PHILADELPHIA UNION vs. NEW YORK RED BULLS
Talen Energy Stadium | Chester, Pennsylvania
Sunday, Oct. 23 | Week #34 | MLS Game #334
4 p.m. ET (MSG, MSG GO, Red Bulls Radio)
#PHIvNY
2016 records:
NY: 15-9-9; 2-7-7 on the road
PHI: 11-13-9; 8-4-4 at home
All-Time Series: NY is 10-5-3 all-time against PHI; 4-4-2 on the road
Season Meetings: NY draw 2-2, July 17 at PHI; NY win 3-2, October 1 at NY.
HARRISON, N.J. (October 21, 2016) - The New York Red Bulls close out the 2016 regular season on the road, with a match at the Philadelphia Union on Sunday, October 23 for MLS Decision Day. The match, and all matches across the league, will kick off at 4 p.m., with coverage on MSG, MSG GO and Red Bulls Radio on TuneIn.
Red Bulls Radio kicks off at 3:30 p.m. with Countdown to Kickoff, hosted by Matt Harmon. Harmon will be joined by former Red Bull and MetroStar Steve Jolley for the English broadcast, while Ernesto Motta provides Spanish play-by-play beginning at 4 p.m.
New York will look to end the regular season campaign by completing the longest unbeaten run in MLS this season, and the third-longest in league history. New York's current 15-game unbeaten streak matches a streak run off by the Colorado Rapids from April to July of this year.
The Red Bulls have a hold on first place in the East, and cannot fall below a tie on points with second-place New York City FC. In the event of a tie on points, the teams would also be tied on total wins. The Red Bulls have a large lead in the second tie breaker, with a +13 goal differential over NYC FC.
It would be the third time in the last four seasons that New York finishes as the top team in the East. The club is heading to the postseason for the seventh consecutive year.
New York enters as the highest scoring team in MLS, and will look to lead the league in goals scored for the second-straight season.
The Red Bulls are coming off of a 3-2 victory over Columbus last weekebd, where they clinched a top two seed and thus a bye in the Knockout Round. Sacha Kljestan tallied two assists to extend his league-leading total to 19. Bradley Wright-Phillips also scored two goals, his seventh multi-goal performance of the season, which gives him a one-goal lead in the Golden Boot Standings going into Decision Day.
Philadelphia enters at 11-13-9, and hasn't won in six straight games. Newcomer and USMNT mainstay Alejandro Bedoya has played nine games for Philadelphia, scoring one goal. Chris Pontius leads the team with 12 goals, including two goals and one assist in two games against the Red Bulls this season. Keegan Rosenberry has been an ironman for the Union, starting and playing every minute this season. Fabian Herbers has started only 12 games but leads the team in assists with seven.
New York is 10-5-3 all-time against Philadelphia, and 2-7-7 this season on the road. As part of the fifteen game undefeated streak, New York tied Philadelphia, 2-2 on the road in mid-July and won 3-2 at home on October 1.
After Sunday, the Red Bulls have a bye in the knockout round of the playoffs, which will be held this week. New York will be on the road for the first leg of an Eastern Conference Semifinal next weekend, and will host the second leg on Sunday, November 6.
