TUCSON, Ariz. – Saturday night’s Desert Diamond Cup championship match between the New England Revolution and Columbus Crew SC (9 p.m. ET streaming live on revolutionsoccer.net) offers one last chance for both sides to fine tune ahead of next weekend’s regular-season openers.
As such, it’ll feel pretty close to the real thing.
While the Revs have used their first six preseason contests to build fitness, mix and match lineups, evaluate individual players and partnerships, and experiment with different options, Saturday night’s preseason finale is meant to recreate the look and feel of a regular-season match.
That means head coach Jay Heaps will likely push his starters into the latter stages of the game – anywhere between 70 and 90 minutes – as the Revs ready themselves for their opener against the Houston Dynamo just nine days from now.