A LOOK BACK:
U23s: The Red Bulls U23s withstood some early attacking pressure from the New Hampshire Mountaineers and then scored three unanswered goals--one in the first half and two in the second--en route to a 3-0 National Premier Soccer League victory Saturday, June 5 at Lubetkin Field on the campus of New Jersey Institute of Technology.
The Red Bulls goals were scored by three different players, as Matt Bouraee (Manasquan, NJ) found the back of the net in the 32nd minute, followed John Tardy (Staten Island, NY) in the 48th minute and Kadeem Dacres (Rosedale, NY) in the 86th minute. Mario Rios (Morristown, NJ) assisted on each of the first two goals, while Sacir Hot (Fair Lawn, NJ) set up the final tally.
The Red Bulls now have nine points on three wins in as many starts in the Northeast-Atlantic Conference of the NPSL.
“It was a slow start by us,” said Red Bulls head coach Rob Elliott. “I thought we came out a little casual, but we have enough quality in our group that we were eventually able to get going. It wasn’t great, but it was enough.”
New Hampshire’s Nick Papamichael had the best early chance with a point blank header in the 14th minute. But Red Bulls keeper Sheldon Parkinson (New Rochelle, NY), who would remain unscored upon through the first three matches of the season, was equal to the task posting the save.
The first goal came on a quick-striking play, as Rios, on the left wing, put a crossing pass to the feet of Bouraee, who was open near the far post. Bouraee, in turn, made no mistake, firing his goal on the first touch in the 32nd minute.
Trailing 1-0, the Mountaineers stayed on the attack and Parkinson needed another big stop on Papamichael in the 36th minute to keep the score there for the duration of the half.
Rios, who was dangerous all afternoon before coming off for a sub in the 58th minute, set up the second goal early in the second half. He carried the ball on the left wing outside of the box and centered to Tardy, who controlled the ball off of his body and scored from straight on in the 48th minute.
“Mario (Rios) on the ball makes things happen for us,” said Elliott. “He’s a crafty player.”
The game was played on a sunny day with temperatures hovering near 90 degrees and the combination of the heat and the effort from the early wide-open attack appeared to take its toll on the Mountaineers and they rarely threatened down the stretch.
Dacres, who entered as a substitute in the 69th minute, capped the scoring on a play that was created by Hot. A defender, Hot burst forward on the sprint out of midfield and carried the ball hard into the goal area before dropping a pass off to Dacres, who finished less than four minutes from the end.
The final stat sheet showed the Red Bulls with a 22-13 advantage in shots, while Parkinson made six saves.
U18s: The Red Bulls U18s finished their regular season on a high note with a 4-0 win over U18 FC Westchester on Sunday, June 6. CJ Lyle (Stamford, CT) scored his team leading 11th goal of the season in the 26th minute to put the Red Bulls into the lead after finishing from a Juan Agudelo (Barnegat, NJ) pass inside the box. The scored remained 1-0 for the remainder of the half.
The second half started with the Red Bulls on the defensive. However, Sean Davis (Holmdel, NJ) rifled home a 25 yard volley in the 61st minute to extend the lead to 2-0. Christian Battistesa (Bound Brook, NJ) entered the game in the 70th minute and had an immediate impact. In the 74th minute, Battistesa volleyed home from a tight angle after Sam Adjei (Newark, NJ) beat two men on the left wing a floated a cross to the back post. Then in the 76th minute, Battistesa finished into the lower left corner from a Davis pass. Battistesa was unlucky not to make it a hat-trick in the 80th minute when he fired a shot over the bar.
“Today was a big win for us over a local rival and it gives us good momentum heading into the playoffs at the end of the month. Bryan Gallego (Kinnelon, NJ) had just returned from a trip with the Unites States Under 18 national team and he was simply outstanding today. Defensively we are a lot more difficult to break down with Gallego in the lineup,” stated U18 head coach Paul O’Donnell.
Lineup: Cardona, Ehrenworth, Adler, Gallego, Garcia, Davis (Brode 77’), Najem (McCarthy 80’), O. Gonzalez (Ahn 81’), Innocenzi (Adjei 46’), Agudelo (Bonder 87’), Lyle (Battistesa 70’).
Subs not used: Hot.
U16s: On Sunday, June 6, the Red Bull U16s wrapped up their United States Developmental Academy season with a 2-2 home draw to division winners, U16 FC Westchester, at NJIT. Eric Lagg (Lafayette, NJ) and Travis Wantchekon (New York, NY) were the goal scorers for the Red Bulls, with Adam Najem (Clifton, NJ) and Oscar Castillo (Brooklyn, NY) supplying the helpers, respectively. Max Brown (New York, NY) and Nick Cerrone (Summit, NJ) split the game in goal.
Lineup: Brown (Cerrone), Ceron (Dorador), Alvarado, Orsaris, Miazga (Boschen), Akinyode (Reed), Munoz, Haskel (Cruz), Najem, Lagg (Castillo), Elliot (Wantchekon)
U14 Pre-Academy: The U14 Pre-Academy side had the week off, but returns to action this weekend.
U14 1996: The U14 1996 Red Bulls did not play last week.
A LOOK AHEAD:
Wednesday, June 9
U23 Red Bulls vs. Boston Tea Men, 8:00pm @NJIT (National Premier Soccer League)
Saturday, June 12
U14 Pre-Academy Red Bulls vs. U14 BW Gotschee @Rutgers-Newark (Northeast Pre-Academy League)
U23 Red Bulls @ New Hampshire Mountaineers, 3:00pm @Southern New Hampshire University (National Premier Soccer League)
Sunday, June 13
U23 Red Bulls @ Boston Tea Men, 3:30pm @Merrimack College (National Premier Soccer League)
