match as a substitute. The goal was his first for the club and his second in 15 career Open Cup matches. 
• Carles Gil provided the assist on the Romney’s goal, his third career Open Cup assist in as many tournament appearances and his 62nd Revolution assist across all competitions. 
• Earl Edwards Jr. saw his first action of 2023 and recorded four saves in the win. Edwards Jr. improved to 4-3-2 in his nine U.S. Open Cup appearances. 
• Dylan Borrero made his first U.S. Open Cup start after debuting in the competition last year, recording four shots with two on target. 
• 2023 MLS SuperDraft selection Joshua Bolma started at right back in his first minutes with the first team.

GAME CAPSULE
New England Revolution 2, Hartford Athletic 1
April 25, 2023 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)

Referee: Jeremy Scheer
Assistant Referees: Eric Schreiber (AR1), Thomas Felice (AR2)
Fourth Official: Katherine McCormick
Weather: 53 degrees and mostly cloudy

Scoring Summary: 
NE – Justin Rennicks 1 (Damian Rivera 1) 13’
HFD – Antoine Hoppenot 1 (Prince Saydee 1) 53’
NE – Dave Romney 1 (Carles Gil 1) 76’

Misconduct Summary: 
HFD – Juan Pablo Torres (Yellow Card – Tactical Foul) 30’
HFD – Jeciel Cedeño (Yellow Card – Unsporting Behavior) 36’
NE – Carles Gil (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 87’
HFD – Robin Lapert (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 90’+2

New England Revolution: Earl Edwards Jr.; Ben Sweat (Dave Romney 70’), Omar Gonzalez ©, Christian Makoun, Joshua Bolma (Brandon Bye 70’); Noel Buck, Jack Panayotou; Dylan Borrero (Andrew Farrell 85’), Esmir Bajraktarević (Carles Gil 71’), Damian Rivera (Emmanuel Boateng 71’); Justin Rennicks.

Substitutes Not Used: Djordje Petrović, Victor Souza. 

Hartford Athletic: Richard Sánchez; Robin Lapert, Triston Hodge (Andre Lewis 58’), Niall Logue ©, Kaveh Rad, Matthew Sheldon; Connor McGlynn, Jeciel Cedeño (Kyle Edwards 84’), Juan Pablo Torres (Daniel Barrera 70’); Antoine Hoppenot, Prince Saydee.

Substitutes Not Used: Joe Rice, Ashkanov Apollon, Luke Merrill, Tulu.

Full statistics available HERE.