Revolution Advance in the Open Cup Thanks to Rookies

The New England Revolution advanced in the US Open Cup after defeating the Richmond Kickers 3-2 on Wednesday night. The Revolution rookies were on full display as Steve Neumann and Patrick Mullins each earned an assist and a goal. Stephen McCarthy rounded out the scoring to help setup a fifth round meeting with the Rochester Rhinos.

The Revs got on the scoreboard in the 8^th minute when Neumann sent in a corner kick that was headed home by McCarthy. The goal was the first in any competition for the lanky defender since July 20, 2011. The play also served as the first professional assist for Neumann.

“Steve Neumann has always been able to hit a good free kick and when he’s in games we want him doing more of it,” Heaps commented. “Sometimes when we play short we want the dynamic guys, but if Neumann is going to put the ball in the box like that he’s going to be on the corners a lot more.”

The Kickers found a way to equalize in the 24^th minute. Jason Yeisley played instigator for the goal as he prevented a long ball from going out of bounds before making a crucial pass to George Davis IV. Davis made no mistake of the opportunity, firmly putting his shot behind Brad Knighton.

The Revs would regain the lead in the 35^th minute when Mullins collected a Diego Fagundez pass and then beat his defender to setup Neumann’s goal. The Georgetown product simply had to tap the ball into the back of the net as his late run went undetected by the opponent.

Mullins scored a goal of his own in the 39^th minute after a long ball from Knighton. The goalkeeper’s kick caused confusion among the defense which allowed Mullins to sneak in. Mullins punished the miscommunication by scoring his fifth goal of the season, his first in the Open Cup.

“He read that perfectly and never stopped running,” Heaps recalled. “The defender had a little bit of a miscue and didn’t realize where Mullins was. He tracked it down and then fought a defender off and scored an excellent goal.”

With the intense heat affecting players, both coaches looked to their benches in the second half. The Kickers made three changes at halftime by inserting Shay Spitz, Christiano Francois and Matt Delicate for William Yomby, Juan Arbelaez and Yeisley. The Revs took a more staggered approach as Charlie Davies entered for Lee Nguyen in the 61^st minute, Daigo Kobayashi for Mullins in the 67^th and Andrew Farrell for McCarthy in the 77^th.

Before the last substitution was made, the Kickers cut the lead by one. Delicate scored his 100^th career goal when he pushed in a cross offered by Davis in the 73^rd minute.

The Kickers looked for another goal, even sending their goalkeeper up during a late corner kick, but were unable to find one. As a result, the Revs won their inaugural match of the 2014 Open Cup and will now play the Rhinos on June 25^th at Stevenson Field in Providence, Rhode Island. The game is set to kickoff at 7:30.

(Image courtesy of Kari Heistad)