Revs notch first preseason win in California
The New England Revolution continued the 2020 preseason with a 3-1 win over the Colorado Rapids on the grounds of Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif. on Wednesday. Damian Rivera tallied a pair of first-half goals, and Tajon Buchanan added a third in the second half to secure the Revs’ first win of preseason.
Sporting Director and Head Coach Bruce Arena selected a starting lineup that included four Revolution Academy products, including Rivera, who played 60 minutes in his first appearance of the preseason. The Cranston, R.I. native opened the scoring in the seventh minute when he tapped in a cross from DeJuan Jones. The 17-yearold then doubled the Revs’ lead in the 19th minute, stealing the ball from a Rapids defender and firing past goalkeeper Andre Rawls.
In the second half, Buchanan put New England ahead 3-0 in the 53rd minute with a cool finish into the bottom-left corner, again assisted by Jones, who was the only Revolution player to go the full 90 minutes. Colorado pulled one back in the 57th minute to close the gap to two, but goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell made a pair of diving saves in the 63rd and 65th minutes to preserve the scoreline. Caldwell and Brad Knighton split time in net, as Knighton earned the start and played a scoreless 45 minutes.
The Revolution will continue training in Los Angeles through Friday, when the team will travel to Portland, Ore. for a preseason tournament hosted by the Portland Timbers. New England will play three preseason matches in Portland:
Feb. 16 vs. Minnesota United FC (5:30 p.m. ET), Feb. 19 vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC (8:00 p.m. ET), and Feb. 22 against the host Portland Timbers (8:00 p.m. ET). All three matches in Portland will be streamed live on Revolutionsoccer.net.
Men’s union backs women’s pay hike
The U.S. men’s national team urged the U.S. Soccer Federation to sharply increase pay of the American women and accused the governing body of making low-ball offers in negotiations with the men. The union for the women’s team filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the USSF that is scheduled for trial starting May 5 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The women agreed to a collective bargaining agreement in April 2017 that extends through 2021. The men’s labor contract expired at the end of 2018.
Diggins-Smith dealt to Phoenix
Skylar Diggins-Smith is going to Phoenix to join Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner.
The Dallas Wings traded the four-time All-Star to the Mercury on Wednesday for the No. 5 and 7 picks in the 2020 WNBA draft and Phoenix’s 2021 first-round pick.
The Wings then sent the 2021 pick the team acquired in the deal to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Astou Ndour.
Diggins told The Associated Press last month that she didn’t want to play in Dallas anymore. The team gave her the franchise designation, meaning she couldn’t leave as a free agent.