3 takeaways from the Revolution's Open Cup win over Rhode Island FC

The Revolution defeated Rhode Island Football Club 2-1 in the Round of 32 of the U.S. Open Cup in front of 9,539 fans at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket on Wednesday night in what was just the second game ever played at the newly-constructed venue.

In what was also the first ever meeting between the two New England clubs, it was probably fitting that a Somerville native scored the winner.

After goals from Revolution forward Tomas Chancalay (the first in the stadium’s history), and Rhode Island’s Maxi Rodriguez (who scored the first home team goal in Centreville Bank Stadium history), it was 17-year-old Cristiano Oliveira — making his Revolution senior team debut — who scored the decisive goal off a rebound in the 88th minute.

Revolution head coach Caleb Porter fielded a heavily rotated squad, with several regular starters not even dressing for the game.

In their place, Porter deployed a few veterans (center-back and assistant coach Andrew Farrell got his first start of the season), as well as Designated Player Tomas Chancalay and 34-year-old forward Maxi Urruti.

Rhode Island, in the midst of a fixture glut (four games in 11 days) began in a defensive shape, preferring to play on the counter.

And because the makeshift New England lineup took time to get going, this meant that neither team created a shot in the first 15 minutes. Once the action got going, however, the scoring chances began to flow.

Eventually, a fortuitous bounce after a Rhode Island tackle on Urruti inside the penalty area fell to Chancalay, who cut inside and cooly dispatched the ball in the net to give the Revolution a lead (and the first official goal in the stadium’s history).

The kids are…alright.

Rhode Island built up to an equalizer in the second half, eventually finding it through a well-struck low cross and a one-time finish from Rodriguez in the 50th minute.

The goal came despite Porter opting to sub in defensive midfielder Eric Klein for winger Luca Langoni at halftime. Klein, one of five players who made their senior team debut for New England on Wednesday, was not specifically at fault for the goal (and eventually grew into the game), but the sequence showed the threat that the USL opposition posed, and that the defensive-minded substitution was not going to be enough to get the win.

After both Chancalay and Urruti were subbed off in the 87th minute (Chancalay looked as if he may have pulled a muscle), Porter subbed on more young players. Both Gevork Diarbian and Liam Butts were subbed on, joining the already youthful New England attack alongside Oliveira.

Though their play was up-and-down over the course of the half, New England’s youth movement combined to score the winner, with Diarbian whipping in a cross from the left only to strike the far post in the process.

The ball rebounded off the post kindly for Oliveira, who deftly applied the finish.

The circumstances were bigger than the game.

Amid the Revolution’s ongoing bid to someday build a stadium in Everett, getting to play at a New England-based soccer-specific stadium offered a tantalizing glimpse at the club’s potential future.

Aside from the atmosphere, which felt bigger than the moderately-sized venue, was the essentially unprecedented circumstance of the Revolution playing another local team in a meaningful game.

Local rivalries define the sport in innumerable international cities and regions, yet that was something which had been lacking in New England until recently.

Now, with the emergence of multiple professional teams in the last few years around New England, a budding soccer scene is starting to take shape. Getting games against the region’s only MLS team will only help the development, though Rhode Island will feel that — given the tight margin of the final scoreline — it could’ve ended with a win.