After defeating Orlando City B in the first round of the USL Playoffs, NYRB II faced the defending champions, Rochester Rhinos, in the Eastern Conference Semifinal.
Heading into the clash, NYRB II had never defeated Rochester in two years of league play. In the 2015 USL Playoffs, the Rhinos eliminated a 10-man Red Bulls II side after Konrad Plewa was issued a red card, 2-0.
Plewa served his suspension in the first game of the 2016 season, and enjoyed a consistent starting role in Red Bulls II’s back line, until suddenly, after the team’s road trip to Richmond, he was hospitalized after suffering a stroke.
Despite the medical setback, he pushed to return to the field and once medically cleared, he began training with the team once again. Plewa made his return as a substitute on Sept. 4 against Bethlehem Steel FC.
Fast-forward to the USL Playoffs, the semifinal matchup was, as predicted, a long fought battle.
Goals were traded back and forth. Derrick Etienne Jr. opened up the scoring in the 20th minute, only to have Steevan Dos Santos answer back with a Rochester goal two minutes later. Brandon Allen found the net just before the end of the first half, only to have Dos Santos bring the score line back level at 2-2 in the 55th minute.
The game went to overtime, and in the 110th minute Rochester put the ball in the back of the net.
“For them to score it was kind of a let down, but this team never gives up,” Plewa said after the game. “We knew with 10 minutes left, we still had a shot. Guys kept fighting and kept grinding.”
When it looked like all hope was over in the 118th minute, Dan Metzger won a penalty in Rochester’s box. Brandon Allen smoothly converted the kick to send the game to a penalty shootout.
Following a Rochester miss, the opportunity for victory fell to Konrad Plewa. It had been nearly three months ago suffered from a stroke and almost one year since NYRB II’s loss to Rochester in the 2015 playoffs.
Plewa stepped up in the fifth round and sunk the shot, giving Red Bulls II the 5-4 win and a personal victory for Plewa.
“It’s amazing…I’ve been through some stuff this year and to get this penalty, it’s really indescribable,” Plewa said. “I can’t believe how it went down and I’m really just at a loss of words.”
From not knowing if he would ever be able to play soccer again, to standing at the penalty spot three months later with the opportunity to win the game for his team, Plewa’s miraculous return to the field stands as one of the best moments of Red Bulls II’s championship season.
