FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – It wasn’t a surprise to see Brad Knighton get the start as the New England Revolution’s goalkeeper in last week’s U.S. Open Cup meeting with the Carolina RailHawks. For years MLS clubs have relied upon their depth in the early rounds of that competition.

It was, however, a bit unexpected when Knighton maintained the starting job three days later when the Revs visited Vancouver Whitecaps FC, marking his first league appearance since last July.

Revolution head coach Jay Heaps explained the decision on Tuesday, saying that Knighton’s sharpness in training and his stellar five-save shutout against the RailHawks had earned the opportunity.

“We wanted to use the (Copa America) break to kind of assess that position and really look for one to push the other,” Heaps said. “I thought in terms of that, Brad was training really well and pushing Bobby (Shuttleworth).

“Brad got his chance in the Open Cup and really took it. I thought he did a great job in that game, saved us on two occasions where he pulled [a goal] back, really. That’s what we’re looking for from a goalkeeper when they get their chance.”

Knighton was again solid against the Whitecaps – earning Santander Man of the Match honors by making three saves and commanding his penalty area – leaving Heaps and the Revolution’s coaching staff with a decision to make ahead of this weekend’s visit to D.C. United.

Shuttleworth has been the Revolution’s number one for the past two-and-a-half seasons, making 77 starts during that time and leading the Revs to an MLS Cup appearance in 2014. But with Knighton impressing in a pair of appearances, he could be in line for a third straight start at RFK Stadium.

Either way, Heaps is thrilled to have both goalkeepers pushing each other.

“We’ll reassess it, but we like that competition because we want to get more out of each guy,” said Heaps. “I think when Brad is pushing Bobby and Bobby is pushing Brad, we get a little bit better there.”