The Rebellion defeat the Midnight Riders 5-2 in their annual Supporter’s Cup Match

FOXBOROUGH, MA– The Rebellion were victorious in a dominating 5-2 victory over The Midnight Riders in a Supporter’s Cup Match held on Saturday July 29th.

The match kicked off at 4:30 p.m. ET at the Socios.com Field House in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

The Supporter’s Cup is a 11v11 one-off soccer match between members of the Revolution’s two largest supporters’ groups, this event is a long-standing tradition between The Rebellion and the Midnight Riders aimed at raising funds through ticket sales, attendance, and merchandise sales. A portion of the profits are donated to the preferred charities of both groups. This is the 4th installment of this match, with The Rebellion undefeated in the competition.

The match had hydration breaks at the midway point of each halves.

This year, The Rebellion chose Project Goal and The Midnight Riders chose Soccer without Borders. These non-profit organizations are dedicated to creating safe soccer spaces and programs for school children in their respective communities.

Rebellion forward Jaydon Perez celebrates his first goal in the Supporters Cup Match. © Adrian Heinsohn-Roe

Today’s match began with a moment honoring the life of Olivia Knighton. The 11-year-old daughter of former Revolution goalkeeper and current U19 Academy coach Brad Knighton died July 19th in a boating accident in South Carolina when their boat was rocked by a large wake caused by another boat. It resulted in 9 of the 12 occupants going overboard. Olivia was the only one injured.

Caleb Pongratz looks to score a shot in warmups prior to the Supporters Cup match. © Adrian Heinsohn-Roe

The match kicked off with The Rebellion starting from the center circle. Jaydon Perez played the ball backward to Cory Cloutier, as the Rebels looked to build out of the back to start the 2023 Supporter Cup Match.

The beginning 15 minutes of the match were back and forth, with constant pressure from The Rebellion toward the Midnight Rider defense.

In the 20th minute, The Rebellion struck first.

After a foul, Danny Jimenez found Tim Batzinger in open space. He then found Jaydon Perez after playing a through-ball on the left flank. He managed to take 3 touches before nailing home a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner.

As the match entered the 27th minute, the match was halted due to a hydration break, with The Rebellion leading 1-0.

As the match entered the 37th minute, the Rebellion added on to their advantage.

Following a give-and-go between Garrett Drake and Jaydon Perez, a through-ball was sent forward to Caleb Pongratz, who took one touch before his right-footed outside-the-foot shot snuck into the bottom left corner to add to the Rebellion advantage.

The match entered halftime with The Rebellion leading The Midnight Riders 2-0.

The Rebellion enter a huddle during their match versus the Midnight Riders. © Adrian Heinsohn-Roe

The second half began with the riders starting from the center circle. They quickly drove up the field and managed 2 shots on target before the ball was cleared. The pressure was on to start the second half.

Just 4 minutes into the second half, The Rebellion added to their advantage once again.

Following the corner kick delivery by Tim Batzinger, the ball found the feet of Jaydon Perez. He took 5 touches before taking a right-footed shot that went into the bottom left corner for the 3-0 advantage.

Entering the 53rd minute, The Midnight Riders pulled one back.

Rebellion midfielder Garrett Drake looks to dribble the ball in the Supporters Cup Match. Also pictured are Nate Murphy, Mike McAndrews, and Michael Boone. © Adrian Heinsohn-Roe

Following a bad giveaway in midfield by Caleb Pongratz, Mike McAndrews managed to outpace Cory Cloutier to hammer home a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner to bring one back for the Riders, making the scoreline 3-1.

9 minutes later, in the 62nd minute, the Rebellion added to their lead once again.

Jaydon Perez managed to find Caleb Pongratz wide open in the Rider penalty area to finish home a right-footed shot into the top right corner of the net to extend the Rebellion lead to 4-1.

Not even 2 minutes later, the Riders got one back.

Mike McAndrews managed to outpace the Rebellion backline to find John Stark open in space. His close-range shot went into the bottom-left central of the goal for the Riders, making the scoreline 4-2.

Midnight Rider forward John Stark looks to dribble the ball during the 2023 Supporter’s Cup Match. © Adrian Heinsohn-Roe

As the match entered the 67th minute, the match was halted due to a hydration break, with The Rebellion leading 4-2.

In the 83rd minute, The Rebellion extended their advantage once again.

Tim Batzinger poses with the Supporter Cup trophy following the Rebellions 5-2 victory over the Midnight Riders. © Adrian Heinsohn-Roe

Following a give-and-go with Jaydon Perez, Tim Batzinger unleashed a rocket shot into the top-right corner to extend the Rebellion advantage to 5-2 with roughly 7 minutes to go.

After the 90 minutes, The Rebellion held onto the 5-2 victory over The Midnight Riders.

After a good bit of rest and relaxation, the Riders are glad to have ruined the @NERebellion clean sheet (No donuts for you).

We are more glad about the spectators that came and the money we have raised for both groups. Thank you.

And we're onto next year, Riders over here! pic.twitter.com/7y4dROoeli

— Midnight Riders (@MidnightRiders) July 30, 2023

Champions Again! This past weekend we were able to raise  $1,700 for @projectGoalRI and win the 2023 Supporter Cup! Thank you everyone that came out and watched the game and thank you@nerevolution
for letting us play in the field house. pic.twitter.com/MsqDib9QYf

— The Rebellion (@NERebellion) July 31, 2023

The Rebellion dedicated this victory to the Knighton Family following the loss of Olivia Knighton. Brad Knighton had coached The Rebellion 4 times and was undefeated in his time coaching.

The Rebellion celebrate their victory over the Midnight Riders in the 2023 edition of the Supporters Cup. © Adrian Heinsohn-Roe

The Rebellion will look to defend their Supporter Cup Victory next season in a match versus The Midnight Riders You can follow along and learn more about next season’s match by following The Rebellion and The Midnight Riders on their respective social medias.

(Editor’s Note:  For more of Adrian Heinsohn-Roe’s photos, click on the link)