HARRISON, N.J. (October 18, 2015) - The New York Red Bulls clinched the top spot in the MLS Eastern Conference on Sunday afternoon with a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Union at Red Bull Arena. New York got two goals from Mike Grella and one each from Bradley Wright-Phillips and Kemar Lawrence to tie a franchise record for wins in a season.
Scoring Summary:
NY - Mike Grella (8) 1'
NY - Bradley Wright-Phillips (16) (Sacha Kljestan, Damien Perrinelle) 4'
NY - Mike Grella (9) (Dax McCarty) 17'
NY - Kemar Lawrence (1) (Lloyd Sam, Dax McCarty) 44'
PHI - Sebastien Le Toux (7) (Tranquillo Barnetta) 55'
Misconduct Summary:
- PHI - Steven Vitoria (caution, unsporting behavior) 41'
New York Red Bulls: Luis Robles; Kemar Lawrence, Damien Perrinelle, Ronald Zubar, Sal Zizzo, Dax McCarty © (Sean Davis, 65'), Felipe, Mike Grella, Sacha Kljestan (Connor Lade, 82'), Lloyd Sam (Gonzalo Veron, 71'), Bradley Wright-Phillips
TOTAL SHOTS: 13; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; FOULS: 10; OFFSIDE: 2; CORNER KICKS: 8; SAVES: 5.
Philadelphia Union: Andre Blake;Fabinho, Richie Marquez, Steven Vitoria (Fernando Aristeguieta, 46'), Andrew Wenger, Vincent Nogueira, Michael Lahoud, Chaco Maidana (Ethan White, 46'), Tranquillo Barnetta ©, Sebastien LeToux, CJ. Sapong (Eric Ayuk, 77')
TOTAL SHOTS: 9; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 13; OFFSIDE: 0; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 1.
Referee: Ismail Elfath
Referee's Assistants: Greg Barkey, Kermit Quisenberry
4th Official: Silviu Petrescu
Attendance: 21,080
Notes:
- New York defeated Philadelphia 4-1 to clinch the Eastern Conference championship and a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League in 2016. The Red Bulls' 57 points are tied for first in MLS as New York and Dallas are tied atop the Supporters' Shield standings.
- New York and Dallas are tied in the Supporters' Shield race, but the Red Bulls own the league's best goal differential at +18, six ahead of Dallas at +12. With a win at Chicago, New York would most likely earn its second Supporters' Shield.
- New York tied a franchise record with its 17th victory of the season. New York also won 17 in 2000 and 2013.
- Today's victory was the 12th of the season at home, a new franchise record for New York.
- Luis Robles recorded his 49th career victory to set a new team record for career victories. He moved past Tony Meola in the record book.
- New York has won nine of its last 10 home games (9-1-0) and has scored two or more goals in nine consecutive MLS home games.
- Sacha Kljestan has 17 points in his last 18 matches (five goals and 12 assists). He needs just one assist to tie the franchise single-season assists record.
- Mike Grella scored his eighth goal of the season just seven seconds in to set a MLS record for the fastest goal to start a match. Former Red Bull Tim Cahill held the previous record with a goal eight seconds into a match at Houston in 2013.
- Grella recorded his first multi-goal game with the Red Bulls with his brace in the game's first 17minutes.
- New York Red Bulls captain Dax McCarty set a personal best with eight assists this season after finishing with two assists in the win. McCarty's previous MLS high was seven assists in 2007 with FC Dallas.
- New York set a season-high with four first half goals. The Red Bulls tied a season-high with four goals for the game (also scored four vs. New England on July 11).
- Kemar Lawrence scored his first MLS goal in the 44th minute.
- Bradley Wright-Phillips scored his team-leading 16th goal of the season in the fourth minute. BWP has 43 goals over the last two seasons, the most of any player in MLS.
- New York is 9-5-2 all-time versus Philadelphia, including a 6-1-1 mark at Red Bull Arena in MLS play. This season, New York is 2-2-0 vs. Philadelphia in all competitions.
- New York is 20-16-10 all-time in the month of October. The Red Bulls have scored 73 goals all-time in the month of October and have conceded 61 goals all-time in October.
- New York is 7-0-0 when scoring three or more goals in 2015.
- The Red Bulls are 14-4-0 when scoring first, including a 10-0-0 mark at Red Bull Arena when scoring first.
- Beginning with his first MLS start in late 2012, Luis Robles has played 90 minutes in 105 consecutive regular season games, the second longest streak in league history (all GKs).
New York returns to action Sunday, October 25 at Chicago. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET.
