New York Red Bulls II are finally home. It’s been seven weeks since their last home match (May 24 vs. FC Montreal) and the team finally returns to Red Bull Arena on Sunday, July 12.
New York Red Bulls II announced that all remaining home games in the 2015 season will be played at Red Bull Arena. All tickets purchased for games at Columbia will be honored at Red Bull Arena.
TICKETS: NYRB II vs. Harrisburg City Islanders
Red Bulls II enters the match with a 6-6-4 record and currently stand in sixth place of the Eastern Conference. This week’s opponent, Harrisburg City Islanders, dwell just beneath the red line in seventh place. With a home-and-home against Harrisburg in the next two weeks, New York has a chance to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the pack.
Kickoff between New York Red Bulls II and Harrisburg City Islanders at Red Bull Arena on Sunday, July 12 will be at 7 p.m. EDT (WATCH: Live stream available on NewYorkRedBulls.com/live).
Red Bulls II fall in Pittsburgh
New York Red Bulls II saw their four-match unbeaten run come to an end at the hands of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, 3-0. The team was on a three-match winning streak and the game marked their final away fixture in a six-match road trip.
Santiago Castano was exceptional, making big saves throughout the match. He was called into action early, making a nice one-on-one save. Shortly afterward, Pittsburgh’s Rob Vincent scored the opening goal from distance, smashing his shot into the top corner. Castano made his best save just before halftime when he made an impressive double-save.
In the second half, New York struggled to create in the attack and Pittsburgh increased their lead. Two more Riverhounds goals ensued, including a second from Vincent, and Pittsburgh clinched the victory.
Six-pointers and a home-and-home with Harrisburg
Next up for New York Red Bulls II is Harrisburg City Islanders. The teams have met once earlier this season at Red Bull Arena, a Harrisburg victory, 2-1. In the match, both sides were knotted at one-goal apiece for most of the game. In the 86th minute, Leo Stolz was sent off for receiving his second yellow card of the game and Red Bulls II were down to 10-men. The Islanders took advantage in the dying moments of the match, scoring the game winning goal in the 91st minute.
New York Red Bulls II will face the Islanders this weekend at home on Sunday, July 12, and the following weekend in Harrisburg on Saturday, July 18.
Fast Facts from the six-game road trip
New York went 3-2-1 on the road trip, including a four-game unbeaten run against FC Montreal, Wilmington Hammerheads FC, Louisville City FC and Saint Louis FC.
During their four-game unbeaten run, Red Bulls II outscored their opponents 9-3 and went on a three-game winning streak.
Goalkeepers Santiago Castano and Rafael Diaz both recorded one shutout each in back-to-back games against Wilmington Hammerheads FC (Diaz) and Louisville City FC (Castano).
A total of eight Red Bulls II players were elected to the USL Team of the Week during this span, including Dan Metzger who was named USL Player of the Week for his performance against Louisville City FC. Konrad Plewa, Karl Ouimette, Mike Da Fonte and Leo Stolz were all honorees and Derrick Etienne, Manolo Sanchez and Santiago Castano were named to the bench.
Konrad Plewa scored back-to-back game winning goals against Louisville City FC and Saint Louis FC. He scored three goals in those two games alone.
Red Bulls II in MLS
Red Bulls II leading goal scorer Anatole Abang has scored three MLS goals and earned his first assist, a game-winner, against New York City FC. Abang also scored the game winning goal against the New York Cosmos in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The 18-year-old has scored four goals for Red Bulls II in five matches this season.
Manolo Sanchez has now made three MLS appearances for the Red Bulls. He played six minutes as a substitute against New York City FC on June 28, nearly grabbing his first MLS goal in the late stages of the match, but his shot struck the post. On June 20 versus Vancouver Whitecaps he was a 77th minute substitution. He played 13 minutes and found Chris Duvall in the 82nd minute who would assist Anatole Abang’s goal in the same minute.
Anthony Wallace entered the match as an 87th minute substitute in the New York Red Bulls’ U.S. Open Cup win against New York Cosmos, 4-1. This was his first appearance for the Red Bulls since he started and played the full 90 minutes against Columbus Crew SC, a 2-1 victory for RBNY.
Getting to Know…Harrisburg City Islanders
Established in 2004, Harrisburg is the official USL affiliate of MLS’ Philadelphia Union
Harrisburg won the USL championship in 2007
Former Red Bulls goalkeeper Danny Cepero, the first goalkeeper in MLS history to score a goal from open play, played for Harrisburg City Islanders in 2008 and 2010
Defender Dante Leverock, a Bermuda international, has been capped in three matches and scored his first international goal in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification against Bahamas
Harrisburg’s Yann Ekra (Lyon), Jose Barril (Real Madrid) and Enric Valles (Barcelona) are all products of prestigious European academies
