With a laundry list of injuries to deal with, Jay Heaps has made two particularly interesting moves with his lineup as the New England Revolution get set to take on the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night in Chester, PA. One move highlights a particular player's versatility, and the other grants a player the first MLS start of his young career.
Alec Purdie has been given the nod in midfield, likely to start on the left opposite Kelyn Rowe. Purdie, a rookie, has made several MLS appearances already, but hasn't started. His last league action came on April 28th against New York, but the Indiana native has also struggled with injuries throughout the middle of the season.
On the other hand, with only three healthy defenders, Heaps has pushed Ryan Guy into the right-back position and moved Darrius Barnes into the center to cover for the missing Stephen McCarthy. Guy has some experience at right-back for both the senior team and the reserves, but the consensus is that it is far from his best or most comfortable position.
Also notable, Bobby Shuttleworth gets a third straight start in goal, while Diego Fagundez returns to the starting lineup up top.
Lineups
Revolution: Shuttleworth; Kevin Alston, A.J. Soares, Barnes, Guy; Purdie, Clyde Simms, Benny Feilhaber, Rowe; Jerry Bengtson, Fagundez
Bench: Reis, Gavin, Nyassi, Toja, Brettschneider, Cardenas, Imbongo
Union: MacMath; Okugo, Valdes, G. Farfan, Gaddis; Carroll, Lahoud, Gomez, M. Farfan; Daniel, McInerney
Bench: Konopka, Pfeffer, Torres, Adu, Albright, Hoppenot