HARRISON, N.J. (October 19, 2025) - The New York Red Bulls II defeated Carolina Core FC 5-1 on Sunday night at MSU Soccer Park.
New York opened the scoring in the third minute. Forward Roald Mitchell was fouled inside the box to draw a penalty kick. Midfielder Rafael Mosquera stepped up and converted his penalty kick into the top left corner of the net.
The home side doubled their lead in the 34th minute, as Mitchell found midfielder Nehuén Benedetti on the right flank. He moved in and chipped the goalkeeper, who came off his line, moving the score to 2-0.
NYRB II added to their lead two minutes into the second half. Defender Matthew Dos Santos sent a through ball to Mitchell, who placed his shot into the bottom right of the goal.
A minute later, Benedetti collected his second marker of the game when midfielder Nate Worth took a touch and found the Argentinian in the box. He slotted a right-footed kick into the bottom left of the goal, making it 4-0.
Mosquera bagged his brace with a goal in the 80th minute, as he converted a left-footed shot from the center from the box off a pass from midfielder Adri Mehmeti.
The visitors got a goal back in the 83rd minute, as forward Glory Nzingo netted a right-footed try into the center of the goal.
Mosquera’s two goals gave him five goal contributions across all competitions in his last three matches against Carolina.
Benedetti and Mosquera scored their first and second career MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs goals and are the fourth and fifth players in club history to score a brace in a playoff match.
Benedetti tied Florian Valot for the third-most goals across all competitions by a midfielder with 13.
Mitchell tied Derrick Etienne Jr. for the eighth-most goals scored across all competitions with 14.
Mitchell scored his first career MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs goal.
Mehmeti has an assist in two consecutive matches across all competitions.
Defender Juan Gutierrez tied Vincent Bezecourt for the fourth-most appearances across all competitions in club history with 66 and surpassed teammate Ibrahim Kasule for the fourth-most minutes played across all competitions in club history with 4,954.
Defender Aimar Modelo made his first appearance across all competitions since April 6, subbing on in the 86th minute.
Following Sunday’s match, New York will be back in action at home for the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs Eastern Conference Semifinals with opponent, date, and time of the match to be announced at a later date.
