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Old Glory can take another step towards the postseason if they can get past the Free Jacks on Saturday evening. A single bonus point is good enough for the visitors to clinch their spot. Both teams were winners at home last week, with DC flying past Anthem and New England hanging on to beat Dallas.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
5-5-2 (W1) East 4th
8-4-0 (W1) East 1st
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
2 Facundo Gattas replaces Martín Vaca
4 Tevita Naqali replaces Rob Harley (suspension)
1 Malakai Hala-Ngatai replaces Kyle Ciquera
7 Jed Melvin replaces Cam Davidowicz (No8 vs Dallas)
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(8) – Iscaro, Fa’anana-Schultz, Daniel, Boni (USA), Gattas, Dotti (Uruguay), Rowland, Bowd (Canada)
(9) – Quattrin, Baillie, Keys, Keith, von Dadelszen, LeSage (Canada), Sigren (Chile), Malan (Namibia), Wilson (USA)
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Martín Vaca (HO), Rob Harley (LO), Damien Hoyland (FB)
– Josh Larsen (LO), Wian Conradie (N8), John Poland (SH)
| NOTES |
- DC welcome back Tevita Naqali from suspension… it’s a timely return as fellow second row Rob Harley is now facing two weeks on the sidelines from his own suspension
- the only other change to the starting lineup is at No2 where Facundo Gattas rotates in for Martín Vaca… KoiKoi Nelligan is the backup hooker this week
- Canadian international Tyler Rowland returns on the bench after a five-game injury-enforced absence… he takes the reserve tighthead prop role from Cali Martinez
- New England welcome back club captain Mitch Jacobson after four games away with a banged-up shoulder… he settles for a bench spot with newcomer Jed Melvin getting his first start at openside flanker… Martín Sigren switches to No8 with Cam Davidowicz one of 6 reserve forwards
- the only other changes to the match day squad are in the front row with Malakai Hala-Ngatai starting at loosehead prop… new signings Oscar Lennon and Toby Fricker should arrive ahead of next week’s game
| PREDICTION |
Both teams field lineups not far off full strength. The Free Jacks will be keen to repay their hosts for the Round 2 loss at Fort Quincy. DC took a while to get going against Anthem but will face a far more stern defensive challenge this week. New England are favorites on the road.
| LINEUPS |
OLD GLORY DC
1 Jack Iscaro, 2 Facundo Gattas, 3 Steven Longwell, 4 Tevita Naqali, 5 Bill Whiteside, 6 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz (capt.), 7 Cory Daniel, 8 Lautaro Bavaro, 9 Connor Buckley, 10 Jason Robertson, 11 Axel Müller, 12 Tommaso Boni, 13 William Talataina, 14 Ishmail Shabazz, 15 Perry Humphreys
Replacements: 16 KoiKoi Nelligan, 17 Quentin Newcomer, 18 Tyler Rowland, 19 Ignacio Dotti, 20 Collin Grosse, 21 Ethan McVeigh, 22 Gradyn Bowd, 23 John Powers
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Malakai Hala-Ngatai, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 John-Roy Jenkinson, 4 Kyle Baillie, 5 Conor Keys, 6 Ethan Fryer, 7 Jed Melvin, 8 Martín Sigren, 9 Holden Yungert, 10 Jayson Potroz (capt.), 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Le Roux Malan, 13 Wayne van der Bank, 14 Mitch Wilson, 15 Reece MacDonald
Replacements: 16 Sean Ralph, 17 Kyle Ciquera, 18 Cole Keith, 19 Piers von Dadelszen, 20 Mitch Jacobson, 21 Cam Nordli-Kelemeti, 22 Ben LeSage, 23 Cam Davidowicz
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, June 8
Venue: Maryland SoccerPlex, Germantown
Kickoff: 19:00 local (16:00 Pacific)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 77°F (25°C), wind W 4-7mph (6-11km/h)
Broadcasts: Monumental Sports, NBC Sports Boston, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Robin Kaluzniak (Canada)
Assistants: Amelia Luciano (USA) & Aaron Davis (USA)
TMO: Derek Summers (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (8) – New England 6, DC 2, STREAK DC +1
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)
