Mijahir Jiménez made the most of his first MLS start - scoring twice, including the match-winning goal - as Red Bull New York topped Orlando City SC, 3-2.
Emil Forsberg scored for New York, while Cade Cowell added two assists on the night.
New York opened the scoring in the 23rd minute. Forsberg played a ball through to the right side of the six-yard box to Gustav Berggren who played a one-time cross into the box to Jiménez, who placed a shot into the bottom left corner.
The Red Bulls doubled their lead in the 43rd minute. Justin Che played a ball forward to Cowell who dished a cross into the middle of the box to Forsberg who took a touch and stuck a shot into the bottom right corner.
"It's all of us playing really well together," Cowell said. "The offense is quick. I feel like a lot of times we're just not as sharp, or the final pass is not there. But it was all there tonight, and we really could have scored five or six goals."
Forsberg scored his second goal of the season and the 22nd of his career. The midfielder’s 22 career MLS goals are the third-most by a midfielder in club history.
New York scored a third in the 60th minute. Dylan Nealis played a ball wide to Cowell who cut inside on a defender and played a ball into the box that was struck top right corner by Jiménez.
The forward is the second player in club history to score a brace in their MLS debut.
"We’re really happy for Mijahir and it’s also the reason that we as a club believe so strongly in the pathway and connection between the first team and the second team and the Academy," Head Coach Michael Bradley said. "You look on the field tonight and that is so prevalent. The second team is a really important part of what we do here and obviously to be able to be really closely connected and to have a lot of guys in first team training on a regular basis, that part is really important."
Ethan Horvath recorded five saves in the match.
"Ethan (Horvath) deserves big credit, not just tonight but for the year for his mentality, for his presence," Bradley said. "He has a really steady way about him every single day. He doesn’t get too high, he doesn’t get too low. He knows who he is and what he is, and he just continues to try to push himself and make sure that he’s ready. We’re really pleased with Ethan."
Tim Parker made his 100th career MLS appearance with New York.
With the victory the Red Bulls are undefeated in their last six matches across all competitions against Orlando City. With the win, New York are unbeaten in three of their last four matches at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
Following Saturday’s match, the Red Bulls head on the road to face off against Atlanta United FC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, August 15.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET with coverage on Apple TV in English and Spanish, and Red Bulls Radio in English via the Red Bull New York app and RedBullNewYork.com.
