DAVENPORT, Fla. – After another productive morning session on the training pitch, week one of the team’s second trip to Orlando is in the books.
- TICKETS: Red Bulls Home Opener vs. Toronto FC, Sunday March 6
With one friendly in the books, two more are on the horizon as the Red Bulls get set to square off with the University of Central Florida and Toronto FC on Saturday morning.
UCF/TFC Preview
After Wednesday’s defeat to Orlando City, the Red Bulls are looking to get back onto the pitch with their eyes on a good performance. As the regular season draws ever closer, head coach Jesse Marsch has made an effort to hone in on the first team’s needs, and Saturday’s matchups will be a good way to push their fitness as well as test out some tactical adjustments.
The match against UCF will be played with two, 45-minute halves, while the TFC matchup will be an abbreviated 70-minute friendly.
“We’ll be two weeks out from our first game, so we’re going to push the minutes a little bit,” Marsch explained. “It’s the time of camp to start focusing a little more on the first group.
“We’re hopeful to crank up their minutes and continue with a lot of the sharpness and tactical adjustments and have another good day.”
Burpo Leads GK Training
An addition to the staff earlier this preseason, goalkeepers coach Preston Burpo has been hard at work since the team has returned to Florida in order to get his goalkeeping core ready for the season.
“Everyone here has made the transition extremely easy,” Burpo told NewYorkRedBulls.com. “They’ve all made me feel welcome right from the get-go.”
An ex-MLS goalkeeper with five years of experiences in the league, Burpo has worked with Luis Robles, Ryan Meara, Kyle Reynish, and Kendall McIntosh over the past few days and has been impressed with what he’s seen.
“There’s been a lot of energy throughout the whole group, starting from the first week that I was here,” he added. “They’ve come out and appreciated what I was presenting as far as training sessions and they brought a lot to the table with their high energy, which makes me life easier. Now to get Luis into the mix and to have the full group together, it’s been a fun experience on my end for sure.”
Robles, in his first Orlando camp after missing time due to a USMNT call-up, is adjusting to life under Burpo’s instruction. But the four-year Red Bulls veteran has had nothing but positives to report after re-joining with his teammates.
“It’s great to be back with the guys,” Robles said. “During the offseason, though it was shorter than some, it was still a pretty good amount of time to be away from the m. To back in Florida where it’s a little bit warmer than New Jersey and to be with the guys in this setting, it’s been fun.”
Family Weekend
Friday also marks the start of Family Weekend here in Orlando, as many players were greeted by their wives, girlfriends and children after coming off the training pitch on Friday afternoon.
The team will had a barbecue cookout on Friday evening as a welcome to the families that have made the trip before being able to watch the team take part in Saturday’s doubleheader. On Sunday, the team has a rare off day, which means plenty of fun in the sun is sure to be on tap for the players and their families.
