A LOOK BACK:
U23s: The Red Bull U23s are not in season.
U18s: The U18 Red Bulls defeated U18 Empire United, 3-1, on Saturday, November 20. The U18s started the game brightly with an early goal. In the fourth minute, Richmond McCarthy (Bronx, NY) played a neat give and go with Christian Johnson (New York, NY) and then unleashed a curling left footed shot from the corner of the penalty box that went into the top left corner of the goal. The Red Bulls came close to extending the lead on several occasions as Kyle McCord (Chester Springs, PA) and Brandon Allen (Old Bridge, NJ) both had shots cleared off the Empire goal line. In the 44th minute, the Red Bulls made it 2-0 when McCord took an Oscar Gonzalez (Clifton, NJ) pass and slipped his shot under the Empire goalkeeper.
“We played some good soccer in the first half today. Our possession was very good and we created several quality chances on goal. We talked about the need to finish off the game with our chances and not allow Empire to stay in the game. However, in the second half, we missed a penalty kick that would have made the score 3-0 and Empire became energized by the miss. Credit to Empire as they played a very good second half and the game was very much in the balance,” stated U18 head coach Paul O’Donnell.
In the second half, Empire made the score 2-1 in the 60th minute on a quick counter-attack. It was not until the 86th minute that the Red Bulls sealed the victory when they were awarded a second penalty kick after Allen was fouled. This time, Allen atoned for his earlier penalty kick miss by slamming his shot into the lower left hand corner.
Lineup: Jake Wagmeister, Antonio Matarazzo (Clint Caso 72’), Kyle Roach, Brandon Adler, Richmond McCarthy, Mark Nicholas, Sean Davis, Damian Bziukiewicz (Oscar Gonzalez 28’), Kyle McCord (Edison Sanchez 87’), Brandon Allen (Brandon Alvarado 86’), Christian Johnson (Paul Ehrenworth 65’).
Subs not used: Joe Ohaus.
Goals (Assists): Richmond McCarthy 4’ (Christian Johnson), Kyle McCord 44’ (Oscar Gonzalez), Brandon Allen 86’ (Penalty Kick)
The U18 Red Bulls recorded their second win of the weekend with a last minute goal in a 1-0 win over U18 Seacoast on Sunday, November 21. The Red Bulls dominated possession as Seacoast seemed content to sit in their own half and play for a tie. As the first half was coming to an end, Allen had a legitimate claim for a penalty kick denied when he beat the Seacoast defender and was taken down in the box.
The Red Bulls dominance in possession was even more evident in the second half as Seacoast sat even deeper and was content to hit on the counter. Red Bulls goalkeeper Jake Wagmeister (River Edge, NJ) recorded two great saves late in the game. Substitute Clint Caso (Kinnelon, NJ) had an immediate impact on the game when he entered in the 56th minute. Caso had a couple of long range efforts come close and his determination ensured the U18s recorded their second consecutive win. In the 90th minute, Caso made a driving run into the penalty box and was fouled. This time the Red Bulls were awarded the penalty kick and Caso scored his first goal of the season by placing the ball into the lower left hand corner.
“We were determined to get the win today. At times we were only defending with two players as the other team had 11 players playing in their own defensive third,” stated Man of the Match Adler.
Lineup: Jake Wagmeister, Paul Ehrenworth (Clint Caso 56’), Kyle Roach, Brandon Adler, Richmond McCarthy, Mark Nicholas (Antonio Matarazzo 65’), Sean Davis, Oscar Gonzalez, Kyle McCord, Brandon Allen, Edison Sanchez (Christian Johnson 57’).
Subs not used: Luke Rossi, Brandon Alvarado.
Goals (Assists): Clint Caso 90’ (Penalty Kick)
U16s: The U16s beat a competitive U16 Empire team 1-0 on Saturday, November 20 on a Ross Tetro (Freehold, NJ) goal in the 63rd minute. Arun Basuljevic (Mahopac, NY) played a good ball to Freddy Elliot (Roseland, NJ) who beat his defender and slipped the ball across to Tetro who coolly finished to give the Red Bulls the win.
Lineup: Brown, Tetro, Korman, Miazga, Boschen, Akinyode, Munoz(Sheridan, '40), Basuljevic, Haksel(Ceron, '45), Goodwin(Elliot, '50), Moreno
Goal: Tetro(Elliot) '63
The U16s completed an undefeated weekend with a 1-0 win over U16 Seacoast on Sunday, November 21. Seacoast played a very defensive game and often had all of their players inside the 18 yard box defending. Just as it looked like the game might end in a draw, Kyle Goodwin (Kendall Park, NJ) scored the game-winner after a big scrum in the box. Max Brown (New York, NY) was not called upon to make a save for his second shutout on the weekend.
Lineup: Brown, Ceron, Korman, Miazga, Cassagranda(Boshen, '50), Akinyode, Munoz(Sheridan, '40), Basuljevic(Haskel, '78), Tetro, Elliot(Goodwin, '50), Moreno
Goal: Goodwin '73
U15s: The Red Bull U15s did not play last week.
U14s: The Red Bull U14s did not play last week.
U13s: The Red Bull U13s did not play last week.
International Scene
Agudelo scored on USMNT debut: Red Bulls Academy product Juan Agudelo becomes the youngest player to ever score a goal for the U.S. men's national team. Agudelo’s rapid rise from a New York Red Bulls Academy player to starter in MLS playoffs to United States international reached a milepost in Cape Town. Agudelo, a 17-year-old striker, made his debut for the senior national team and scored the lone goal of the friendly match against host South Africa. Agudelo, of Barnegat, NJ, became the youngest player to score for the United States national team when his goal in the 85th minute gave the Americans a 1-0 victory over South Africa in Cape Town.
"I'm speechless," Agudelo would say later. "I don't know what to say. As soon as I saw the ball went in, I didn't believe it. I thought it was going to get called back, like an offside or something."
Agudelo was signed by the Red Bulls from the club’s academy, where he started in September 2007. He became the team’s first academy player to start a match when the club opened the MLS playoffs at San Jose on Oct. 30.
Two Red Bulls players named in the US U14 National team: Goalkeeper Nicolas Pritchard (New Egypt, NJ) and Forward Malcom Dixon (Glenridge, NJ) were named in the U.S. U14 Boys' National Team which will convene in Orlando, FL for the Thanksgiving Interregional event at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Manny Schellscheidt will lead 36 players, who will be broken up into two squads, against regional U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program teams throughout the week.
Two Red Bulls players named in the US U18 National Team: Defender Bryan Gallego (Kinnelon, NJ) and Midfielder Dan Metzger (Holmdel, NJ) were named in the U.S. U18 MNT roster for a training camp at The Home Depot Center from Nov. 20-28. The training camp will include friendly games against local men’s teams, including Ventura County Fusion, FC Hasental, Hollywood United and Orange County Blue Star. It will be the final training camp before coach Mike Matkovich selects his team to travel to Tel Aviv, Israel, in December.
