NEW YORK RED BULLS vs. MONTREAL IMPACT
2016 Eastern Conference Semifinal – Leg 2
Red Bull Arena | Harrison, NJ
Sunday, Nov. 6
4 p.m. ET (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, Red Bulls Radio)
HARRISON, N.J. (November 4, 2016) – The New York Red Bulls return home on Sunday to host the second leg of an Eastern Conference Semifinal series with the Montreal Impact. The Red Bulls will look to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for a third-straight season with a two-goal home win.
New York will advance with a 2-0 win, or any win by two or more goals. Should New York win 1-0, the match would head into extra time. The teams would play two 15-minute sessions, followed by a penalty shootout if necessary. The away-goals rule does not count for goals scored in overtime.
Any other one-goal victory by New York would see Montreal advance on the tiebreaker, away goals.
Kickoff is set for 4 p.m., with coverage on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and Red Bulls Radio in English and Spanish. Red Bulls Radio goes live at 3:30 p.m. with Countdown to Kickoff, hosted by Matt Harmon. Harmon will call the game in English with former Red Bull and MetroStar Steve Jolley, while Ernesto Motta provides Spanish play-by-play beginning at kickoff.
The Red Bulls trail after a second half goal from Matteo Mancosu last weekend. The Red Bulls offense was shutout for just the second time since July 10, and the first time against MLS competition. New York was shutout once in CONCACAF play, a road draw in Guatemala City.
The Red Bulls return to Red Bull Arena, where the team set a franchise record for home wins in 2016, finishing the regular season slate with a 13-2-2 record. New York is 27-5-4 at home over the last two seasons in MLS regular season and playoffs.
New York’s loss last weekend was the first in 21 games overall, and first in any competition since July 3. The unbeaten streak ran for 16 MLS games, the third-longest streak in league history, and four games in the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League.
Bradley Wright-Phillips and Sacha Kljestan lead the team offensively this season. BWP earned a second MLS Golden Boot in the last three seasons with 24 regular season goals. Wright-Phillips became the first player to record two 20+ goal seasons in his MLS career, and set a new record for most goals scored over three consecutive seasons in his first three full seasons in New York.
Kljestan led MLS with 20 assists, just the second player in league history to reach the 20-assist plateau in a single season. He set a new franchise single-season high with his 15th of the year, breaking a record set by Eduardo Hurtado in 1998, and equaled by Thierry Henry (2014) and Kljestan a year ago.
Luis Robles recorded the third 100+ save season of his MLS career, and led the league with 11 shutouts, matching his career-high from 2013.
Should New York advance, it would face the winner of the Toronto FC – New York City FC series, which also completes on Sunday. The 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs break next weekend for a FIFA international window. The Eastern Conference final will get underway on Tuesday, November 22 at the lowest remaining seed. The second leg will be played on Wednesday, November 30.
