Orlando City looks to keep its trophy hopes alive and bounce back from a frustrating weekend collapse when the Lions travel to face the New England Revolution in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 on Wednesday night.
The Lions take on the Revolution at Centreville Bank Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
Orlando enters this match on the heels of Saturday’s 3-2 loss to D.C. United, when the Lions conceded twice in the final seven minutes. The Open Cup presents a welcome shift in focus and a familiar tournament for the club; Orlando won the cup in 2022 and has reached this round in seven of its nine MLS-era campaigns.
“You win or go home. It’s a different context that changed the game, of course, but we have experience in those kinds of competitions,” Orlando City interim head coach Martín Perelman said. “We’re ready to do it. We like to compete. We are competitors.”
Perelman is managing a depleted roster as he tries to find consistency. A 4-1 win over Charlotte FC last week, featuring a Martín Ojeda brace, was erased by Saturday’s late unraveling in Washington. The injury list continues to force rotation, with David Brekalo, Duncan McGuire and Marco Pašalić all missing recent action.
To counter those injuries, Orlando has relied on its youth to step up. Justin Ellis has a goal and an assist in the past two matches, making him the likeliest candidate to get another start against New England. Other players, such as defender Nolan Miller and backup goalkeeper Javier Otero, could also make the starting eleven as Perelman rotates the roster to keep his squad healthy on a quick turnaround.
The Revolution enter Wednesday unbeaten in their past five matches after a 1-1 draw at Inter Miami on Saturday. Under first-year coach Marko Mitrović, New England sits fourth in the Eastern Conference, paced by captain Carles Gil, who has scored in three straight games.
Wednesday’s match will not be played at Gillette Stadium. Instead, New England is hosting at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I., the home of USL Championship side Rhode Island FC. The Revolution already won one Open Cup match at the venue this spring, securing a penalty shootout victory over Rhode Island FC to advance to this round.
“It’s a very competitive tournament, as well as prestigious. So it’s important to go out from the first moments with everything,” Orlando forward Ivan Angulo said. “Just like every competition we play in, we want to go out there and go after it. We want to win it.”
Following Wednesday’s cup match, Orlando City returns to MLS play with a trip to Miami to take on Inter Miami on Saturday night.