TUCSON, Ariz. (February 22, 2017) – The New York Red Bulls played to a draw against Houston Dynamo in their second Desert Diamond Cup match, 2-2.
New York’s starting lineup featured two MLS players, one SuperDraft pick, four trialists, three USL players and one academy player.
Houston found the breakthrough in the 35th minute, when Andrew Wenger’s cross was finished at the back post by Mauro Manotas. The Dynamo doubled their lead moments later when Jalil Anibaba headed in a free kick.
At halftime, the Red Bulls introduced eight substitutes. Following the changes, Red Bulls academy player Omir Fernandez scored his first goal for the senior team in the 65th minute, taking advantage of a mistimed back-pass in the penalty box.
Minutes later, Fernandez helped create the tying goal, when his shot rang off the post and fell to trialist Lucas Terci, who finished the rebound to tie the game.
With the draw, New York improved to 0-1-1 in Desert Diamond Cup. The Red Bulls will conclude its Desert Diamond Cup campaign on Saturday against an opponent to be determined.
Scoring Summary:
HOU: Mauro Manotas (Andrew Wenger) 35’
HOU: Jalil Anibaba (Vicente Sanchez) 41’
NY: Omir Fernandez 65’
NY: Lucas Terci 72’
Lineup: Evan Louro; Lucas Batista (Kevin O’Toole, 46’), Tim Schmoll, David Abidor (Hassan Ndam, 46’), David Najem (Ethan Kutler, 46’); Zeiko Lewis (Andrew Tinari, 46’), Arun Basuljevic (Kaz Shigenobu, 46’), Duane Muckette (Brett Nason, 36’; Jake Freeman, 65’), Vincent Bezecourt (Andrew Tinari, 46’); Zach Ryan (Lucas Terci, 46’), Bradley Nestor (Omir Fernandez, 46’)
