New England Revolution Ready for U.S. Open Cup
"We have to come with the right attitude, the right intensity, and match their intensity in what we’re expecting to be a crazy environment."
The New England Revolution begin their 2025 U.S. Open Cup journey in the fourth round with an inter-region matchup against Rhode Island FC and the club realizes just how special the tournament is.
Unlike soccer around the globe, the United States domestic league is played across a large continent. While clubs in Europe can notably travel rather easily using a bus, clubs in the United States are essentially required to travel by plane due to how long the average away match is.
Aston Villa had to travel the most miles in the English Premier League with 9,444 miles traveled through the 2024-25 season. The average club in 2019 traveled nearly 39,000 miles.
Even though Rhode Island and the Revolution don’t play in the same league, New England head coach Caleb Porter noted that proximity can helt to create a real rivalry.
“In MLS, we don’t really have a natural rival in terms of a rival that’s really close to us, per see,” Porter said. “You could say New York [Red Bulls], you could say Philadelphia [Union], but it’s not like Columbus and Cincinnati, it’s not like Portland and Seattle, and it’s not like the LA teams. In a lot of ways, this maybe becomes a little bit more of a real rival. Obviously, they [Rhode Island FC] are not in our league, but they were a good team last year. They made it to the [USL Championship] Final. All these guys want to be in MLS. It will be a difficult match. I’m looking forward to it.”
The match will also serve as an opportunity for the Revolution. Younger players will get the chance to show how they compare to talent in the USL Championship, and New England could earn a Concacaf Champions Cup spot if it wins the domestic tournament.
“We’re going to approach it like any tournament – we want to advance,” Porter said. “We understand there’s a [Concacaf] Champions Cup berth at stake, and it’s probably the easiest way to get one because it’s five games. But we’re going to also use it for development, a way to develop our depth. Players that haven’t been playing as much, we need to keep them sharp and in-form. We have a busy couple of months coming up where we’re going to need them, whether that’s off the bench of whether that’s in a midweek rotating them in. So, we’re going to use this game to continue to develop our depth, and then we’re going to use it to develop our young guys. We’re going to fill out the roster with Revs II players, some of the players that have been doing well for them. It’s a great chance to take a look at some of those guys and see where they’re at, for us.
One player who has been forced to watch from the sidelines is goalkeeper Alex Bono. Being brought in to backup Aljaz Ivacic, cup matches serve as a rare chance for Bono to get playing time.
But beyond simply gracing the pitch, the MLS veteran recognizes how special the Open Cup is with its storied tradition.
“It’s the oldest tournament that our country has to offer,” the goalkeeper said. “It’s a special tradition, it’s a really good way to connect with different leagues, and it’s a good measuring stick of where those leagues are at. You see it every year, there’s a bunch of teams – the ‘Cupsets’ that let those lower division teams move on and it’s a big game for them. We have to come with the right attitude, the right intensity, and match their intensity in what we’re expecting to be a crazy environment. And go out there and have some fun, and show what we’re made of.”
Predictions? Anyone?