Community Corner: Your Starting XI for tonight

With so many absences in the lineup tonight, we turned it over to the readers to pick a community starting XI.

The result is a lineup with a mixture of experience and youth with two players who would be making their first team debuts in Nathan Harriel and Matheus Davó.

Though Alejandro Bedoya picked up a bit of a left ankle injury, head coach Jim Curtin expects him to play through any pain or discomfort to lead the squad against Supporters’ Shield winners New England Revolution tonight.

Responders to the poll agreed that’s the right move but leadership will also be needed from center back Jakob Glesnes, who will have inexperience to his right if Harriel gets his first MLS action at right back and Stuart Findlay to his left with just 181 minutes on the season.

Readers gave Paxten Aaronson a slight edge over fellow homegrown Anthony Fontana to start as the No. 10, which makes some sense in terms of recency bias (Aaronson scored and played 90 minutes against the Revs on the road) but Fontana is also a known Revs killer who should have a chance to have his say on the game one way or another tonight.

Davó hasn’t played yet since being acquired on loan three weeks ago so it makes sense that fans would want to see him get a run out. Curtin said he “scored a bunch of goals” in a scrimmage on Monday against Union 2 so if he can’t get in the lineup tonight you have to ask when.

Based on the responses, the subs tonight would be Fontana, Sergio Santos (who is questionable), Jack McGlynn, Matt Real and Aurelien Collin if all five subs would be used.

Your Starting XI

4-4-2 Diamond
Matt Freese
Kai Wagner, Stuart Findlay, Jakob Glesnes, Nathan Harriel
Leon Flach
Alejandro Bedoya, Quinn Sullivan
Paxten Aaronson
Kacper Przybylko, Davó