Red Bulls Down New England
The New York Red Bulls struck early and often to blow past the New England Revolution, 4-1 on Saturday night. Bradley Wright-Phillips struck twice, and Lloyd Sam once, all in the first 12 minutes to take control of the game. Anthony Wallace added his first career goal in the second half to complete the victory.
New York set an MLS record with three goals in 12 minutes – the quickest any team has scored three times in a match in league history.
With the win New York moves to 7-6-5 on the season and 5-2-2 at Red Bull Arena. New York now has 26 points and sits in second place in the Eastern Conference.
New York got on the board early – as they have done recently – with Wright-Phillips cashing in a short cross from Sam in the fourth minute. The play started with a pass in the midfield from Felipe to Sacha Kljestan. Kljestan slotted a ball through for Sam, and the winger got to the end line, shook his man and put in a cross that Wright-Phillips was able to direct past New England’s Bobby Shuttleworth by out-jumping his marker.
It was Sam’s turn to score in the 10th minute. Wright-Phillips found Mike Grella at the top of the box. The Long Island native, operating in tight quarters, put a pass to the feet of Sam, who was able to fire by Shuttleworth to double the advantage with his fifth of the season.
Wright-Phillips got his second in the 12th minute. Kljestan picked out Dax McCarty, who played into the path of Wright-Phillips with his first touch. Pure hustle from Wright-Phillips saw him beat his man and fire a low shot back by Shuttleworth for his eighth of the season.
The second tally gave Wright-Phillips his second multi-goal game of the season, and the eighth of his MLS career, moving past Thierry Henry for sole possession of third place on the all-time franchise list behind Giovanni Savarese (10) and Juan Pablo Angel (12).
Anthony Wallace, making his 40th MLS appearance and second with New York, pushed the lead to three with his first-career marker in the 56th minute. After a partial clearance, McCarty gathered the ball and tee’d up Wallace, who fired a shot through traffic that deflected, leaving Shuttleworth no chance to recover.
Lloyd Sam, Matt Miazga named to MLS Team of the Week
Following the dominant performance against New England, two Red Bulls have been named to the MLS Team of the Week. Winger Lloyd Sam and center back Matt Miazga each earned a nod for the Best XI.
Sam continued his strong year with a goal and an assist, while Miazga and the back line limited a dangerous New England offense.
Lloyd Sam nominated for MLS Goal of the Week
Sam has also been named a finalist for MLS Goal of the Week for his 9th minute marker against the Revolution. Sam benefitted from some nifty close-range passing from Bradley Wright-Phillips and Mike Grella, but got himself into space and fired a clean strike by the goalkeeper to give New York a 2-0 lead just nine minutes into the game.
Sam now has 14 goals in his New York career, and needs just one tally to join the 15 goal and 15 assist club – something only six New York players have achieved.
Red Bulls travel to Orlando
New York makes its first trip to Florida since 2001 this weekend to face MLS expansion club Orlando City SC and Brazilian star Kaka. The Lions joined MLS ahead of this season, and brought in Kaka to lead the team on the field. Orlando is currently 6-7-6, and two points behind the Red Bulls in the standings.
The match is set for Saturday, July 18, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
Red Bulls Host Rival for Open Cup Quarter Final
The Red Bulls will return home after Orlando to host rival Philadelphia Union in a quarterfinal match in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – the United States’ domestic cup competition. The match is set for Tuesday, July 21 at Red Bull Arena.
New York has not made the quarterfinals since 2011, when it lost 2-0 at Chicago. Should the Red Bulls advance there is a chance for a meeting with Chicago, as the Fire take on Orlando City SC in another quarter final match.
Dane Richards loaned to NASL team Indy Eleven
The New York Red Bulls have loaned midfielder Dane Richards to Indy Eleven of the NASL for the remainder of the season, the club announced today. Richards re-joined the Red Bulls after signing with the club on March 7, 2015. Richards also played for New York from 2007-2012.
Richards played in 12 games this season with the Red Bulls and made one start in 2015.
Richards, a native of Montego Bay, Jamaica, was drafted out of Clemson University by New York in 2007. He broke onto the MLS scene in his rookie campaign, starting 27 games and contributing two goals and six assists. The midfielder was one of three finalists for MLS Rookie of the Year.
During his two stints with the Red Bulls, Richards played in 159 career games, second in club history. He made 133 career starts, second in team history, and played 11,958 minutes, the second-best total in New York history.
He totaled 21 goals and 26 assists to rank in the top 10 in team history in both categories.
NYRB II Fall to Harrisburg, 2-0
New York Red Bulls II were defeated on Sunday night at Red Bull Arena by Harrisburg City Islanders, 2-0. Craig Foster struck first in the twenty-third minute and Enric Valles converted a penalty kick in the eighty-eighth minute to steal three-points on the road.
With the loss, New York falls to 6-7-4 on the season and into seventh place in the Eastern Conference. For Harrisburg City, the win bolsters them ahead of Red Bulls II into sixth place.
U-13s Crowned National Champs
The New York Red Bulls U-13s are National Premier League champions. On Monday, July 13 the Red Bulls defeated St. Louis Scott Gallagher-Missouri in the championship match, 2-0. The Red Bulls U-13s finished undefeated in the tournament.
En route to their title, New York claimed victory in all three games of the group stage, finishing with a goal differential of 18. They outscored their opponents a combined 20-2 in the opening three matches to move on to the semifinals.
There they met FC Boulder Elite, another swift victory for RBNY U-13s, 6-0, before claiming the title in the championship. The 2-0 win was New York’s third consecutive shutout of the tournament. Overall, the Red Bulls U-13s outscored all of their opponents 28-2 in all five matches.
