CHARLOTTE, N.C. (August 5, 2015) – New York Red Bulls II claimed a draw on the road against Charlotte Independence, 2-2. Franklin Castellanos tallied his third goal of the season in the 5th minute, and Leo Stolz snatched his fourth in the 72nd to extend New York’s unbeaten streak to four.
New York Red Bulls II improves to 9-7-5 on the season, and are tied on points with the fourth place Richmond Kickers in the Eastern Conference standings.
Red Bulls II hit the ground running, pressing high and causing problems early for Charlotte. Merely five minutes into the match, Castellanos found himself with time and space just outside of the penalty box. He turned and fired a laser with this left foot past the diving goalkeeper to give NYRB II the early lead.
After the opening goal, the Independence bounced back with a goal of their own. Dominique Badji, on loan from the Colorado Rapids, received a pass from Enzo Martinez and was alone behind the New York defense. Rafael Diaz charged off his line to confront the forward, but Badji calmly chipped the goalkeeper and leveled the match at one.
Charlotte amped up the pressure after the goal and forced Diaz to make a couple vital saves before halftime. The Independence sent a pass to the back post, but Diaz was in position and parried away a strike surely headed for the back of the net. On the ensuing corner kick, Charlotte hammered a header towards goal, but Diaz reacted quickly and came up with another big save.
In the second half, Charlotte wasted no time getting forward. Not 20 seconds into the half, Badji grabbed his brace off the opening kickoff to give the Independence their first lead of the match.
Box-to-box play ensued for the next 25 minutes, until Marius Obekop entered the match as a substitute. In the 72nd minute, Obekop cleverly played in Stolz behind the Charlotte defense. In tight space on the left side of the box, Stolz calmly knocked a right-footed shot past the goalkeeper to the level the match, his fourth goal of the season.
Two goals would be enough to claim a difficult road point, and extend New York’s unbeaten run to four. The next New York Red Bulls II match will be another road game on Saturday, August 8 against Wilmington Hammerheads FC at 7 p.m. EDT.
Scoring Summary
NY: Franklin Castellanos 5’
CLT: Dominique Badji (Enzo Martinez) 24’
CLT: Dominique Badji (Enzo Martinez) 46’
NY: Leo Stolz (Marius Obekop) 72’
Discipline Summary
CLT: Caleb Calvert, Caution 90’
Lineups
NY: Rafael Diaz, James Thomas, Konrad Plewa, Mike Da Fonte, Bolu Akinyode (Colin Heffron, 75’); Leo Stolz, Devon Williams, Dan Bedoya (Marius Obekop, 60’); Manolo Sanchez (Victor Manosalvas, 71’), Chris Tsonis (Stefano Bonomo, 65’), Franklin Castellanos
Unused Substitutes: Santiago Castano, Alex Clay
CLT: Matt Lampson, Mechack Jerome, Patrick Slogic (Henry Kalungi, 89’), Ben Newnam, Bilal Duckett; Andrew Ribeiro, Enzo Martinez (Caleb Calvert, 83’), Paolo Del Piccolo, Carlos Alvarez (Jack Thompson, 86’); Daniel Jackson (Ryan Finley, 46’), Dominique Badji (Raphael Cox, 62’)
Unused Substitutes: Eric Ati, Jack Metcalf
