The Red Bulls have been building toward this moment the entire season. Throughout a long campaign, with many more successes than failures, the team has put itself in position to not only earn some regular-season hardware, but make a long run in the playoffs as well.
So as the Red Bulls prepare to take on the rival Philadelphia Union this afternoon in the final regular-season game at Red Bull Arena, they will do so knowing that a tie will clinch the Eastern Conference crown and a victory will pull them even with FC Dallas with 57 points with one game to go in the race for the Supporters’ Shield. FC Dallas (17-10-6) defeated Real Salt Lake, 1-0, late last night.
“We clearly still have a lot to play for,” Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch said. “We’re in a good position. We’ve worked hard to get ourselves here all year. From the beginning, we’ve tried to build an identity that would be ready for this moment. We all knew we’d get here and now it’s a matter of making sure that in all ways we’ve built this thing up to be tested and be battle ready, and now come the end of the season be prepared to put everything out there and be successful.
“So here we are, everything to play for, and I think this group’s ready.”
By halftime, the Red Bulls may have already clinched the Eastern Conference title. D.C. United, in fifth place with a 14-12-6 and 48 points, is the only other team that can catch the Red Bulls. Their game with the Chicago Fire starts an hour earlier than the Red Bulls’ game.
A victory by D.C. United would vault them into second place with 51 points, one point ahead of the Columbus Crew, two points ahead of Toronto FC and three points in front of the Montreal Impact in the race for the second bye in the conference.
The Red Bulls are also approaching some franchise records. With a 16-10-6 record, they are one victory shy of the 17 they won in 2000 and 2013, their 11 home wins ties the mark set in 2012 and 2013, and by winning their final two games they would reach 60 points for the first time in team history. The 2013 team that won the Supporters’ Shield finished with 59 points.
“I don’t think one guy on our team needs a reminder of what we’re playing for,” Marsch said. “The goals that we’ve set, we’re in line for most of those, so can we finish the season strong to make sure that we achieve those goals? And if we achieve those goals then we’ll get wins, and if we get wins then we’ll win the conference, and so on and so forth.”
But in the way stands the Union, who were eliminated from playoff contention in their last game. But don’t let their 9-16-7 record fool you. This is a team that always seems to get up to play the Red Bulls.
“They’ve been a difficult team for us this season,” midfielder Lloyd Sam said. “They beat us in the Open Cup at our place. It was a very personal game between us and them. There’s a lot at stake so we know it’s going to be difficult, but we’re strong at home.”
Indeed. The Red Bulls’ 11 wins at Red Bull Arena this season is the most in the Eastern Conference and second-most in Major League Soccer. Though the Red Bulls have a career 5-1-1 record against the Union in league play at Red Bull Arena, the one loss came this season, 2-0 on May 24.
Two months later, the Union eliminated the Red Bulls from the U.S. Open Cup at Red Bull Arena as well, 4-3 on penalty kicks following a 1-1 tie. And the game only got to PK’s because Sam scored the tying goal in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time.
“There’s a lot at stake in this game,” Sam said. “We’ve got to win the game and I think we’ll win the game. We’ve got what it takes to win this game, especially after the disappointment in Toronto. We didn’t play so well and we often bounce back well after games like that.”
Ah, yes, the Toronto game. Despite Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco starting the game on the bench, Toronto outplayed a lackluster Red Bulls’ team and won, 2-1. Only Giovinco got into the game, but his goal in the 78th minute, where he weaved through a number of Red Bulls players before firing an unstoppable shot into the far-side netting, gave Toronto a 2-0 lead.
“I don’t think it was (a letdown),” Marsch said. “I just think that, first of all, the field was very fast because they cut the grass short. It was very wet and fast. That meant that it was hard for us with the ball to find any rhythm. Then they did a good job of making it hard on us, closing us down, going after us, making the game ugly at certain moments, and that’s a credit to them. We can do better, but you also have to credit them.
“We told the team not one chance came from more than three consecutive passes, so that alone said a lot of about what the game was. But regardless, we still feel like we can do better in those kinds of matches, along with also the kinds of matches that fit the way we want to play, so we’ll learn from it and come playoffs we’ll make sure that if confronted with that again, which is a high possibility, that we’ll be ready to go.”
The combination of forward Bradley Wright-Phillips and midfielders Sam, Sacha Kljestan and Mike Grella has put together some impressive statistics. All four players have a great balance in goals and assists.
Wright-Phillips leads the way with 15 goals and seven assists, followed by Kljestan, with seven goals and 12 assists. Wingers Sam (10 goals, six assists) and Grella (seven goals, seven assists) have been productive as well.
“That’s great production from the four of us,” Sam said. “Maybe when one’s not doing so well the other one scores. We’ve even got Shaun Wright (Phillips) and Gonzalo (Veron) there, too. We got a lot of depth in those positions. We’ve really come together. I can’t say what happened, we’re just gelling and we know each other better.”
