vs.
Philadelphia Union vs. New England Revolution
July 8, 2014, 7 pm ET
PPL Park, Chester, Pennsylvania
The quarterfinals of the 2014 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup get underway Tuesday evening with an all-MLS clash between the Philadelphia Union and New England Revolution. Both teams are coming off losing efforts in MLS play this past weekend, but the Revs look especially worse for wear, now having lost four straight league games after a bright spring.
The Revolution do have the upper hand in terms of history in the tournament, having won their lone title in 2007. This is only the third year that the Union have played in the tournament proper, but they can match their semifinal run in 2012 with a win at home on Tuesday.
Philadelphia Union Outlook
Sebastien Le Toux loves playing in the US Open Cup.
And the Philadelphia Union love having him on their team for the historic tournament.
Now, after leading the Union to extra-time victories over the Harrisburg City Islanders and the New York Cosmos in early-round Open Cup games, Le Toux hopes more good things are in store for him and the team when they face the New England Revolution in a quarterfinal matchup at PPL Park on Tuesday.
“I hope [I score again],” Le Toux told MLSsoccer.com. “If I do, it means my team has a good chance to win. I hope tomorrow it’s going to happen and we move on to the next round.”
- Get the latest Union headlines at PhiladelphiaUnion.com
After a mostly quiet start to the season, Le Toux had two assists in Philly’s 3-1 win over Harrisburg on June 17 and added both goals in a 2-1 victory over the Cosmos a week later, matching the all-time scoring record in the modern era of the US Open Cup (1995-present) with 13 goals, many of which came during his stint with the Seattle Sounders when they were in the USL.
The Frenchman then followed that up with another two-goal effort in a 3-1 win over the Revolution when the Union returned to league play on June 28 – a game that marked the fourth time the Union played the Revs this year (including one in the preseason).
Tuesday’s matchup will be the fifth time the Eastern Conference rivals meet – and Le Toux is ready for it.
“We know each other very well,” he said. “It will be an exciting game to play.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
New England Revolution Outlook
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Short turnaround times and the Philadelphia Union are two things that the New England Revolution are becoming all too familiar with of late.
For the second time in 10 days, the two Eastern Conference rivals will square off, and the Revs have taken some notes from their 3-1 loss to the Union in what was Philadelphia coach Jim Curtin’s first MLS tilt.
“They did a nice job changing what they did tactically,” coach Jay Heaps told the media on Monday morning. “I thought [Cristian] Maidana did a nice job against us underneath. To me, that was a good move by Jim Curtin. You’ve got to credit the coach, because those are the same players and you put them in a little bit different position and it worked really well for them.”
- Get the latest Revolution headlines at RevolutionSoccer.net
Having that recent familiarity with the Union should benefit a New England side that was forced to game-plan for this Open Cup match with only one training day following their Friday night match at Salt Lake and the subsequent travel schedule.
Despite that, the team’s recent run of three matches in a 10-day span has familiarized them with the cramming process that is needed to get ready for Tuesday night.
“We knew it was coming, so we were prepared for it,” said Heaps. We’re going to have a good group ready to go. It’s the fourth time we’ve played them, so they know us, and we know them.”
