Red Bulls U-18’s unbeaten streak in 2011 reaches seven: The Red Bulls U-18s kicked off a seven game home stretch on Saturday with a 0-0 tie against a stubborn FC Greater Boston side. In the first half, the Red Bulls came close to taking the lead on a Brandon Allen shot from the top of the box that the Boston goalkeeper managed to tip around the post. On the ensuing corner kick, Oscar Gonzalez had a neat play on the endline and then passed to Kyle McCord at the top of the six yard box, but his shot was smothered by the Boston goalkeeper.
“We started off a little flat in the first half today, but in the second half we knew we had to pick it up. We did a better job in the second half and began to put more pressure on Boston. It was a difficult game because Boston set out on playing for the tie from the first minute with 11 players packed in their half and even wasting time right after the kick-off,” stated U18 Captain Bryan Gallego.
The Red Bulls continued to apply pressure in the second half but could not find the winner. Goalkeeper Keith Cardona registered his only save of the game in the 85 th minute when he tipped a goal bound shot over the crossbar.
On Sunday, the Red Bulls shutout MLS rival New England Revolution despite having three players called up for the Red Bulls Reserve match. Gallego, Dan Metzger and Allen were all called into action for the Red Bull Reserves as they played the University of Virginia on Sunday. The U-18s started the game with a sense of urgency as they opened the scoring in the second minute. Brandon Alvarado held off a Revolution defender at the top of the box and played a ball to Scotty Thomsen who one timed it to Christian Johnson at the corner of the penalty box. Johnson rifled a shot into the lower left hand corner for the lead. The Red Bulls continued to apply pressure and could have doubled the lead in the 20th minute when Oscar Gonzalez flicked a header just past the back post. In the 27th minute, a Kyle McCord shot just missed the back post.
In the second half, the Red Bulls doubled their lead in the 56th minute when Thomsen slipped the ball over the Revolution goalkeeper after a neat pass from Alvarado.
“Alvarado was simply outstanding today. He was replacing Allen, who was with the reserves today, and proved that he is more than a capable replacement. His strength on the ball and work rate were a vital part of our win today as he was involved in our first two goals,” stated U-18 Head Coach Paul O’Donnell.
The Red Bulls continued with some great attacking soccer and were rewarded in the 63 rd minute when Christian Johnson scored his second of the day after a neat through ball from Thomsen. The Red Bulls continued to attack and were thwarted by the Revolution goalkeeper who made several big saves to prevent a bigger scoreline.
“The depth of our team really showed this weekend. Everybody contributed to the win today as we continue to make strides this season. It is great that we had several players (Gallego, Allen, Metzger) called into the reserve match today and we still pulled out a victory against an MLS academy team. The team is really starting to gel and prove that we are difficult to beat as we have only given up two goals in our last seven games,” stated U18 midfielder Sean Davis.
U-16 Red Bulls split weekend action: The U-16 Red Bulls played the Boston Bolts on Saturday and pulled out a 1-0 win in a hard fought match. Coach Rob Elliott called up defender Steven Etcheverria from the U-14 Red Bulls for the game and it turned out to be the game’s crucial move. Elliott subbed Etcheverria in with 15 minutes left and he was able to get down the line and serve a cross into Sean Sheridan who headed in the winning goal with one minute left in the game to give the Red Bulls the important three points.
The U-16s returned to the field again on Sunday, this time against the New England Revolution. The two teams both played entertaining soccer and battled to a 2-2 tie. Freddy Elliott opened the scoring for the Red Bulls off a pass from Amando Moreno. The Revs scored the next two goals to take a 2-1 lead but the Red Bulls tied it up as Moreno again made the important pass, setting up Arun Basuljevic for the goal and the 2-2 tie.
Red Bulls U-15s win two games in weekend action: The Red Bulls U15 team continued their fine play of late with weekend wins over the Boston Bolts and Seacoast Academy.
The Red Bulls played Boston on Saturday and got off to a slow start with the first half finishing 1-1, but the team came out and dominated the second half and broke the game open when Frankie Martinez scored to give them the lead. Vincent Brunetti and Nick Innocenzi followed with goals to give the Red Bulls the 4-1 win.
On Sunday, The U-15s followed up their win over Boston with a 3-0 shutout of Seacoast. The Red bulls again came out to a slow start, but after a weathering some pressure from Seacoast the Red Bulls got back to their quick passing possession style and took the game over. The team overwhelmed Seacoast with three consecutive goals from Junior Rosero, Nick Innocenzi and Vincent Brunetti giving the Red Bulls the 3-0 win. The 15s are now 6-1-1 on the season and will face Oakwood and South Central next weekend.
U-14 Red Bulls split weekend games: The Red Bull U-14 squad traveled to Boston on Saturday and suffered their first loss of the season. The Red Bulls controlled most of the match but were unable to crack a very determined Boston defense. With 15 minutes left Boston took advantage of a defensive miscue by the Red Bulls and took the lead. The Red Bulls pressed hard for the equalizer but were again thwarted by the Boston defense.
The Red Bulls were back on the field again on Sunday to play Seacoast in New Hampshire. The Red Bulls came out strong and overwhelmed Seacoast from the start scoring 4 goals in the first half and 4 more in the second to give them an 8-1 win. The U-14 Red Bulls are 7-1 in the spring season and will face Oakwood and South Central Premiere next weekend.
The Red Bulls U-13s defeat local rival Cosmos 4-0: The Red Bulls took a 1-0 lead when Stephen Elias scored on a penalty kick after he was fouled in the box. As has been the case for the U-13s this season, they came out strong in the second half and Jonas Halvorsen scored off a pass from Omri Gal to go up 2-0. The Red Bulls stepped up their defensive pressure and were able to score two more goals with Stephen Elias getting his hat trick off passes by Callum Johnson and Orestis Sousonis.
"We created chances off our defensive pressure and that's how we were able to score, it was a good result against a good team," said Coach Antonio Meza.
