{"id":46003,"date":"2017-07-12T14:15:21","date_gmt":"2017-07-12T18:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=46003"},"modified":"2017-07-12T14:16:53","modified_gmt":"2017-07-12T18:16:53","slug":"subplots-aplenty-for-nevny-usoc-tie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=46003","title":{"rendered":"Subplots Aplenty for #NEvNY USOC Tie"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo credit: Chris Aduama\/aduamaphotography.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Every rivalry match contains an added layer of drama when points are on the line. But when the shared history of longtime combatants extends itself to tournament play, well, there\u2019s usually no shortage of rich subplots.<\/p>\n

That sentiment certainly holds true for Thursday\u2019s U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal tie between the New York Red Bulls and New England Revolution, who\u2019ll renew acquaintances at Harvard University only nine days after the former handed the latter a last-gasp home loss.<\/p>\n

While some would pin the clash as a classic opportunity for the Revolution to seek revenge against the Red Bulls, the truth is there\u2019s far more at stake when the MLS originals battle for a semifinal spot.<\/p>\n

For New England, who punched their ticket to the quarterfinals after beating DC United in the Round of 16, the outcome of Thursday\u2019s match has the potential to carry serious reverberations for the rest of the year. <\/p>\n

A loss could signal the wholesale changes that could start at the top as coach Jay Heaps, whose club has lost four straight and currently sit in 10th place, has struggled to get the most from his talented group of young players.<\/p>\n

A win would, at very least, give Heaps and his group a temporary reprieve. The sentiment in New England was that the Revolution\u2019s run to last year\u2019s Open Cup final saved the seventh-year coach from getting sacked. <\/p>\n

But a quarterfinal triumph is far from certain given the state of the roster. The Revolution won\u2019t have Kelyn Rowe and Juan Agudelo at their disposal with both currently a part of the U.S.\u2019s Gold Cup tournament roster. The international tournament has also claimed last year\u2019s Open Cup hero Je-Vaughn Watson, who was called in for Jamaica National Team duty.<\/p>\n

On the other end of the pitch, New York, who booked their spot in the quarterfinals after beating Philadelphia on PKs two weeks ago, hasn\u2019t exactly defended its Eastern Conference crown in convincing fashion this season. They currently sit in seventh place in the east, a far cry from the success they enjoyed in 2016.<\/p>\n

Yes, last week\u2019s road win over the Revolution gave it some much-needed confidence going into Open Cup play. But the fact is they wouldn\u2019t qualify for the playoffs if the season ended today, so a quarterfinal victory could give them a crucial boost in league play.<\/p>\n

Similar to the fortunes of their foes, the Red Bulls are far from assured of a victory on Thursday. Key contributor Kemar Lawrence is in camp with Jamaica while long-term injuries to Mike Grella and Aurelien Collin will prevent them from aiding the Red Bulls cause come Thursday.<\/p>\n

One bright spot for both clubs: whoever comes out on top will face a lower-division side in the semifinal with the winner of Wednesday\u2019s Miami FC-FC Cincinnati tie on tap for the next round. <\/p>\n

Two beleaguered teams with one chance to potentially salvage disappointing years on the line. You want drama? Thursday\u2019s quarterfinal in the Commonwealth won\u2019t disappoint. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You want drama? Thursday\u2019s Revs-Red Bulls quarterfinal won\u2019t disappoint. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3],"tags":[891,1098,888,892,1283],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Revs-RedBulls-1.png?fit=600%2C415","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46003"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46003"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46008,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46003\/revisions\/46008"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}