Nine months ago, Jeff Larentowicz and Michael Parkhurst both knew that their playing time would be reduced under Frank de Boer. After all, the two weren’t getting any younger, and Atlanta United’s new manager had been open about his plans to rotate the squad throughout the year. Then Miles Robinson quickly jumped Parkhurst on the depth chart. And Larentowicz, who started 33 of 34 regular season games in 2018, became the odd man out in a crowded midfield that gradually sought to be more attack-minded.



But to start the 2019 playoffs, De Boer has found himself relying on the team’s two oldest and most experienced players. Two players that had both played extensively for New England, Atlanta’s first-round opponent. Two players that, over the course of the season, had come to expect that they would play roles off the bench throughout the year.



“About a month-and-half ago, when me and Mike (Parkhurst) were kind of buried on the...