FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The links between New England and Rochester strengthened when the Revolution sent four players on loan to the USL Pro side on Wednesday.

The arrangement between the two clubs – part of a landmark agreement reached between MLS and the USL earlier this year – calls for the Revolution to ship a quartet of players to the Rhinos in lieu of entering a team into the MLS Reserve Division this year.

New England fulfilled those requirements by agreeing to loan Bilal Duckett, Matt Horth, Gabe Latigue and Tyler Polak to Rochester. All four players will report to the Rhinos this week to start their preparation for the season opener at VSI Tampa Bay FC on April 13.

“This affords us an opportunity to get these guys games,” Revolution coach Jay Heaps told MLSsoccer.com. “That's what those four players need the most right now: games. You could argue that if we could send 10, we'd send 10. But we need to have training here. I can name six, seven, eight more guys who need games. They're actually the lucky ones to get the games.”

Fortunate or not, all four players will hope their time in Rochester ultimately leads to a return to the first-team squad in relatively short order. The loan deals allow the Revs to recall any of the four players at any point during their loan spells.

Heaps said he would not hesitate to bring any of the four players back at any point if the circumstances created a need for their services in Foxborough.

“The way we look at it is going to be as an evolving process [and] a revolving door,” Heaps said. “If we think a player is going to help us, then we'll bring him back and swap him to get him up. If we have an injury, then we'll talk to Rochester and make a swap.”