Hello and welcome to raising anchor your podcast
and source for all things Rhode Island FC I'm
your host manager can coming to you on this Monday,
May 5th RFC opens the doors in front of a sold
out crowd at Central Bank Stadium in what was
a thrilling Neil Neil draw that proved once and
for all that Rhode Island is a soccer state We're
gonna go over that match and get you ready for
The preview of the open cup round of 32 against
the New England Revolution. Our good friend from
the Blazins must get Seth Maycomers going to
join us to preview that game. But for now, the
one and only Jason Carey. Jason joins us. Jason,
first, you're on time. You're late, but you're
also on time. How are you doing, my friend? I'm
doing great. You know, I think maybe still still
riding the high a bit from Saturday. You know,
that was it was as close to as perfect as you
could be. You know, one goal, I think maybe,
maybe would have make it, you know, quote, quote,
best day ever or something. But, you know, I
think that ultimately, you know, I don't know
if we could really ask for more. Um, not the
result we necessarily wanted, but maybe the result
we deserved. Right. Good. I don't know about
that. I mean, we were, we were knocking on the
door in that final 20 minutes. The rain there
and the rainbow at the end and, you know, You
know the draw Kings return for a brief visit
It just felt like we had to have a draw right
like we forgot where we came from for a moment
there We drew and burned of course. We were gonna
draw at Centerville Bank Stadium Yeah, that rainbow
signified a lot to me It showed the kind of the
fair weather fans literally that's not a that
is upon but also literally like the rain starts
coming down and people start Vacating the the
stadium trying to get under some of the protection
and then the soccer sickos are like This team's
got five minutes left. I'm gonna give them all
five minutes of my of my life soaking here in
the rain You know, we'll talk about the roof
and actually I had an interview with Brett Johnson,
which we'll release in the coming weeks We talked
about that as part of the strategy for phase
two of Centerville Bank Stadium But listen, we've
got a very tight show because we have a guest
coming on and we have to be mindful of their
time So we can talk at length about the stable.
We'll touch into a little bit more here in a
second, but let's get straight into this news
here Big, big things coming out of last Friday.
Another defender signing with the club. We've
got our, you know, I think CB number seven now.
We went from CB four to CB seven in a matter
of weeks. Let's what do we need to know about
about IMA? Yeah, so RFC just signed IMA Mavika.
If you hadn't noticed they announced this last
Friday for the 2025 season pending league in
Federation approval. The experienced 26 -year
-old defender reunites with a pair of former
teammates in the Ocean State and brings 50 Major
League Soccer appearances across Stints with
InterMiami, CF and Toronto FC, hashtag non -MLS
podcast. Mbica spent the last two seasons with
MLS Club Toronto FC making 20 starts and 33 appearances
during that stretch and logging nearly 2 ,000
minutes with the Canadian club. Prior to his
time up north the Zambia native spent two seasons
with Inter Miami First team after being selected
as the 26 overall pick in the 2021 MLS super
draft He began his career in 2021 with Inter
Miami 2 formerly for Lauderdale CF who used to
play in USL League 1 I think at the time Playing
alongside current RFC defender Frank Nodarse
making 14 appearances for Miami Reserve during
the 2021 U .S .L. League One season. Forest Time
is a professional. Mabika enjoyed a five -year
collegiate career at the University of Kentucky,
spending three seasons playing alongside current
RFC midfielder Clay Holstead, earning multiple
accolades along the way. Good to see there's
already some chemistry there between Frank and
Clay. Yeah, you know, a lot of people were worried
how would a player come in this late integrate
into this team and already a connection to kind
of that right side in terms of the midfield there
on the on the defensive side with Frank Nadar
say really exciting to see this prospect. You
know, another thing I remember fans that were
either rooting for RFC to fail or questioning
how we had been so successful in that post. You
know playoff run. It was looking back at the
amount of MLS depth. We really had in the team
Mabika now kind of just adding to that, you know,
and I'll be honest He's not it was just also
temper expectations. He is not necessarily a
dug in replacement I just want to be clear both
in position as well as you know qualities and
skills We're gonna have to wait and see kind
of what his game is producer torn had mentioned.
He's a very tactical very smart defender I talked
with Kano last week during practice about the
arrival of Mabika and I asked, like, could we
see him on the weekend for the home opener? And
he was really upfront and transparent about saying
that because he's an international and that his
playing certificate is with Toronto still, even
though he's a free agent, he was still going
to be waiting on that ITC or that international
transfer certificate to move from Canada into
the United States. There was a couple of jokes
back and forth about tariffs and whatnot, and
Conno didn't take the debate on that one. So
that's the only thing we're worried about. I
asked if there could be any slowdown in the expediting
of that ITC, and he said that usually working
with a country like Canada, those things happen
pretty quick. I couldn't pin him to saying, would
Mabika be ready for... The open cut match this
Wednesday, but you know, he said that they move
fast. So there's probably some intent and some
desire to see him be available for selection.
You know, maybe the bench. I don't think he'll
get a start right away, but we could see him
as early as this Wednesday for his first appearances
in front of a home crowd. And I may is tall,
like legit, super tall. We're both pretty tall
dudes. Yeah, we're 6 '3, 6 '4 on a good day.
Yeah, he towers over us. I remember we took a
picture with him. He was walking around the stadium
We met so many cool people so many great people
at the stadium and I tried to get the picture
and He's I couldn't get him in the shot And so
he's like do you want me to take it and he took
it and just you know And from the angle like
you don't realize how much further back, you
know, it's that depth thing But yeah, but he
got very very tall dude Interesting to see how
he'll fit in the starting 11 right now. It's
a position of need. We have these injuries. We
have these depth problems But if we get healthy
come end of July, we're something going to have
a real tough fight on our hands when it comes
to coaches' game day selections. You think down
the road, since this isn't a loan, since this
isn't a 25 -day contract, is this going to create
problems for us? Or is that a tomorrow problem?
That's kind of a tomorrow problem. At this point,
we need to get through these next couple of months,
it looks like, where we're going to be kind of
light till maybe Early mid -summer depending
on how you want to look at it until we kind of
get everyone back And the reality is injuries
are going to continue to happen So hopefully
not all at once like right now that we're dealing
with so Plenty of games. You know if we continue
in some of these cup competitions, there's going
to be plenty more games for rotation So moving
on to the next bit of news, your ID Inc., which
is such an interesting name, they announced today
the first ever international soccer friendly
that's going to be held at Centerville Bank Stadium.
And it's set to take place on Sunday, June 1st,
2025. Don't worry, everyone. This does not compete
with a Rhode Island FC match. That one will be
on Saturday, the day before against the Riverhounds
away. So you'll be able to get All types of soccer
in on your on your soccer weekend there. This
landmark match is going to feature the men's
national teams of Puerto Rico and Nicaragua.
So Isaac Yankees home team coming into town and
it's scheduled to kick off at 4 p .m. This is
a big deal for these two teams as they get ready
for competition in conca cap to earn one of the
remaining, you know World Cup qualifier spots
within conca cap. So many of those are kind of
already It's deluded in the sense that with three
teams in conca -calf already getting a top -seated
berth It makes it a little bit more challenging
for the remaining group selections within the
conca -calf league So these are kind of extra
special moments and it's gonna be exciting. Your
idea is gonna be putting on a first of its kind
soccer event at Centerville Bank Stadium They're
gonna have fan a fan fest kind of like what rodeo
NFC does They're gonna have a pregame session
with live music, you know vendors. This isn't
gonna be just show up and watch soccer. They're
trying to make an entire production of it. I
can tell you that they already have the pre -sale
available. Someone wrote the code on our Twitter
account. I can't multitask, so I don't know what
it is. If someone wants to pull the Twitter or
if they know the pre -code, I'll throw it up
on the screen right now. But there is a discount,
so really important. If you are interested in
going to that game, as long as you purchase tickets
either today, Or tomorrow you'll get 15 % off.
So don't wait if you want to go see it and it's
going to be a really big deal. There's a lot
of Puerto Ricans that live within Rhode Island.
I think this is a great way to start the fan
base off, get people excited and what better
way to bring an international team in than that.
So are you going to go? I think I'll try and
go. Silly question, right? Of course you're going
to go. When I look at this and like part of me
wants and King to play it in front of his crowd,
but the other the RFC half of me is like I'm
not Puerto Rican. I don't care about that. But
like I would be a big deal for him. Oh, yeah,
and like I want him to have that but You know,
I will I just want RFC to do well and You know,
he's he's been struggling with injury and you
know, if he's not ready, he's not ready Matthew
Jean writes in the pre code might be your ID
pre so why oh you are ID PR E so go use that
and get your 15 % off and like you said, I I
really want him to succeed I'd love to see him
be able to there'd be nothing more special Maybe
he just dresses though because like we need him
back so bad I mean I'm sure dress up on for like
the last few minutes just to jog around the pitch
Yeah, exactly Exactly. But we got to move on
for the sake of time. So let's get into this
overall experience and recap of the game against
San Antonio. Jason, first and foremost, let's
get through this stadium. I mean, we could do
a whole another hour and a half podcast on just
the overall. Experience the overwhelming sensation
of seeing that many people ten thousand seven
hundred fans in attendance So they were over
their city their seating capacity there were
standing room only tickets number one attended
us on match of the weekend We could not get tickets
into the pressable tickets We couldn't get spaces
into the press box because there was so much
there were so many journalists there cover I
mean to be clear. I want to be really courteous
to RIC communications. They absolutely offered
to bend over backwards for us, but we don't write
in the moment. So we didn't need the amenities
that way. Yeah. No, they still took care of us.
We had our own space. It was just not, you know,
it's not the process. I love the seats. Yeah,
it was fantastic. I was in the shade. So I was
worthy to burn. No, it was a fantastic showing
overall. What were your big takeaways about the
overall experience at that stadium? You've been
to the stadium numerous times. I'd actually only
first been when we did the the food event thing.
Yeah. So I was really impressed with how with
how everything went. I think that it's as close
to as perfect as you can get. I think there's
always going to be a few things that people can
kind of nitpick on here and there. I think when
we extrapolate it to the whole experience is
like as a whole package. Everyone was afraid
parking was going to be a nightmare. I didn't
hear any complaints about parking. It didn't
seem like it was that big of a deal. I think
that there was so many different options and
ways to get there. We even took the... I mean,
we got the early park, but then we used the bus.
We got there at like 10 .45 in the morning, and
they were turning us away from places because
we got there too early. I wanted to get B -roll,
so yeah, we did the bus the fun. But the crazy
thing is we were not the only people. There was
a lot of other people already there. So and we
took the bus the defines route up into the M7
lot Yeah, we thought we got on the train one
by accident. So that was a learning curve as
well Now it was it was a great time, you know
speaking about that 430 kickoff or the speaking
of parking I should say get this in order here
one of the reasons that the game was actually
You know kind of moved back is there was there
was some you know Concerns that people couldn't
get into the stadium on time and they wanted
to make sure that everyone Was able to find their
seat and be available in that stadium to watch
the opening ceremonies of the game So a little
bit of planned deliverance and making sure I
know that not everyone kind of understood that
so they were certainly like 30 minutes going
I thought this was I thought this kickoff was
at 4 p .m. But you know looking back on it. That's
the way you have to do it That's that contingency
where you want to be like, okay? i need to i
need to understand how are we going to be best
set up for success and i think it worked because
how many times it burned last season did we get
15 minutes in the game before people would kind
of meander and find their seats it was it wasn't
problematic because everyone enjoys the game
at their own pace at their own speed but being
able to see 10 500 strong in their seats at kickoff
with the helicopter flyover i mean fireworks
it was just spectacular yeah for the occasion
i definitely i don't think they're they're not
gonna start every game thirty minutes later there's
a learning curve for a lot of the the newer soccer
fans if you will that. These games are kind of
prompt right you so if anything you want to get
there a little early if you if you want to get
yourself something to drink some snacks and kinda
get yourself settled in because. When it hits
four you maybe got a few minutes of the opening
ceremony and then boom the game starts Yeah,
we got to move on but so many people came up
and said hi from coach Conno's mom found me in
the crowd came over gave me a hug We took a picture.
We saw Nate Silvera there asked him how he was
doing at the police academy. He's doing great
Ran into Noah's parents. I ran into all the families
Someone told me there was a Gabby Alva sighting.
So I was like looking around Ramp it for him
but other than he reached out like no, I couldn't
make the game but he had wanted to go up so just
really exciting we'll talk more about it in the
weeks to come. Anyone that has a really personal
experience that they want to share some moment
of pride let us know in the comments will put
it up for people to read along but we do have
to move on. I will say that I made a promise
to a little girl and I told us that we know that
chip is an avid listener of the show. And we
told her we would move the message along. So
Chip, as you're listening, we need to somehow
figure out how to get chip, chip, hooray, incorporated
into celebrating you as a mascot. I think when
he heads over to Defiance, I mean, that's just,
they just, that becomes a champ. We, we, we,
we just, we just move, we move the, we move the
message along. We don't, we don't make them,
like I want to make sure that's organic and that
people don't go, here's Matt and Jason imposing
that, well, this was a little girl, a wonderful
little girl who wants to hear chip, chip, hooray
with her favorite mascot. at request of her.
Yeah, of course. Of course. All right. So let's
get into this game recap itself. You know, it's
it's been 189 days since we saw a home game in
front of home fans. Not a lot was able to happen.
Unfortunately, we do end up still in 10th place
with the Neil Neil draw. So didn't really move
up or down in the Eastern Conference. But overall
thoughts, just quick impressions of the match
overall. Yeah, a bit rough there. You know, draw
Kings are back. I I went re like went back and
rewatched like some of the game In the second
half, I'm like, I I don't know how we didn't
score there There are so many there were so many
chances. I think that on a on a different day
we put one of those away um San Antonio maybe
wasn't incredibly threatening. It's not to say
that they didn't have some opportunities and
You know We ended up was able to kind of shut
them down the few times that they did venture
forward. I think maybe to a certain extent, I
don't know if they completely showed up to play
soccer. It very felt like when they realized
the way that the ref was going to call the game,
they were maybe taken full advantage of that.
Absolutely. I mean, we were also depleted, right?
Eight players unavailable. Six injured one red
card suspension and one still pending the registration
with the league so Considering how well the team
did I think that overall like I'm not I'm not
upset. I would have loved to have a win there
to celebrate with the fans, but like It wasn't
a boring nail -nail draw if anything How do you
how do you rank this game across the five regular
season games we've played so far? It's it's hard
to like rank them. But I think when you look
at how well some of the players did specifically,
right, I mean, you know, Sanchez was just Sanchez
had a phenomenal game. And I don't mean all your
Sanchez. I mean, Richard Richard Sanchez from
the gold San Antonio. Like he was he was keeping
San Antonio in that match. So. I think what's
important here is that we saw the resilience
from the team. We saw them fight back. We've
been concerned that maybe this team is a first
half only team, but we saw a really good fight
from there in the second half, especially because
the first half was maybe a little dull at times.
It was just constant fouling to a certain extent,
and they couldn't really get it going until that
second half there. Yeah, I think that the fouling
though, you know, I think you said a minute ago
credit to the San Antonio for the gamesmanship
of selling the meals out of the opportunities
they had Had ref Alissa Nichols really had a
tough time on on managing this game, you know
There was arguments for a PK each direction.
First one was against them or was for Alde or
Sanchez in the box. I didn't see enough of it
to warrant it. And likewise, the one where I
think it was a grieve that went down. Just I
wasn't convinced, but you saw these teams go
at each other early on with a lot of attitude,
a lot of pushing and shoving. And then once they
got the game going, it felt like every bit of
contact was just, you know, especially from the
San Antonio side, just kind of selling it. Coach
Conno very frustrated with the refing in this
game. I don't know how they're going to do it
in the future, but there might be some damage
control they need to worry about with how closely
the sideline is mic'd. They may need to think
about moving those mics to the side. I went back
and listened to the broadcast and you could hear
Coach Conno. the entire time from the amount
of f bombs that he dropped to everything in between.
He was very frustrated with Nichols. Even if
you watch the highlights, there's no, you know,
profanity in there, but you can hear Miellen
on the side being unhappy with with Files being
called. I mean, he was yelling at his player.
I mean, he's a passionate coach. He's a he's
a coach that like is trying to always make his
team the best that it can be. But specifically
back to Nichols, you know, he was picked up multiple
times on the mic saying that she can't keep stopping
the game like this. She's killing the momentum
of her team. RFC really wanted to take as many
of the quick whistles as possible before San
Antonio could grow into the game It felt like
RFC wanted to try to do something those first
15 minutes and and Nichols kind of kept getting
in the way and then I remember one point a little
deeper into the game You know Conor just said
you know She's having way too much influence
on this game because of the way she's starting
and stopping and that no one came to see her
She needed to stop inserting herself as kind
of like that main character energy So it was
it was a tough thing to see but you know credit
san Antonio This is what makes them so dangerous
on the road. This is why they haven't lost the
game yet this season When they're traveling away
because they are a difficult team when they're
not shooting Which they you know, we'll talk
about that here in a second But san Antonio were
kind of the heels of of the I guess they might
be the heels of the west this year They might
be the Detroit city, but it was definitely a
frustrating first 30 minutes, especially the
first 15 for Rhode Island of Sea. Yeah. I think
one thing we should highlight here is we talked
a few minutes ago about here of like when you
have this big squad, right? And if some of these
players start performing, you put yourself in
a kind of a headache situation, right? Well,
I think we need to give Amos Shapiro Thompson
his due. We weren't really sure, like, What exactly
type of player he was right? He was injured for
a lot of last year. He started making some kind
of cameos here and there and There's definitely
a bit of a bite to him kind of like almost like
a bit of a bulldog there You know, he he had
a lot of spirit and fight, but we didn't really
know how or where he fit into the team But he
had a phenomenal performance this match. I think
he was maybe wearing a Angolo Conte jersey underneath
because he was, he was all over the pitch, right?
He was, he was that kind of like industrious,
hardworking midfielder who would just get where
he needed to go after the ball, pick it up. He
was winning tackles. He was distributing the
ball well and just constantly fighting to keep
the team in. And I just think that, you know,
seeing that he could do this, like if he can
do this again, like our midfield has been a very
strong point in the squad, right? So like. You're
not gonna take off Hervo. You're not gonna take
off Holstad. You're not gonna take off Rodriguez,
but Well, how good AST performed if he continued
if he can per replicate that performance You're
gonna want to get him some some minutes in there
maybe even some starting minutes if that continues
Yeah, I mean, let's talk about the starting 11,
you know It wasn't exactly the roster that I
think people expected to see on the game day
And it was a pleasant surprise, you know going
back to that AST moment there. Okay, Vegas in
the net Coach Kano definitely kind of continuing
the evolution now of this 4 -2 -3 -1 or some
kind of Morphosis of at least that back four
line you saw all day your Sanchez out at left
back with Grant Stoneman and then Zach Haribo
being the player we dropped back We weren't sure
if we'd see Zach or clay in there So Zach Haribo
slots into that center back roll Surprisingly
too because the team naturally starts to move
forward as a back three Zach was the center of
the center back. So he was kind of the anchor
and the pivot for the back line instead of Grant
Stoneman. So that was exciting to see. Rio Hope
Gunn gets his second start in this team now and
in two consecutive games, the double pivot. So
Amish Shapiro Thompson dropping back into more
of a defensive or full CM instead of where we've
seen a more kind of the tip of the spear in the
midfield partnered alongside Clay Holstead. Then
you had that midfield three of Joe Burrito out
on the left wing. I don't know that we've seen
Joe ever out on the left side like that. Typically
he hugs the right Maxi Rodriguez in that attacking
midfielder role and Joe J. Acuasera continue.
his right side. And that was the interesting
part, right? Like, you know, Joje is a natural
left wing. Why we didn't see those two switch.
Coach Conno knew that probably Quasaro was needed
more for his shooting than his crossing and passing.
Also, with how well it did against Westchester,
I think we might, we might continue to see him
play in that position. And I know that Amos Shapiro
Thompson was the man of the match for Defiance.
I think it was well earned and well fought. But
I also do have to agree with Torren that, you
know, Joje and Quasaro's contribution on the
day was second to none. I mean, he's just Becoming
such a such a problem for defense on the opposite
team when it comes to the way he builds up his
attack Whether he's gonna be redistributing the
ball or just going in he looked really dangerous
No, if you saw him the lone striker up there,
he struggled on the game pretty much But not
because of anything where it was his fault. He's
just not a striker He's not that player that
you're gonna want stationary in the midfield
to collect balls He's better when he's at pace
when he's at speed out on the wings. And so,
you know, he was doing a role that You know he
did the best that he could but in reality It's
not his preferred spot and we saw when chico
came on in the 60th minute We saw immediately
what the transformation of that could look like
when we had a striker kind of jump on board I
do want to say real hope gun, you know with those
two starts now undefeated as long as he is starting
on the team So that is exciting to see continued
headaches for conno when everyone else gets when
everyone gets healthy It's gonna be it's gonna
be a real problem. You know the only other thing
I guess I would ask is You know, is this the
team that we thought we would see on the day
or is this just the circumstance of the people
that we had available? Are you surprised time
who didn't get the start over amus or joe? I'm
a little surprised in the sense that maybe we've
seen time a lot more But considering how well
Shapiro Thompson performed I like You know, I'm
very happy with what we saw like you said the
roster itself is very much a It's it's the circumstances
weren't right there. There was not even a full
bench with two keepers on the bench. So You know,
I'm happy with with what we saw out there would
have loved to get a win But at least we didn't
lose and then kind of talking through really
quickly the two big talking points because it's
it's hard to unpack a lot of things that are
no performance But kind of going through these
rapid fire. I do want to talk about the defensive
actions and the saves from coke You know, he
wasn't really heavily challenged on the night
only facing two shots, but they were the two
most important shots to keep Rhode Island FC
in this game. First, the early, what I think
is going to be an early save of the year contender,
when Jimmy Adron to tries to do that lob in like
the 34th minute, 35th minute, trying to catch
Vegas, who, who likes to range. He's a little
bit far forward out the box. Koke tracks back
like a, like a baseball outfielder fully extends
and just, you know, pushes the ball away from
the net. Incredible. incredible opportunity there.
And then, of course, he takes on the one -on
-one later in the game, shuts down the lane after
a pretty, pretty damaging Stoneman giveaway,
which, you know, it felt very reminiscent of
the Zac Carrivo goal against Westchester and
just shows up really big. But just not on top
of the Coque Vegas saves themselves, the defense
really played out of their minds. And it might
not have felt like it because the game wasn't
really as crispy as we could have seen. There
were over 257 instances of lost possession in
this game. These teams were stumbling through
each other a lot of the way. Part of that, again,
was probably the head ref. Part of it was getting
used to this turf, especially once it started
getting wet. Clumsiness and a little bit of risky
turnovers created a lot of dangerous attack.
It was still an exciting game And I think both
of these teams really had some good looks but
just didn't come through so credit to coca Vegas
on those clean sheets on this clean sheet and
that defensive move from El Capitan any thoughts
on coca overall No, he he did well when he was
called upon his distribution was good as always
So I mean what more can you ask from him? I will
say this, you know, on top of the defensive work,
it was the first time the Western Conference
leaders were held scoreless. It's their first
game where they have not scored a goal. So credit
to the defense. In fact, San Antonio only had
six touches in our box the entire match. So we
definitely kept them, they kept them at bay as
best they could. And I think it was a really
good admirable defensive performance. Are you
ready to pay? Okay. Vegas is a lobster roll tab.
How dare you? Hey, you got to start showing up
to the practice sessions. Otherwise, I'm gonna
use your name as I see fit clearly at work there
Jason without you We wouldn't have gotten a cheat
It's I guess it's worth it at this point. Where
do you think he's gonna go for his lobster rolls
with his wife? Hmm. I don't know. I'm not I'm
not sure. Do you think he do you think he's a
uh, a cold lobster roll guy or that's that's
what i'm gonna i'm gonna have to ask him before
we we fund his uh, his dinner or his lunch with
his family is we have to know if you think i
think he's a hot i think he's a hot lobster guy
i don't think he's a cold but if he is a cold
i won't hold that against him either i mean both
are good i'll eat both of them i i kind of want
to trick him into going we will go with you to
have lunch so that you know we get out we get
something out of it too but as long as the price
on the lobster roll isn't market price you know
there's an actual dollar amount You know you're
going to be paying $40 a pipe here, but yeah,
that's what you deserve You got to start showing
up these practices and contribute more to this
podcast Jason. That's on you. Um, my job Final
kind of touch point on the night want to talk
about Chico's return big time. It wasn't a positive
We were speculating could we see him return to
the bench? He looked healthy, but you know, we
weren't sure if he was quite ready for a match
he puts in a 30 minute performance, but Even
with the and he had some amazing looks like there
was probably the one where he headed it on and
it just didn't it went a little too wide But
there still seems to be some scoring opportunities
We talked last week about the importance of JJ
Williams in terms of the offensive Contribution
and what would I NFC what their score lines typically
look like when JJ is running on all cylinders
right now This RAFC team has now failed to score
in four of their six games No team is worse off
when it comes to that kind of stat, you know
We talked about how when this team gets to the
15 to 20 shot range, normally things kind of
unlock. They had 16 shots, five on target. Maxi
led the charge. Again, he was doing a phenomenal
amount of work. It just didn't seem to fall into
place. Is there something more that we need to
look through on this, or is this just things
will work themselves out and just getting out
of the Centerville Bank Stadium jitters? Sometimes
it just happens like that. I wouldn't be too
concerned about it. If it continues, then you
start to see a trend. Well, then maybe there's
a little more to it. But maybe to a certain extent,
even for them, like maybe the nerves got to them
a little bit. So I think I'm happy with the performance.
You know, I think it's good, the momentum that
we've been kind of slowly building up here after
maybe a bit of a rocky start. Things are potentially
looking pretty good on the horizon here once
everyone kind of gets healthy, get back together
as a squad. Yeah. I still think this draw. is
everything you expected out of it, just one or
two pieces of a little more clinical finishing
and this ship is ready to go. During the press
conference, Coach was very impressed with the
team, was very proud of the effort put in. Really
appreciated the hard work across everyone that
had delivered, not just the stadium, but that
game day experience. I mean, it really truly
was a core memory now for myself and I hope many,
many, I hope 10 ,700 people along with us. So
it was just an exciting way. Really fun fact,
you know, he had mentioned how San Antonio didn't
set up the same way that they had been preparing
for and planning So not sure how much of that
went into it, but I also really enjoyed one of
the one of the people in the press room Jim from
false and a webbo He asked about what it was
like playing against his former New England Revolution
teammate and Carlos Yamosa Had no idea that they
were former revs team players together. This
was really exciting to bring back the 2005 New
England Revolution there for a minute Yeah, they
must have been I think you most so was on kind
of towards the end of his career trajectory I
think he's almost oh, he's over a decade older
than yeah, I mean Carlos Carl I think he moved
on to Shiva's USA for his retirement So yeah
conno ever much the the young impression of a
winger talking to the the defender and you know
kind of for I'd say maybe guy who held it but
in the back for new England Revolution there
So exciting to see you know, it's again It's
a small world. Soccer connections run deep, and
apparently everything points through the New
England Revolution, which is a perfect segue
into moving into our guest joining us for the
New England Revolution versus Rhode Island FC
Open Cup match in the round of 32 here at Centerville
Bank Stadium this Wednesday. And who could ask
for more than the one and only Seth Micomer,
who points by the way, not only is he the senior
editor, But he's also a co -host of Rebels Should
Be Happened. And that's a feature that you've
not been covering the Rebs for over 10 years
now? Wow, you really know how to quickly Google
and find information. Yes, over 10 years. I think
it's like 13 years or something like that. But
yeah, I love being a part of this show. I really
appreciate all you guys are doing out on Rhode
Island. I was at the game this weekend with my
five -year -old kid. He absolutely loved it.
We then went up to Portland the next day, so
we are a soccer family going to bring him and
maybe he'll be a junior reporter for the Blazing
Musket. Seth, is it going to be difficult? You've
now seen these two hyper -local soccer communities.
Is it going to be almost artificial when you
have to go back to Gillette? I guess not this
weekend, but maybe the next weekend when you
have to cover the revs from an NFL stadium. You
guys, this is becoming like a big thing. Like
you guys want to poke things as much as possible
to try to get this rivalry big, which is great.
I mean, I think in this soccer world, you want
rivalries, right? You want these things to be
meaningful. And it's only meaningful if the fans
make it meaningful. Like, you know, you see so
often rivalries are trying to be forced. It's
constantly this question of who is the rival
for the New England Revolution. And the reality,
it just really hasn't come up much. When the
league was smaller, you know, the Houston Dynamo
because of all the playoffs and DC. United. And
there's been this little bit of a force thing
with the Philadelphia Union, because we played
them so much during the COVID years. But I think
that this will be really exciting, because you
guys down in Rhode Island really want to make
this a rivalry. And there's definitely an itch
to see what happens on Wednesday night. I always
thought that the rival right now for the New
England Revolution was Mer -Woo in Boston. But
sometimes I get my sources a little mixed up
there. Depends who you ask. It could be the crafts,
too. There's been different articles and different
theories on those things. I will say this though,
you know, Seth, I know we haven't had a chance
in a while to connect. You know, one of the best
parts of these band bases right now really is
though, that there are people that are going
to be going down that are fans of both teams,
right? Like that's the reality of it. This is
a very rare occurrence. This is not something
we may see very often. So, you know, Rivalry
I think is fun in the terms of the charged circumstance
of the shiny new thing that is us at Rhode Island
FC versus You know the group and full credit
to the revolution I mean they've been holding
down the soccer landscape for you know What is
it now 26 years in MLS is that the is that the
no 30 30 30 years there man I can count guys
I can count 30 years in the MLS I mean full credit
to that team where it was a barren wasteland
of at least professional Soccer until these things
all came in line So you have to pay your respect
you have to pay it to the heritage of what the
revolution have done And I'll be really interested
to see how fans react and respond to that when
they come to when they come to Centerville Bank
Stadium this weekend Anything else real fast
before we get going like any initial thoughts
or you know impressions of that match that you
got to see in person Seth Yeah, that was great
My kid was really excited. The fan zone right
next to the water was really a cool opportunity
for him. He grabbed anything free that he could
possibly have. He then showed it off the next
morning to mom and brother and brother immediately
says, I want those things. I want to meet Chippy.
All those types of good things. I think we're
still waiting in the line for chicken fingers.
I think that line is a little bit longer than
some of the lines at Gillette Stadium. But yeah,
other than that, I'm sure that thing is going
to be worked out. I'm sure they're aware of it.
Obviously, that's max capacity. That's beyond
max capacity, right? Because you were selling
standing tickets for that game. No, I really
enjoyed the game. I was six rows back. I'll be
down again for sure. I think to your bigger point,
The more soccer that you can see in New England,
I think the better. My kid is getting older.
He's super into it. We were up in Portland on
Sunday night. Highly recommend you guys make
the trip up there at some point. The atmosphere
they had was electric. I don't know if you saw
the stuff I posted on social media or other people.
6 ,000 people for the inaugural game, all clapping
in unison saying the same thing. And I'm not
sure how many stadiums that happens, certainly
in New England where every single person is on
the same page and it's really electric. So I'm
all for the growth of soccer everywhere. I think
the more soccer the better and make it accessible
and fun for everyone involved. Yeah, absolutely
and and that's really going to kind of crescendo
I think here with this open cup match So kind
of just getting straight into it Jason, you know,
we've been talking at length about the proximity
of these two teams when it comes to usl to MLS
comparisons How how significant now is this?
I mean we have no we have no dog in the MLS part
of this right? We were never revolution fans
from the beginning So we didn't have our allegiances
tested here, but looking at the overall landscape.
How significant is this? Yeah, I think that the
proximity thing is is kind of a big interesting
I don't know if like I don't say issue but You
know Rhode Island is very close to Foxboro. So
there's probably a lot of conflicted fans here
who Now have their own team at home Granted they
don't play in the same league and in some people,
you know, I'll say soccer snob or something but
there's there's can be differences in quality.
I think to the average regular fan who doesn't
watch either leagues, they probably couldn't
tell. But, you know, to the sickos like us, we
have to admit, there is a difference in quality
to a certain extent. So some of them won't necessarily
have to make a choice. At least I would hope
they would on Wednesday, maybe. I really don't
want to see those split kits and split scarfs.
Like I'm absolutely not a fan of those, but long
term. I think when we think about the soccer
landscape, Portland, Maine now has a team. Sure,
they don't play all the time, but Vermont Green.
All of the New England states now have their
own teams to a certain extent. So with the Revs
trying to claim all of New England in terms of
fandom, I don't know how that's going to look
long term. If all of New England gets You know,
like Seth said, if everyone's getting into soccer,
that's better for everyone. But at the same time,
a lot of their fan base has accused the ownership
of the team not caring enough about their team.
So if everyone else starts doing well, I think
they could run into an issue where they could
be losing fan base. Yeah. And I mean, the reality
is this too right in open cup. you're watching
it the way some people watch NASCAR, you're looking
for the car crashes, you're not looking for the
performance. The magic of the cup, if you will.
Right. And, you know, but cup sets are far and
few between, right? This is now a depleted USL.
Unless you're a Farrarolito, you just do it every
day. Even their journey ended, right? So you're
looking now at a USL championship side, preparing
to take on almost full strength MLS team that
has an MLS2 reserve system that they they can
go from. They can draw from the well because
their next pro team did not enter this tournament.
So when we start thinking about this logically
and strategically, there are some predictable
outcomes that I think we can start kind of basing
our predictions on. But what I think is really
important, and I think of the significance of
this, And Seth, I'd love to be corrected from
what you've seen over the last two or three years.
It seems that the fan base for the revolution
have just grown tired over a certain amount of
things that have been happening at the club beyond
the performance on the pitch. And so what I think
that this is going to do is put a magnifying
glass on the culture war part of the teams that
are growing here in New England. No one would
discount how the revolution have performed over
the last five years at a macro level They've
had some of the highest highs and they've had
some of the lowest lows, but they are a top flight
team that being said all of the people that have
been let's call it Stadium curious because they've
heard the noise out of Pawtucket. There's a good
chance they're gonna be tuning into this game
now and Seeing what an environment can look like
because I think you know one of the biggest Problems
for the revs is you know, it's the fact that
they do play in the NFL Stadium and even on a
26 ,000 30 ,000 Fan attended game it can still
look empty when you pan that camera back now
You're going to see 10 ,000 tightly packed and
I have heard from the club that they are going
strong on ticket sales to hit that 10 ,000. The
only reason that they're going to miss that mark
is because of the inclement weather that may
be coming in, but you're going to see a brand
new experience. And so, Seth, for you, we'll
get into the actual performance expectations
here in a second, but just with all eyes on the
fan experience here, the audience and the culture
that's being built, is there anything at Jeopardy
or the significance of these two clubs meeting
for the first time, especially with it being
in Rhode Island FC's backyard? Yeah, I mean,
I think right now, not necessarily, because if
you even look at the schedule, it seems pretty
clear that they obviously collaborated in some
way. There are multiple times that you can go
to a Rhode Island FC game in the afternoon and
make it home for New England Revolution game
and watch that game. If you look at, you know,
Portland, they're playing a lot of games on Sunday.
So I think there's a lot to kind of go around,
obviously at some point. you're not spending
your entire weekend watching soccer. You know,
your wife's probably your significant other is
probably getting mad at you at some point if
you're spending that much time in stadiums or
watching soccer or being part of it. But I think
right now it's not necessarily, hey, are we getting
tickets to Gillette Stadium? Are we getting tickets
to the Brand New Stadium, Century Bank Stadium
down there? I think it's eventually, yeah. I
think eventually if a team is not winning, if
it's too expensive to go to a stadium, you're
going to think about location. You're going to
think about the worthwhile, where the kids are
having most fun. I think that something really
positive that I experienced is that you're right
on top of the field. You have that autograph
alley that my five -year -old was all about.
He held that poster up the rest of the way. He
showed it to every single security person as
we were walking out of the stadium. So he loves
that type of stuff, but we haven't quite been
to a Gillette game because I'm often covering
it from that journalistic viewpoint. So I mean,
yeah, I mean, eventually there's only a sort
of amount of money to go around. But I think
right now it's so new. And right now the Reds
are so established that a lot of people have
had those tickets for a really long time. And
it's not going to be that they're immediately
cancel their tickets to go to these other games.
Maybe they're doing both situations. Plus, I'm
not sure if you guys know there's someone named
Lionel Messi in Major League Soccer. And basically,
if you want that game, you have to buy season
tickets. It makes the most sense to buy season
tickets. So maybe in a few years when he goes
to Hartford Athletic, Maybe obviously that'll
be a really great thing for USL championship
and their pro rally that happens at that point.
I have heard that he is a big fan of New Haven
style pizza. I wouldn't think he'd be allowed
to eat pizza as a part of his diet. I always
also thought he would just buy the Miami FC and
call them the messy FC and and still live in
Miami then afterwards. That was always my vision
for it. As long as they still play at Pitbull
Stadium, I'm all for that. Of course. And so
the same record, the same losing record you have
to. He'll have to be one of those player coach
owners, you know, who just jump in periodically.
All right, well then let's jump into the open
cup here itself and talk about the history of
it for these two teams. Jason, I mean, it's pretty
immediate. We've got some recency here, but what's
our IFC been up to? Yeah, so RFC have been flying
high this year into the open cup after a hard
-fought battle against Hearts of Pine up in Lowston,
Maine that earned the Amber and Blue a 2 -1 victory.
But it came at a cost. We did lose Karifa Yao
to a red card late on, but it did advance for
the first time after our disappointing exit against
Charlotte Independence last year. It was very
much an exciting moment, especially getting to
see a Portland Hearts of Pine team that had made
a run themselves after first knocking out Hartford
Athletic. On the New England Revolution side
of things, it's been a bit of a love and hate
relationship with the US Open Cup over their
tenure. Before they were the winners of it back
in 2007, they fell short in 2001, losing in 2
-1 in extra time to the Los Angeles Galaxy. And
then in 2016, they were finalists again, but
were defeated. for to buy FC Dallas in Toyota
Stadium. Since then, over the last 10 years,
it's been a bit of a mixed bag for the Revolution,
seeing some round of 16 exits, a quarter -final
exit. But most recently, when you look at their
two performances before they were not in the
cup last year, they failed to make it out of
the round of 32, first losing to the New York
Red Bulls, but then most recently getting outed
by the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, failing to advance
past that. It was the first time they've ever
lost to a USL championship team in the modern
era. Seth, looking back at the history of performances
for this revolution side, I didn't realize how
many times the Red Bulls have ejected the revolution
from the cup. Is this tournament something that
the revolution wake up for or is this just always
been something that they play it as best they
can and they make as much of a meaningful entrance
and then exit as they can? Well, the history
of it is that normally there's a storm and a
giant weather delay in the middle of it. I remember
we actually listening to like a radio call. There
was actually no television or no stream. It was
just a radio call. And there was some sort of
long, you know, storm that kind of delayed the
game. Yeah, I mean, I think the history of the
Cup has obviously changed. We see that obviously
with, you know, certain Major League soccer teams
not participating in and prioritizing other tournaments.
Oftentimes it's in a ability for the younger
guys or for guys who aren't playing to get minutes
to kind of show themselves, especially during
those early rounds. Kayla Porter said last week
that he had brought in some reps to guys to take
a look at them because obviously if you're performing
well, the MLS next. pro level or a usl championship
level. It doesn't necessarily mean that you're
going to do well in major league soccer. So you
got to bring some of those guys in to see what
it looks like in a training session and then
decide are any of those guys going to be guys
that brought into the open cup. And so I think
that you're going to see rotation this week.
And I think that's going to be actually a pretty
competitive lineup because even if you look at
the bench guys plus some of those guys in MLS
next pro there's some talented players there.
And that's not to say anything bad about out
Rhode Island. Rhode Island has some very talented
players, especially if you guys are healthy.
Obviously you're dealing with a number of knocks
this past weekend and a busy schedule yourself,
luckily all at home. So you have to kind of think
about what are you going to prioritize? You saw
how to get with Portland Hearts of Pine. They
put out a really strong lineup when they faced
Rhode Island FC because it was at home. It was
an opportunity to make a statement to advance
the tournament. Imagine if Portland right now
is about to host the New England Revolution.
That's a marquee game. Just like this weekend,
I'm sorry, this Wednesday is a marquee game for
Rhode Island FC. So I think that depending on
where you are, is how seriously you take that
tournament. The Revs right now are on a situation
where they have won five of six. Let's not forget
last year they missed the playoffs. Last year
they tried to play Kaka Kaka Champions League
and try to balance both of them and play a lot
of starting lineups. Didn't work out for them.
Lots of injuries. So Caleb Porter, who's trying
to get this team into the playoffs this year,
maybe work that Caleb Porter magic and get an
MLS Cup. He might not really be prioritizing
this early game, but I think that there's still
an ability to put out a a decent lineup to have
a in the time that you've been covering it, was
there ever any importance to the fact that the
open cup kind of originated in Rhode Island?
You know, looking again at the New England side
of things, the open cup hasn't been actually
held in Rhode Island since 1997 with the stingrays.
Has that ever been a badge of honor that the
rest have carried through in their 30 year career
to your knowledge? Or is that just kind of like,
okay, that's a fun stat, but we play as we play.
Yeah, I think it's more of a fun stat situation.
I know 2007 was a big deal when they won the
championship and they had fans down there. And
obviously anytime you could put a cup in there
is an important part of your history. I'm not
sure if they've leaned too much in the idea of
like, hey, here's how many times the other teams
have won the championship that have been in this
area. I think it's more about. you know, seeing
what happens. And then when you get to a certain
point within the tournament, then it gets a little
bit more serious because obviously you're talking
about this year, especially increased amount
of money that's going into the tournament, increased
coverage with Paramount. I'm really excited to
see their continued ability to cover this tournament.
And obviously opportunities to participate in
other tournaments if you win that tournament.
So I think it's more about like, hey, this is
our club. This is our history with it. And then
seeing how far you can make it. Got it. And then
you just mentioned kind of the change in the
direction of the sales for New England Revolution
kind of going on this win streak now. But it
hasn't been all roses at the New England side
under Caleb Porter this season. Can you walk
fans that maybe aren't connected through the
revolution as much as the soccer sick goes around
here? Can you kind of walk us through what's
been the overall performance trend and changes
this year for the revolution side? Yeah. I mean,
last year was a difficult season for the New
England Revolution. You had, you know, a new
sporting director come in with Kurt Onofa. You
had a new head coach that come in with Kayla
Porter. And they didn't make a lot of changes
to the lineup. And they didn't make a lot of
changes to the roster. And as a result, you had
a coach that played a different style of soccer,
a little bit more possession based soccer that
wanted to control the game in that way. And it
just didn't work out. And when you look at what
happened last year, I really look at the stat
of how many multi -goal losses they have. If
I remember correctly, there's 15 multi -goal
losses. And so there's something that happened
there. There's a disconnect that's happening
there. So what they did, what the team did is
they showed up the back line. They got rid of
every single center back basically, except for
Andrew Ferrell. And they brought in new guys.
They brought in Fofana. They brought in Sabayos.
Two foreign signing that have been really good
this year. Tanner Beeson from the San Jose earthquake
that came in. Keegan Hughes, who might start
on Wednesday. He's a guy who was over in Columbus
and originally signed for the second team and
was promoted to the first team. Someone that
K .O. Porter knows really well. Wyatt Olsberg,
who I think is who I know is a main native who
might play in Portland one year at some point.
He comes in and he's a really good player. Chicago
fire guy. Unfortunately, he's questionable right
now. We'll kind of see what happens with him.
But they really made that back line. Recently,
what Caleb Porter said is that one of our mantras
is that defending is like breathing. If you don't
do it, you're going to die. And so everyone's
going to be defending. And so when you see this
team, it's actually kind of remarkable that someone
like Carlos Hill, who's so good, who is someone
that can make magic at any moment, he's coming
back into the box and slide tackling people.
He is like leading the press, Leo Capone on the
same type of way. There's a real dedication to
defending. Now the issue was this year, that
there was so much defending that there was no
attack. And we're talking about games where the
XG was 0 .5, you know, and that's okay because
in some ways you're trying to prevent those multi
-goal losses. You're trying to keep the game
close. But the issue was that they kept keeping
the game close and they ended up on the opposite
side. They were losing. So now they're finding
that balance a little bit more. They're figuring
out stuff. They're still keeping it really well.
The best defensive start. ever in New England
Revolution history, seven goals this season conceded.
Pretty remarkable to think about that. And now
they're getting a little bit more goals. Most
of them through colorless heel, but other guys
like Leo Kampana, two goals on the season. And
Kanago is getting a little bit more opportunities
in front of net as well. So the team is figuring
out that balance, I think. I mean, you could
be supporting Kansas City and score a goal with
.0 XG. So zero shots as well, too. Historic.
Like LA Galaxy sold it all for a cup, you know,
that's all there is to it but not an LA Galaxy
podcast So Seth I want to kind of get into then
what we know right now as far as the injuries
that are kind of at least plaguing the Rhode
Island FC side of things And that, you know,
right now a long list, you know, it's getting
shorter and shorter by the day, but unfortunately
still some problems here. Isaac Anking getting
closer and closer to the return after that ACL
tear. We talked to him at the game. He kind of
winked and nodded when we were talking about
a June return. We made the joke earlier before
you got on about he'd probably play his first
minutes with the Puerto Rican international team.
But I don't want to see that. I want to make
sure he is as healthy as possible. You go back
to racks still going to be another about four
to six weeks at this point as he recovers through
his injury. Danny Rivera also at the game we
talked to him, he's at least four weeks out from
his return. JJ Williams was the major blow that
was dealt to this team as he got injured last
week in training right before the San Antonio
match. They're calling it a calf strain. We don't
know the severity of the grade of the strain
or if it's a tear. Right now, you know, they're
saying we need more time to analyze it and figure
it out. But you know, you can do the math on
these things. It's either going to be two to
as many as 12 weeks. As far as I'm concerned,
until we hear more news, we shouldn't anticipate
seeing him until some point in late July. And
then, you know, Marquis Barra, he's I don't have
a time for him yet. He was in a boot still kind
of limping heavily I asked him if his girlfriend
has been you know stepping on his feet at night
and we kind of all had a laugh about it But he
wouldn't give me a timeline, you know, nor should
he and then creepy out. That's the double whammy
for the red eye on the seaside He's both been
injured. He's closer and closer to game day fitness
But he's also dealing with the red card suspension
So you could kind of take it either way on that
one in terms of the ones for the rev set Do these
look right? These are just what we pulled from
last week's MLS injured Are these still the three
that we're expecting not to be able to even be
available for selection on the open cup? I think
Andrew Farrell might be available. He's been
training recently. He was out in training when
I was there last week. So I have him as someone
that could potentially start. You know, obviously
someone who played for a very long time for the
club. Someone that's a club legend, probably
getting near the end of his career. But with
Andrew Farrell, he is someone who everyone on
the team loves. Every time you hear someone say,
Who's helping you around the team? It's always
Andrew Farrell. So you'd be really interested
to see if he's able to start this game. Maybe
pairing with someone like Keegan Hughes. And
then Malcolm Fry and Wyatt are probably most
likely a scratch. Yeah, I saw those guys off
to the side last week. I mean, we'll see. Wyatt
is getting closer. He was working with a trainer,
but I saw Malcolm Fry leaving the building and
coming out in the field. He didn't really look
like he was that close, but, you know, we'll
see. And then moving into the predictions, at
least on the RAFC side of things, Jason, let's
talk through who we believe the starting 11 most
likely will be. Yeah, guaranteed to be wrong.
Jackson, Lee and Net, we're thinking here with
a back line of Rio Hopegund, Grant Stoneman,
Frank Nodarse and Aldair Sanchez, I think as
we continue to see this team, you know, play
their quote -unquote four back line now. With
Holy Midfielders here of Clay Holstead and Zach
Harrevo. with a forward three in front of them
of Joe J. Quasarra, Maxi Rodriguez, Joe Brito,
and Noah Fuson with a bench here consisting of
Amos Shapiro Thompson, Chico, Taimo Okyoshi,
Ame Mabika, Kevin Vang. Cole Dewhurst and Koke
Vegas. So you may, if you're watching along,
you're like, well, the graphic has Koke, and
that's because we're pretty split down the middle
on this, right? This is a big time game. There's
a lot at stake against an MLS sided team that,
you know, even if they're not playing a starting
11 full of senior players, this is going to be
a big test. And I could really see this going
either way. What is your argument that Jackson
Lee gets the nod here? I think it's bad juju
when you. You decide before you go into a cup
if you're going to play your ultimate keeper.
And you continue to play them throughout those
cup games. So I don't think you bring in Kokei
even as quote -unquote momentous as this is an
occasion can be. I think you trust Jackson Lee.
to get the job done. I mean, this is mostly the
exact same team that dominated the USL one side
in Westchester. The different tiers than now
out JJ Williams. So Joe Brito tucking in on that
left side again with no if you saw him back up
front. But I want to ask you about the two players
that people are going to be looking the most
to get excited about here in Mabika and Chico.
What kind of minutes do you think they'll be
getting on this game day? It is a long week and
Chico's just coming back from injury. So I would
expect him to play, but he's not going to start.
I think maybe it depends on how a match is going
to. If we're getting thumped or something, no
point to bring him on. But if it's a close match,
20, 30 minutes left, you bring him on. Because
then you still have to look forward to that Monterey
Bay game at home on Saturday. When it comes to
Mbika, he didn't have a lot of time with the
team. Compared to like others like we found Rio
had been maybe trained with the team for a while
So it felt like a much more seamless fit where
he just went right into the team and looked like
he belonged That being said with how injured
everyone is and how long of a week it is I Think
you get him some minutes here a bit of trial
by fire You know if he is the type of profile
player that we believe him to be I Think he'll
figure it out Yeah minutes manage is definitely
gonna be a topic We're gonna have to talk about
here as we bring up what's going to be the big
storylines of the game But when you're so roster
depleted it's going to be a very telling tale
Especially on that frontline attack We just don't
have another striker and those you know that
we hear it on we hear it online all the time
You know that people saying this is why you go
and pick up a third striker and you know It's
easy to say it now in hindsight, but you know
the offense the chance creation is there It's
been more of a problem, I think, when the defense
this season than it has been the offense. So
there's going to be some answers there, but we'll
see what happens on this game day. Seth, I know
we talked about it's almost impossible to predict
a starting 11 when you have what collectively
you've got the 26 team senior squad, and then
you've got the entire Revolution Academy behind
it. How do you go about deciding what kind of
players Caleb Porter may select on game day?
Yeah, as I was waiting for the show to start
with me in it, you guys already had a great show
beforehand before you ruined it with me coming
on. I was thinking about what would this team
look like if they completely rotated? If they
went with no starting guys, what would it look
like? So first team guys, reserve guys, and maybe
some MLS next pro guys. Bono is talking. Alex
Bono tomorrow is talking to the media, which
would probably indicate that he is going to start
a very experienced goalkeeper, someone that played
at DC United, among other places. pretty safe
hands there. Will Sands, someone that was starting
earlier this year, MLS experience, Columbus crew.
Obviously, Caleb Porter knows him well. Left
back at the right back position, Brandon By,
everyone knows that name. He's been kind of relegated
to the bench right now. He's been coming off
the bench and actually seeing out games. It's
been kind of a cool role for him as a more experienced
player, but he obviously has plenty left in the
tank. In the middle would be kind of interesting.
Are you going to go with a three? Because they've
been recently playing like a three. or are you
going to go with a four? I went with a four just
because the revs don't have a lot of healthy
center backs right now. So I went with Keegan
Hughes and Andrew Ferrell in that situation.
I then went with five in the midfield with kind
of Chonkoi being up top but floating in that
space. So as holding midfielder, Jackson Ewell,
someone that was actually brought in as a TAM
signing, someone that was starting earlier this
year. Guy from San Jose, international experience.
He would be. I think he's going to be pretty
obviously starting in my opinion. Next to him,
maybe someone that is a Revs two player. I don't
know your earth. I'm really high on him. He's
someone that came from Uganda. Plays for Uganda
has scored for Uganda. He actually recently scored
a really nice goal for Revs two. He is a first
team player currently down with revs two. He
did not play with revs two this weekend, which
to me would indicate that he's probably being
being saved for Wednesday. So I would really
like to see him start. If not him, Eric Klein,
who has been around with the first team for quite
a while. Eric Klein's dad actually played for
the Revolution back in the day. Both of those
players are young players, talented players.
I think it'd be really exciting to give those
guys minutes, especially with so much experience
around them. On one wing, I have Luca Langoni,
the club record signing for the New England Revolution,
playing in this game. He is someone who has now
been coming off the bench, recently had an assist
to Carlos Heel, although he didn't necessarily
do a lot on that assist. It was more Carlos Heel
magic, but he's someone that can produce on the
field. On the other side, I have Luis Diaz, someone
who used to be a young DP. for Columbus crew.
I have a DP coming back from an ACL injury. So
it'd be interesting to see how they use him.
He's mostly been coming off and being a sub.
He has been coming off and being a sub at this
point. And then up top is a Rudy, someone who's
older, I believe 34 years old, but obviously
scored a lot of goals in major league soccer.
So if they went with no. starting players right
now. No one that started this weekend. It's still
a pretty strong lineup. You got guys like DeMario
McIntosh, who's a first team player playing with
Revs2. He could come on as a right back type
of situation. Alex Moniz didn't play. He's a
former Chicago player who's now playing for Revs2,
has international experience. And there's another
guy that I'm forgetting right now. But there's
some guys out there that have experience with
Revs2 that could certainly come up. Does surprise
you I mean looking through the genocide of so
many of those, you know revs to into Alternate
players that couldn't quite penetrate the first
team, you know, I think of the jack patio to
learn loan I think of the the buck sale is Is
this something where this is that new crop? Is
this the chance for the guys coming up through
the New England Revolution to side to really
this is their one shot for the season to kind
of earn their mark Yeah, potentially. I mean,
every time that you're on the field, it's an
audition, right? It doesn't matter. Every time
you're out there, I remember talking to John
Bell after he was selected in the expansion draft.
And he was like, you never know who's watching
you. And he was like, people were watching me.
And I wasn't aware of that. And they actually
picked me as one of the five players that they
wanted all throughout the league. And he's gone
on to have himself a little bit of a good career.
So anytime you can put yourself out there, it's
an opportunity to see, hey, look at what I can
do. I need more minutes here or maybe another
team is going to bring me on loan or maybe next
year when they're, you know, making a trade,
that's your opportunity. The reality is, is that
not every player is the right fit for every club,
right? And every player has to also find where
they best fit. I'm a big fan of Jack Ponyatu.
I think he's a really talented individual, but
he really wasn't getting opportunities with the
first team. And now he goes down to originally
RFC and had that really good run last year. And
unfortunately when he goes back on that second
loan, you guys had kind of already figured things
out and he really wasn't going to factor in that
situation. Well, now he's over at Hartford and
you saw what happened in that first game. He
has two goals. Is he a major league soccer player?
Maybe, maybe not. Maybe he's just not in the
right system. Maybe he has to go somewhere else.
Or maybe like right now what he's going to do
is make his career in the championship. So I
think that like you get any opportunity that
you have. I think one of the hardest things for
anyone on the outside, myself included, you guys
that are in the media, we don't see training
every single day. And so oftentimes people will
say, Oh, why isn't so -and -so playing? That's
clearly the solution. But we don't see every
single day what they're looking like, how they're
playing. So this is an opportunity to see what
they look like on TV, to see them against a really
tough opponent. Obviously, RAFC made the championship
last year. They want to win this game. Kayla
Porter talked about how they're hungry to prove
that the guys on that team belong in major league
soccer, right? You know, you talk to these guys,
they often say, I want to play at the highest
level. But right now, major league soccer is
the highest level. So it's a really good opportunity
to see whoever is on the field, whether you're
an academy guy, you're an 18 year old from Uganda,
who is just coming to the United States right
now to have an opportunity to show what you can
do. And then kind of touching into that, I look
at this team completely transformed now over
their last five games. Seth, what's been going
on with this New England group to switch their
fortunes? They've rided the ship. They've strung
together this win streak for the first time this
season. What has that been? Why has that now
happened? And then also, does that create? the
pressure for Porter to change his tactics on
the way he treats the open cup. You know, before
I'm thinking, does he give it the Jim Curtin
treatment of like, I'm not going to win hardware.
So I'm going to go all in on the open cup performance.
But now Porter's got a little bit more leeway.
He's got this this performance win streak on
his on his mind. Does he have to prepare differently
to not only tackle this game, but also Orlando
on the weekend? Yeah. I mean, again, I think
he hasn't said anything about this, but I think
the standings really matter. And as you start
to collect more wins, especially in the league,
then people start to say, okay, the Stalingrad
Revolution team. can maybe do something. You
know, now it's worth going to more games. Now
it's worth buying more merch. Now it's worth,
you know, really supporting this team more and
more. And so, you know, like this game on Wednesday
obviously matters. But the standings I think
for the revolution matter a little bit more that
you have to make the playoffs. Last year they
didn't make the playoffs. So I think with the
lineup that I gave you, there's still a lot of
experience there. There's still a lot of talent
there. And I think oftentimes what you see is
that you go with a more rotated lineup and you
put someone like Carlos Heel on the bench. So
that may be the last 20 minutes. Hey, Heel, go
out there. Let's see what you can do. You know,
you put someone like Leo Campana out there and
then they can go after the game if you need those
types of moments. So I don't think you're necessarily
going to see a first choice lineup for the revolution
because things are going pretty well in the league
and unfortunately there is roster congestion.
The worst thing that could happen on Wednesday
is someone like Carlos Hill getting injured.
Because then all of a sudden, yeah, maybe you
advance in the open cup, but Orlando becomes
more difficult. The next game is May 17th against
Bruce Arena and all of the former New England
Revolution players. They're going to have a hard
time figuring out which locker room to go to
because so many of them were here last year.
So again, I know I know that it's a bummer in
some sense. You want to see this team, this rivalry
be a big deal. But I don't think you're going
to see a lot of those guys out there. In terms
of the turnaround, part of it has to do with
like Matt Poulster coming back. Kayla Porter
talked about how the players are taking ownership,
the leadership council are leading the way. You
know, Carlos Hill finding his magic, guys getting
healthier, and then becoming the wingbacks, you
know, switching out formation and getting guys
like Peyton Millers, you know, 17 years old,
really good player. And on the other side is
a 20 year old Israeli international named Eli
Feingold. And those guys are a lot of fun. to
watch. So that's part of the turn around is,
but to your point, I think what's going to be
interesting is that they might not necessarily
go with that formation. They might go with a
451, which is more of a trademark for Kayla Porter,
or maybe more of like a 442 type of situation
where Chonkoi is up top with someone like a Rudy.
And then Jason, kind of the same question for
you on the RAFC side of things. Obviously, Kano's
hands much more tied behind his back with the
limitations of this roster. We're not in the
basement, but we haven't made the progress we'd
probably like to see in the regular season performance
so far, now still just in 10th place in the Eastern
Conference. Does coach Kano need to prepare for
the longer game or does he need to be all in
because of, you know, the optics because he's
a former New England Revolution open cup winner?
You know, how does he prioritize these matches,
especially with the fact that he can't rely on
rotating players for minutes? Yeah, I wouldn't
be surprised here if we saw RFC be a little more
tentative to start the match to kind of feel
it out in terms of. There's a lot of injuries
a lot of people missing we need to conserve energy
We need to think about the game on this on Saturday.
We can't afford to get other people injured and
Then there's also the reality against playing,
you know, the the quote -unquote higher opposition
right here This is the the division one team
that we're gonna be playing against here So you
try and keep it tight and then maybe try and
go for it second half and we see this a lot with
a lot of open -cut matches where They start to
open up in that second half where it you you
get yourself into a good position like okay now
now we're only looking at about 45 more minutes
can we Make some changes can we kind of you know
put the pedal to the metal here a little bit
and try and go for something the same way that
the revs might be approaching it in the sense
that We both have league games. We need to worry
about So I and I think that you know The revs
are on the up and up right now. I think that
it would do well for them to like make the playoffs
for in that sense and You know, obviously, I
think RFC maybe in a similar sense. We made the
playoffs last year, but we kind of scraped in
I think that Kano would love to have a home playoff
game and I think so with this this team so You
know, I think they both go out there kind of
feel it out see how it is and Maybe we see a
bit of an explosive second half, but the first
half might be a little a little bit of poking
or prodding That feels very anti -RFC for a team
that has scored now I think what it's it's either
scored or been scored against 15 times in the
first half of all of their gameplay across all
competitions this season So that's that I just
don't know if they have that dog in them quite
yet. Yeah, maybe not But that being said too,
I can absolutely tell you, you know, it was one
of the main interview points and I'm sure if
there's a media day before the open cup, I don't
know if there's time for it now. But a lot of
the focus was on asking Kano, you know, where
are his loyalties? Where are his allegiances?
And how fired up is he to take on his former
side? And, you know, I don't want to I don't
want to dismay any revolution fans or or or loyal
Kano, you know, I was there in 2007. I watched
it with my own eyes, but he's very much not Talking
about his ties to the revolution for this particular
match. He is very much an amber and blue and
it seems like it's somewhat personal It seems
like there's some I don't want to call it vendetta,
but it seems like there's some stakes involved
like I'm going to best this team So I think he
will show up, but to your point It's a long stretch
of the over these next seven days and without
those reinforcements Well, you know, we only
have the two new defenders. I just don't know
what kind of style we're going to see. I feel
like there's going to be a much different version
of the high block and the counter -press, you
know, or excuse me, the counter -attack with
the high press. I feel like we could see a team
that drops back a little bit deeper into a low
block, especially if Jackson Lee gets the nod
and, you know, tries to absorb what the revolution
may throw at them and then see what they can
do from there. But I don't expect to see the
same kind of tactics in the way Kano sets up
typically for a USL championship opponent. Seth,
I want to kind of ask this final question about
the New England side because you brought this
up earlier. You're absolutely right about this
defense. It's one of the best in the league.
It's one of the best performances that the Revs
have had themselves regardless of the competition
across the 30 teams in MLS. But it also seems
that it's coming at The offense may be suffering.
I know you mentioned a minute ago about heal
needing to take his time to get into this season
and start scoring goals. But you've got the best
defense in the league, but you think I think
it's the fourth or fifth worst offense. How does
Caleb Porter adjust that so he can be kind of
a more complete team? Or does that not matter?
Does it just matter that the results are going
in the revolution's direction? Or should he use
the open cup to experiment with some new attacking
pieces? You're muted, Seth. I think the answer
that the coach would give is that the goals will
come. There doesn't every single coach say that,
you know, the goals will come. And that's usually
the last thing that does happen. I think there
is truth to that too, you know, that if you can
get the defense right. and start then figuring
out what are the moments that we want to attack
that we don't want to open up too much. Then
you kind of create those opportunities in that
way. I always go back to 2021 when the New England
Revolution won the supporter's shield. And then
they go into that first round game against New
York City FC. Granted, it was like a 30 day break
in terms of things. And when they go into that
game, they play to open. and they end up getting
knocked out by NYCFC. Who then go on to win the
championship? But that was an opportunity for
the refs to actually host every single game,
including the championship game. But they just
played to open. The situation was Matt Pulsar
playing in the middle there, and it was just
too much for him to do. Well, now you have a
situation where you have a good solid defensive
base. And then you try to figure out when are
those opportunities to get forward? Where are
the patterns of play looking like? And then how
do we get Carlos Hill in the best spots. So now
that you have all these players behind them.
Carlos Heal could basically float anywhere he
wants and try to pick up the ball. And then the
team becomes more dangerous in that way. A lot
of people were looking at this formation switch
and being like, okay, you have three center backs.
That was way more defensive. I don't necessarily
think of it that way. I think of it as more simplifying
the tactics and allowing guys like Heal, the
two outside guys there, Eli Feingold and Peyton
Miller, and then the strikers up top to kind
of carry the burden while these other guys just
hold things down defensively. So I think it actually
becomes a little bit more free and a little bit
more attacking that sense. They're probably never
going to be the most attacking team in major
league soccer. I think Kayla Porter believes
in defense first, the idea of being a good defensive
team and having control of the game. And I think
honestly, when it comes to the playoffs, that's
the type of soccer that you want to play. You
want to be disciplined and you want to win the
game on the margins. I think about last year,
right, the USL championship. Final, if you guys
want to talk about that, I know you guys are
still going through some stuff. You're talking
to your own people on the outside. That's okay.
I understand. But I think that you guys at that
moment played a little too open and you got punished
about that. There was gaps that were happening
and then all of a sudden the game got out of
hand. And after the first goal and then the second
goal, it really didn't feel like the team necessarily
was going to come back even though they had that
identity that they would come back. you know,
it was just too much of a situation. So I think
Caleb is kind of building the team in that way,
that if we can win the game on the margins, and
that doesn't always mean one zero, you know,
we're seeing now two zeros, but kind of build
in that sense. So this weekend, so this Wednesday,
I think what's really hard though is that you're
probably not having a lot of those starting guys.
So it's not necessarily about, hey, let's test
out what this thing looks like. I think it's
maybe more of an opportunity to say, Hey, Luca
Langoni, what do you got? Like, we know you're
good. We know you're talented. Let's see what
you got if you were putting in the starting lineup.
Thomas Chonkalei, how are you feeling? How's
the ACL situation? Are you ready to start with
Leo Campana up top? Or are we still playing with
Gonzaga in that situation? Jackson, you all,
what can you bring to the table here? So I think
it's an opportunity more for some of those other
guys to kind of showcase themselves and then
think about... What's going to happen with those
other 24 games in the season? Question for you
both. We'll start with Jason. You know, there's
so many former Revolution players on this Rhode
Island F .C. side. You know, we hear it all the
time. It's Rev's light. It's the Rev's Academy
rejects. Does this game have more significance?
We talked about the fan importance and the impact
to them a little bit earlier. But when you have
this many players who didn't make it in the revolution
system, now all here playing against their former
team, does this amplify the stakes for them?
Are these players going to be showing up with
a little bit more of a chip on their shoulder?
I think so. I think there'll be a bit of a sense
of pride that a lot of the RAFC team will have
in that trying to prove their worth, so to say.
I mean that the reality is all of these players
want to to play at the highest level right and
maybe Some of them felt a bit slighted that they
maybe they didn't didn't get through whether
or not that has anything to do with it being
You know the revolutions fall, but it's you very
much want to put your best foot forward show
how great of a player can be there's always You
know like like Seth was saying you never know
who is watching you play right so this could
be Big for people, especially now this is on
Paramount. There's a lot more eyes on the cup.
So this is a big opportunity. So I think that
they will go out there fired up. If anything,
I think that this match is significantly more
important for Rhode Island in the sense of they
have a certain pride on the line to show like,
no, we are a serious competitor out here and
we're going to go out there and prove that to
everyone with the Rebs. I think that they have
the league to worry about, and we've all seen
this in the history of the open cup. They don't
always take it as serious in the early rounds.
Seth, how about you? Do you feel the same way?
Yeah, I mean, I think that any time that you're
not the highest level, you feel a little bit
slighted. I think that when I was talking to
Zach Harreville last year, he kind of mentioned
that some of these guys like Noah Fuson, like
they were at a different point of their career.
and Kano brings them in and they get to the championship
last year and they're kind of showing themselves.
Unfortunately, I think there's a situation that
some of these guys, maybe they could be in a
Major League Soccer, but now as they get older,
as they are put in, they've kind of been labeled
in some way, they don't get some of those opportunities.
So what better way to kind of showcase that you
can roll with the big dogs than to playing a
game like this and show really well and and knock
out a major league soccer team. Even if they're
not playing all of their best players, the headline
is going to be out there, right? RFC defeats
the New England Revolution. Well, what New England
Revolution? You know, I know that, you know,
earlier, Portland Hearts of Pine beat Hartford
Athletic during preseason. What Hartford Athletic?
Sounds like there's a lot of younger guys. It
wasn't the first team guys, but the headline
was there, right? So I think when you think about
this game, RAFC are going to want to make a statement.
I think a guy like Zach Harreville wants to make
a statement. Anyone that's on that field wants
to make a little bit of a statement. And it might
not be, hey, you passed on me. Hey, you cut me.
It just might be, hey, look at how good of a
player I am. Look at the ability that I can make.
Because you never know, at any moment, your career
could be over. And that's for every single level,
right? Next year, it might be like, well, We're
not going to pick up your option and you look
around and no one's going to pick up. They don't
want to sign a new contract. And the career is
over. So the more great moments you have, the
longer you extend that career. And I'm sure all
of these guys want to make sure they have those
longest careers possible and continue to find
success because they're having success, they're
finding success. And the hope is to continue
to have that feeling. I mean, my career was over
before it ever started. So that that that hits
me deep. Gentlemen, let's talk about what these
two teams are going to need to do to carry the
win for the day. Obviously, this is an elimination
tournament at this point, so there will not be
a draw. Excuse me. It could go into added time,
and then it could go down to penalties. But if
you're Caleb Porter or your coach, Kano, what
are you doing to set this team up for success
on Wednesday? Jason, we'll start with you. I
think the squad's really going to need to bring
their quote -unquote A game here. You're playing
against the big dogs, if you will. They're gonna
need to defend as a collective, right? These
little mistakes that you give away against USL
teams where they don't punish you. Well, we could
be playing against some MLS guys and they will
punish you if you give them some opportunities
there. So they're gonna need to keep it tight
at the back. They're gonna need to win that midfield
battle. If not that, at least keep them away
from their final third, which RFC can be good
at times in terms of pressing. So keep it tight
at the back. Press your opponent. Maybe see what
you can get on a counter. So how about you for
the revs? Yeah, I think the revs have to avoid
the big mistake You know, obviously when you
go into a game like this with guys that maybe
aren't playing together all the time Something
could happen, you know, and then all of a sudden
if Like Jason said, you know, you make a bad
pass and the press is there and you get scored
on. What happens then if the fans are cheering,
the noise is happening? And then who do you bring
off the bench in that situation? I mean, I think
you're obviously looking for a bit of magic from
some of those highly paid players. You know,
guys like Langone, if he's playing out there.
He can do it, man. Like he's a fast player. He's
a talented player. Chanceli, we saw that when
he first came in, he scored a lot of goals in
that first half season. He scored in the second
minute when that Gillette stadium was full and
Messi was there. And so everyone went to see
the Argentine with the name Messi on the back
and then Thomas Chanceli scored it. Everyone's
like, look at this guy. There's some talent there.
So, you know, there are weapons on this team.
Jackson, you will someone that can obviously
move the ball and spring the ball. I think that
they have to try to use those weapons. And I
think ideally get a early goal in that situation.
The revs have been better when they're scoring
in the first half. That obviously gives a situation
that can control the game a little bit and then
maybe bring off some guys off the bench. But
yeah, definitely avoid that mistake and kind
of see what happens. Yeah, I've got kind of the
same thing for Rhode Island FC. I think I know
we had talked, you know, with the minutes they
have to manage. Do they do they wait to see what
they can do in a second half performance? But
I think what works best for them is getting on
the attack early and, you know, not letting revolution
kind of figure them out. You know, I'm assuming
Porter has done his tape. I'm not I don't believe
for a minute that he's just ignored this and
said I'm just going to pick my 11 best. I'm sure
he's prepared for this team. And so Rhode Island
FC really needs to catch. the revolution before
they can figure out what they want to do and
implement against the amber and blue. I think
also too, you know, you guys are both talking
about the mistakes and the capitalization. But
I think for Rhode Island FC, it's also going
to be about, you know, that next level, right?
There's a reason that it's a division one. team
against the Division 2 team. And that speed and
that technicality is usually one of the things
that separates the performances across these
two leagues. So if revolution come out tighter,
if they come out crispier on their passing, it's
going to be a faster game. The Rhode Island FC
group needs to be prepared for that. And that
could mean that they play a little bit more conservatively
because they don't want to get overexposed and
encountered. If that happens, that's a complete
change to Rhode Island FC's kind of main trick,
if you will. So there's a little bit of concern
there, but that being said, too, if they play
their version of the game better and they catch
the New England Revolution off guard, that may
be able to set the tone regardless. I don't know
if he can't afford to let this go into added
time at this point. Extra time is not what this
team is going to want going into the Monterey
Bay game later this week. They have to find a
solution to end this in 90 minutes because if
they don't. Well, one, expect the revolution
to be better at penalties because again, it's
an MLS side and what I don't see hasn't exactly
been the best penalty takers across their time
in the championship so far. But those are going
to be also just some very tired legs and there
isn't exactly the roster depth to help support
going in beyond 90 into that extra time. So what
I don't see has to figure this out, hopefully
in the first 45, but at least in the total game
and not let it go into extra. So, Seth, any score
predictions that you like to do? I don't know
if you ever do that because on the recap side
of things. You guys like to just more focus on,
on what the performance was versus the prediction.
You want to take a shot at what you think this
result might look like? I mean, I, no offense,
Matt, but these is one of my least favorite questions
because like it could be anything, right? Like
it could be 17, zero. I don't know. Like I just,
how about this? Let's rewind it here. I'll ask
it again. Do you expect this to be a high scoring
affair given the talent that the revolution have,
and a shaky word INFC defense, or do you expect
this to be a tight game given how the defense
has played overall for the revolution this season?
I like that question better. I'm going to say
a tight game. I think that all the revolution
games have been tight so far, although I think
that It would be really fun to see a shootout,
a 4 -3 shootout. I think everyone at the stadium
would really like that. I think to your point,
I think probably both teams would love to see
this game and after 90 minutes. I think to your
point, 100 % Matt, that you guys are an interesting
situation where, OK, yeah, you had a really exciting
game this past weekend, but you didn't get a
win. And so at some point, you want to have that
stadium be something that you're collecting wins.
And yeah, maybe you want to win on Wednesday
against the Revs, but would you take that over
sacrificing Saturday? I'm not totally sure, especially
right now when you have the standings. I mean,
let's be honest, is RFC going to win the tournament?
Probably not, right? And so wouldn't you rather
have a home playoff game? So I think this game
is going to matter for both teams in a sense,
but I think For both teams, Saturday probably
matters a little bit more. I agree with that,
Jason. You know, I mean, the statistics on this
from all the different betting websites, especially
since we have it as an MLS side, it's down to
30. Again, 4 % of people believe the open cup
match will be a draw. So they're looking for
the penalty shootout, apparently. But it's down
to what is that 34 % then believe that Rhode
Island of Sea will win the day and then 62 %
are going to take. the victory on the revolution
side of things, I will hold you to a prediction
because we have a long -standing game. The gentleman's
bet at the end of the season, so what say you?
I'm going to go with a 2 -1 scrappy win, but
also, like, very dependent upon what the refs
put out there. I think that, you know, obsessed
predicted lineup is quite a strong lineup. I
wouldn't be surprised if there was a few more
MLS next -pro names in that starting lineup,
but it's so hard to tell until I actually see
that starting line. So, 2 -1 either way. I'm
hoping for RFC though. You're legally contractually
obligated to... Yeah, I'm not ready to start
betting against them yet. I will say it's 3 -2,
just because I want to see it. If there's that
many goals, then the New England soccer community
wins. beyond just what happens for an INFC. And
no matter what, and I will say this for all the
defiance, loyal listening, we've already won
in the stands at that point because they're going
to have such a good showing of it regardless
of that result. So before we close things down
here, I do have one last question. Seth, what
do we think the likelihood that one of the crafts
will be in attendance in a luxury suite watching
how a soccer specific stadium can operate in
New England? My understanding is that every single
craft is going to be at the stadium. I think
there's going to be 10 ,000 crafts. at the stadium.
They brought out the entire stadium for this
game. Perfect. That's what I like to hear. All
crafts as long as they're wearing what I don't
see kits. That's all that matters for the day.
So let's wrap things up here as a reminder everyone.
Rhode Island FC does return to the U .S. Open
Cup action this Wednesday as they get set to
face the first ever major league soccer opponent
in the New England Revolution. The game kicks
off on Wednesday, May 7th at 7 .30 p .m. Please
come early again. I know there was a lot of wins
in the parking lot and the arrivals and getting
to the game, but this is still early days. And
remember, too, there will be commuters coming
home. you know, operating on 95, getting home
to their homes in Pawtucket. So plan accordingly
if you can show up early. Jason, I think you're
a leaving worker. I don't know if I'm getting
you in trouble with your job, but I think you're...
I have PTO. That's perfect. Yeah, Jason's leaving
early for work. So make sure you plan accordingly.
And then also speaking to that plan, remember
the weather report as of right now, potential
afternoon showers, maybe even thunderstorms with
the temperatures in the high 60s. So about as
New England as it gets, I think maybe Seth...
cursed it by talking about how open cups are
designated to have rain delays and inclement
weather. So just plan on that and make sure that
you're prepared for it and you'll be all set
to watch an exciting game for the battle of the
soul of New England here with this open cup.
Seth, thank you so much for joining us. I really
appreciate everything you do within the New England
soccer system. Can't express enough how happy
it is to finally have you on Raising Anchor.
How can fans follow along on your journey and
where can they catch you for all the socials?
Yeah, honestly, I think there's sometimes too
much negativity that's out there. I think that
you guys do an amazing job. You guys are super
professional. I know that when I am trying to
cover the team or understand the team or just
be a fan of the team, as I start to go to more
games with my five year old and my family, you
guys do an amazing job with everything that you
do. So kudos to you guys and thank you so much
for having me on, for finally inviting me on.
I've been in their DMs for the last two years
and they finally hit the you know, the people
that they aren't following and they realize,
hey, Seth's right there. So I was able to come
on to the show. I believe Matt, you're gonna
join me later this week and we'll do like a little
post game opportunity. But yeah, SethMan 31 on
Twitter if you still use that thing. Hey, what
I'm trying to do is I'm trying to build something
called an Instagram account. It's new, okay?
Maybe one day a Facebook account. It's called
New England Soccer Insider. So if I can get,
Anyone one person that's watching this show to
follow me there. Uh, that'd be awesome. Cause
I am trying to, uh, grow that account. It's new.
It's called Instagram and you can find me on
it. I've heard that one. I'll have to look it
up. We will make sure to attach you to the show
invitations collaboration so people can join
along on the journey. Seth, you do incredible
work beyond just the sub -stack and the blazing
musket. It's always great. And I really also
do enjoy your interviews. We've learned a lot
through you and your work as we've been preparing
for the show. So thanks for being a mentor to
us. And then also apologies on the late response
to the... the reply on the DNs. When you got
a blue checkmark, it's hard. Okay. Like life
just gets really complicated out there. No, you
guys are awesome. I appreciate you. By the way,
once we finish this podcast, we're going to continue
to compliment each other for another hour. If
you join our Patreon, you can listen into that
conversation. I will get it started right now.
I'll start working on the back end, but appreciate
you again, Seth. Jason, any final thoughts? No.
Thank you so much Seth for joining us and make
sure to check out our friends over at the Blazee
Musket for all your New England soccer coverage
including the great work from Seth here covering
the New England Revolution as well as RFC News.
Anchors up buddy. Anchors up and let's go restart
the revolution. See you guys on Wednesday.