MLR 2026 – New England Free Jacks vs Old Glory DC – ARN Guide

After a poor result in California to open their season, the defending champion Free Jacks are looking for an immediate turnaround in their home opener against Old Glory on Saturday. DC also started their campaign with a loss – in Seattle – but remarkable had New England’s number in 2025, winning both head-to-head clashes. Both teams have made four changes to their starting lineups this week.

STARTING LINEUP CHANGES

	IN	OUT
1	Nate Sylvia	Kyle Ciquera
5	Ollie Aylmer	Tayne Hemopo
13	Ben LeSage	Killian Coghlan
15	Harrison Boyle	Max Lehmann

	IN	OUT
9	John LeFevre	Josh Renton
11	Owen Sheehy	John Rizzo
12	Jason Emery	Jordan Jackson-Hope
15	Damien Hoyland	Max Schumacher

MLR DEBUTS

	PLAYER	PREVIOUS CLUB
21	Aidan Ridgway	Washington Irish

NOTES

• Injured / unavailable – (Free Jacks) Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz; (Old Glory) Bart Vermeulen, Liam Fletcher, Jay Renton
• Nate Sylvia and Ollie Aylmer get their first starts in New England colors… both debuted off the bench last weekend… Ben LeSage and Harrison Boyle boost the backline, with Mitch Wilson shifting to the wing and Max Lehmann dropping out of the match day squad
• former USA u20 and Miami Sharks lock Braemar Murray is set for his Free Jacks debut as a replacement… dynamic center Wayne van der Bank is in the 23 after missing the California game
• Old Glory have lost first choice scrumhalf Jay Renton to injury… John LeFevre is handed his first start for the club since 2023 and just his second MLR start ever… LeFevre started six times for the American Raptors in the 2024 Super Rugby Americas campaign
• veteran backs Jason Emery and Damien Hoyland are back in this week, while Owen Sheehy gets a run on the wing… scrumhalf Aidan Ridgway is set to make his pro debut as a replacement… originally from South Africa, he trained with the club last year but did not make an appearance

PREDICTION

Sunny but gusty conditions are expected at kickoff. The wind could favor the home side slightly in terms of tactical kicking, but DC can disrupt the lineout where Rick Rose and Ben Bonasso excel. On paper the Free Jacks have a more threatening backline, though Hoyland will be a key man for DC. The defending champs need show that last week’s result was more a case of ring rust. New England are slight favorites at home in Quincy.

TEAMS

NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Nate Sylvia, 2 Kaleb Geiger, 3 Maliu Niuafe, 4 Piers von Dadelszen, 5 Ollie Aylmer, 6 Jacob Norris, 7 Joe Johnston (capt.), 8 Alex Mackenzie, 9 Oscar Lennon, 10 Joel Hodgson, 11 Mitch Wilson, 12 Kienan Higgins, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Nathan Salmon, 15 Harrison Boyle

Replacements: 16 Sione Tupou, 17 Kyle Ciquera, 18 Filipe Vakasiuola, 19 Braemar Murray, 20 Bailey Wilson, 21 Ethan McVeigh, 22 Killian Coghlan, 23 Wayne van der Bank

OLD GLORY DC
1 Cali Martinez, 2 Kirby Myhill, 3 Paul Mullen, 4 Rob Harley (capt.), 5 Rick Rose, 6 Cory Daniel, 7 Aidan King, 8 Benjamín Bonasso, 9 John LeFevre, 10 Jason Robertson, 11 Owen Sheehy, 12 Jason Emery, 13 Ross Depperschmidt, 14 Perry Humphreys, 15 Damien Hoyland

Replacements: 16 KoiKoi Nelligan, 17 Connor Robinson, 18 Connor Devos, 19 Tevita Naqali, 20 Collin Grosse, 21 Aidan Ridgway, 22 Max Schumacher, 23 John Powers

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, April 11
Venue: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Quincy
Kickoff: 16:00 local (13:00 Pacific)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 55°F (13°C), wind NW 14-25 mph (22-40 km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+ (USA), Premier Sports (International), NBC Sports Boston (Local), Monumental Sports (Local)

OFFICIALS

Referee: Robin Kaluzniak (Canada)
Assistants: Federico Anselmi (Argentina) & Martin Steffens (USA)
TMO: n/a

HISTORY

HEAD-TO-HEAD (12) – Free Jacks 8, Old Glory 4
2025-05-24 – New England Free Jacks 17, Old Glory DC 20 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2025-03-22 – Old Glory DC 28, New England Free Jacks 14 (Maryland SoccerPlex)
2024-07-20 – New England Free Jacks 33, Old Glory DC 29 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2024-06-08 – Old Glory DC 30, New England Free Jacks 31 (Maryland SoccerPlex)
2024-03-09 – New England Free Jacks 34, Old Glory DC 35 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2023-07-01 – New England Free Jacks 25, Old Glory DC 7 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2023-05-14 – Old Glory DC 24, New England Free Jacks 42 (Segra Field)
2023-03-11 – New England Free Jacks 34, Old Glory DC 31 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2022-05-07 – New England Free Jacks 26, Old Glory DC 20 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2022-02-18 – Old Glory DC 25, New England Free Jacks 41 (Segra Field)
2021-06-06 – New England Free Jacks 38, Old Glory DC 34 (Union Point Stadium)
2021-04-25 – Old Glory DC 35, New England Free Jacks 22 (Segra Field)