Shorthanded Revs See Cup Run End With Defeat to Chicago Fire at Providence College
The Revs youngsters fall short in strong showing against Chicago Fire.
The New England Revolution fell 3-1 to the Chicago Fire Tuesday evening at Providence College, ending their run in the U.S. Open Cup.
New England, which entered the game unbeaten in seven matches across all competitions, rotated its entire starting lineup from Saturday’s draw against San Jose. Head Coach Caleb Porter utilized several Revolution II players to fill out the squad (Bono; Farrell, Omsberg, Hughes, McIntosh, Klein, Yueill, Oyirwoth, Bye, Butts, Oliveira).
Flying high after three consecutive victories in all comps, Chicago set forth a predominantly senior XI consisting of regular first-team starters. (Brady; Gutman, Elliott, Cupps, Glaslow, Acosta, Davilla, Kouame, Bamba, Cuypers, Haile-Selassie).
Revolution midfielder Eric Klein scored an own goal in the 38th minute to open the scoring following an unfortunate deflection on an attempted cross by Fire winger Jonathan Bamba. Klein got a piece of Bamba’s cutback from the left side of the box and watched the ball fly past Alex Bono at the near post.
The goal came before Chicago recorded a single shot in the match. The Fire kept more than 70% of possession in the first half, yet New England held a 3-0 edge in total shots.
The Revolution continued their strong showing in the second half, creating a few chances in the first 15 minutes, but failed to find the equalizing goal before the Fire doubled the lead.
Hugo Cuypers scored Chicago's second in the 69th minute, following what was nearly another own goal. Brian Gutierrez sent a cross in from the right wing that a Revs defender deflected off the crossbar and right into the path of Cuypers, who volleyed the ball into the bottom left corner.
Ten minutes later, the Fire put the match to bed with a third goal. Phillip Zinckernagel cut into the box on his right foot, beating a group of Revolution defenders and slotting a low strike into the bottom corner.
New England scored a consolation goal in the 89th minute after Marcos Dias's shot took a touch off a Chicago defender and into the back of the net.
Tuesday’s game was the Revolution's first at Providence College since 2017. It is not uncommon for MLS teams to play Open Cup matches at nearby colleges and venues to engage the community and combat lower attendance.
New England returns to MLS play on Saturday, traveling to Children’s Mercy Park to face Sporting Kansas City at 8:30 p.m.