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New England return home to host DC on Saturday with a chance to stretch the lead at the top of the Eastern Conference. The defending champions saw their seven-game win streak snapped by Miami last week, but have restored their first choice side against an Old Glory team that is riding a wave of confidence with three wins on the trot.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
9-4-0 (L1) East 1st
7-6-0 (W3) East 2nd
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Malakai Hala-Ngatai | Tevita Sole |
| 2 | Andrew Quattrin | Connal McInerney |
| 3 | Jone Koroiduadua | Kyle Steeves |
| 4 | Piers von Dadelszen | Josh Larsen |
| 5 | Sam Caird | Jerónimo Gómez Vara |
| 6 | Jed Melvin | Ethan Fryer |
| 9 | Cam Nordli-Kelemeti | John Poland |
| 11 | Paula Balekana | Simon-Peter Toleafoa |
| 12 | Le Roux Malan | Isaac Olson |
| 13 | Ben LeSage | Killian Coghlan |
|
IN | OUT |
| 12 | Nick Grigg | Tommaso Boni |
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(11) – Quattrin, von Dadelszen, LeSage, Webster, Larsen, Fryer (Canada), Koroiduadua (Fiji), Conradie, Malan (Namibia), McInerney (Australia), Geiger (USA)
(10) – Iscaro, Fa’anana-Schultz, Daniel, McVeigh, Boni (USA), Gattas (Uruguay), Harley, Grigg, Hoyland (Scotland), Martinez (Canada)
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Jerónimo Gómez Vara (FL), Jayson Potroz (FH)
– Ignacio Dotti (LO), Jason Robertson (FH)
| PREDICTION |
Mild and somewhat breezy conditions should have little effect on either side. Home field advantage also counts for little, with DC unintimidated by Fort Quincy. Old Glory have a potent starting lineup and are playing with confidence, but the Free Jacks bench is loaded with talent and that might be enough to see the defending champions home in the final quarter. New England are slight favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Malakai Hala-Ngatai, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 Jone Koroiduadua, 4 Piers von Dadelszen, 5 Sam Caird, 6 Jed Melvin, 7 Joe Johnston (capt.), 8 Wian Conradie, 9 Cam Nordli-Kelemeti, 10 Dan Hollinshead, 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Le Roux Malan, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Jack Reeves, 15 Brock Webster
Replacements: 16 Connal McInerney, 17 Tevita Sole, 18 Kaleb Geiger, 19 Josh Larsen, 20 Ethan Fryer, 21 Oscar Lennon, 22 Wayne van der Bank, 23 Harrison Boyle
OLD GLORY DC
1 Jack Iscaro, 2 Facundo Gattas, 3 Joe Rees, 4 Rob Harley (capt.), 5 Tevita Naqali, 6 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 7 Cory Daniel, 8 Lautaro Bavaro, 9 Connor Buckley, 10 Jason Emery, 11 Axel Müller, 12 Nick Grigg, 13 Steff Hughes, 14 Perry Humphreys, 15 Damien Hoyland
Replacements: 16 KoiKoi Nelligan, 17 Cali Martinez, 18 Isikeli Kava, 19 Bill Whiteside, 20 Collin Grosse, 21 Ethan McVeigh, 22 Tommaso Boni, 23 John Rizzo
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 22
Venue: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Quincy
Kickoff: 17:00 local (14:00 Pacific)
Weather Forecast: partly cloudy, 57°F (14°C), wind W 11-16mph (18-26km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Monumental Sports, NBC Sports Boston, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Saba Abulashvili (Georgia)
Assistants: Amelia Luciano (USA) & Jarrod Ford (USA)
TMO: Amanda Cox (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (11) – New England 8, DC 3
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)
