In honor of this celebration, we will look back at notable moments with the club thus far.
The Beginning
It all started when the club was officially announced on January 21, 2015. 40 days later, on March 2, 2015, Red Bulls II hired their first head coach, former New York Red Bulls player and assistant coach John Wolyniec. In his tenure, he managed 219 matches going 95-78-46 with a 7-3-3 playoff record.
Shortly after on March 19, 2015, Red Bulls II would go on to sign Red Bulls Academy product midfielder Tyler Adams as their first official signing.
The team made their debut on March 28, 2015, at Sports Illustrated Stadium formerly known as Red Bull Arena and earned their first point in a 0-0 draw against the Rochester Rhinos.
It did not take long for the group to earn their first win in club history, as they did so on April 4, 2015, in their second official match. Anatole Abang opened the match scoring the first goal in franchise history. Shawn Mclaws, Marius Obekop, and Leo Stolz would add to the scoresheet in a 4-1 win over Toronto FC II at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
One of the most iconic moments in Red Bulls II history is on July 22, 2015, as they faced up against Chelsea FC in the International Champions Cup at Sports Illustrated Stadium. Seven Red Bulls II players were called up and made their first team debuts. Chelsea opened the scoring in the 26th minute, but New York leveled the scoring when Franklin Castellanos jumped on a loose ball and slotted a shot into the right corner of the net. 16-year-old Tyler Adams would go on to head home a Castellanos cross in the 69th minute to give New York a 2-1 lead. Sean Davis laced a shot into the bottom left corner in the 72nd minute. Davis earned a brace finding the scoresheet again with a left footed strike into the bottom right corner in the 76th minute to seal off New York’s 4-2 victory.
Red Bulls II had an impressive opening campaign, ending the regular season with a 12-10-6 record and earning the fourth seed in the USL Championship Eastern Conference Playoffs. They would go on to earn their first playoff win on September 26, 2015. Manolo Sanchez opened the scoring for New York in the 62nd minute. In extra time, Karl Ouimette had a critical brace to put Red Bulls II up 3-2 in the 115th minute. Dan Bedoya would seal the deal with a decisive 119th minute goal that earned New York a 4-2 victory at home.
Bringing in the Silverware
In their second official season in 2016, Red Bulls II earned an 21-3-6 record tallying 69 points and the first seed in the USL Championship Eastern Conference Playoffs. Notedly, this was nine more points than second seeded Louisville City FC earned. The group would go on to advance to the USL Championship Final against Swope Park Rangers on October 23, 2016, at Sports Illustrated Stadium. Derrick Etienne Jr opened the scoring in the 18th minute curling a shot outside the box into the bottom right corner. Brandon Allen proceeded to score a hat-trick, slotting a shot into the bottom right corner in the 39th minute, lacing a shot into the bottom left corner in the 84th minute, and placing a shot into the back of the net in the 88th minute. Vincent Bezecourt would add the ribbon on top with a strike from inside the box in the 92nd minute, giving New York a 5-1 victory and their first league title.
A New Home
After playing home matches at Sports Illustrated Stadium in the club’s first two seasons, New York announced on March 23, 2017, that they will move home matches to Montclair State University’s MSU Soccer Park in Montclair, N.J.
Red Bulls II hosted their first home match at the college campus on April 1, 2017, in a USL Championship matchup against the Richmond Kickers. In the 69th minute, Hassan Ndam attempted a bicycle kick that deflected to the feet of Zeiko Lewis who placed a shot into the back of the net for the first goal at MSU Soccer Park. New York held on to their lead, earning a 1-0 victory and the first three points at their new home venue.
Notable Performances
On May 11, 2017, goalkeeper Evan Louro stood on his head, making a club high 12 saves against Charlotte Independence on the road at Eagle Field.
On July 13, 2019, New York scored a franchise-high eight goals against Atlanta United 2 to secure an 8-1 victory at MSU Soccer Park. Chris Lema led the way scoring four goals which is tied with Roald Mitchell for the most goals scored in a single match. This performance made him the ninth player in USL Championship history to record four goals in a single match. Sean Nealis, Jared Stroud, and Marcus Epps went on to add to the scoresheet.
During the 2020 season, Red Bulls recorded a single-game franchise record for most assists in a single match. They recorded five assists on two occasions. Both occurred against the Philadelphia Union II at MSU Soccer Park on July 22, 2020, and September 9, 2020, to earn respective 6-0 and 5-4 victories.
Change at the Helm
Red Bulls II would go on to hire former Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls defender Ibrahim Sekagya as their third head coach on February 6, 2023. Sekagya began as an assistant coach with the club in 2015. As a head coach thus far, he has managed 73 matches, earning a 26-32-15 regular season record. In his first full season in charge, Sekagya earned the club’s first winning season since 2019 and led New York to their first playoff appearance and playoff win In MLS NEXT Pro.
New League
After eight seasons played in the USL Championship, New York along with seven other MLS-affiliated clubs joined MLS NEXT Pro. Red Bulls II played their first match in the new league against Columbus Crew 2 at MSU Soccer Park on March 26, 2023. Wiki Carmona scored New York’s first goal in MLS NEXT Pro in the seventh minute, smashing a shot from outside the box into the bottom right corner. New York would go on to earn their first point of MLS NEXT Pro in a 1-1 draw.
On April 16, 2023, New York earned their first win in MLS NEXT Pro with a 1-0 victory over Huntsville City FC at MSU Soccer Park. In the 46th minute, O’Vonte Mullings sent a through ball to Ricardo Gorday who laced a shot into the bottom right corner of the net.
In the club’s first MLS NEXT Pro campaign, they earned 51 points and the 4th seed in the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference Playoffs. One outstanding performer during this season was midfielder Ibrahim Kasule who scored 15 goals and tallied five assists. His 20 goal contributions were the second-most in a single season in franchise history. Kasule’s 15 goals were tied for the most scored in a single season in Red Bulls II history. These accolades earned Kasule 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Best XI and MLS NEXT Pro July Player of the month.
On October 1, 2023, New York played in and won their first playoff match in MLS NEXT Pro. Frank Ssebufu opened the scoring in the 13th minute after heading home a Wiki Carmona corner kick. O’Vonte Mullings added to the lead in the 25th minute, smashing a right footed shot in transition into the bottom left corner. Ibrahim Kasule increased the lead to three in the 45th minute placing a right footed shot into the bottom right corner. The midfielder completed his brace in the 96th minute with a far post run capped off with a shot into the bottom left corner to give Red Bulls II a 4-1 win over Chicago Fire FC II at MSU Soccer Park.
Youth Movement
New York prides itself on player development, whether that is at the Academy, second team or first team level.
On June 4, 2023, Julian Hall became the youngest player to score for Red Bulls II at 15 years 72 days old, scoring the opening goal in the fourth minute of a 4-1 win over New England Revolution II at MSU Soccer Park.
On March 20, 2024, Adri Mehmeti subbed on in the 69th minute of a 5-1 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup win against Hudson Valley Hammers. This feat made Mehmeti the youngest player to debut across all competitions in club history at 14 years 349 days old. He is also the youngest player to debut in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup history.
Roald Mitchell made history on April 14, 2024, as he scored four goals in the first half in a 5-5 draw against Chicago Fire FC II. This performance made Mitchell the youngest and fastest player to score four goals in franchise history as well as tie him with Chris Lema for most goals scored in a single match.
New York’s path to pro system saw success on August 4, 2024, when Adri Mehmeti became the youngest player to record an assist at 15 years and 59 days old in a 4-3 win against August 4, 2024.
Club Leaders
When it comes to goalscoring, Brandon Allen leads the category with 24 goals scored in 43 appearances across two seasons. In Allen’s 2015 campaign, he tallied 15 goals which is tied with Jared Stroud (2019) and Ibrahim Kasule (2023) for most goals scored in a single season in club history.
Throughout the club’s history, Jared Stroud is a player that prided himself on setting up his teammates. Stroud leads the club in assists with 20 in 63 appearances. In 2018, Stroud dished out 11 assists, which is tied with Vincent Bezecourt (2017) for most assists in a single season.
An iconic player and iron man for New York is goalkeeper Evan Louro who has the most all time starts in franchise history with 72 as well as the most minutes played with 6,467. He achieved this feat through 3 seasons with the club.
Transition to the First Team
Red Bulls II has seen many players advance through the second team system with a total of 67 players that have appeared for the First Team, most notably Daniel Edelman, AJ Marcucci, Aaron Long, Vincent Bezecourt, Caden Clark, and Tyler Adams.
Edelman signed with the second team on March 24, 2021, and made 39 appearances. He later signed with the first team on December 17, 2021, on a Homegrown deal. Edelman scored the game winning penalty in 2024 Audi MLS Cup Game 2 Round 1 against the Columbus Crew on November 3, 2024. The midfielder started in the clubs 1-0 2024 MLS Cup Eastern Conference Final win over Orlando City SC and was a part of the starting eleven in the 2024 MLS Cup Presented By Audi against LA Galaxy.
Marcucci signed with New York on April 16, 2021. He appeared in 55 matches with the club and was a finalist for 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Goalkeeper of the Year. He is also second in club history for total saves and minutes played. Marcucci signed with the first team on June 22, 2023.
Long penned a deal with Red Bulls II on March 10, 2016. He was a member of the 2016 USL Championship winning team and earned 2016 USL Defender of the Year. He has made 22 appearances with New York and signed a first team deal on February 22, 2017. Long contributed to the 2018 Supporters’ Shield winning side and won 2018 MLS Defender of the Year. Long made 35 appearances with the United States National Team including two appearances in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying and a call up to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Bezecourt joined New York on March 18, 2016. He made 61 appearances with the club and tallied 33 goal contributions which ranks the second-most in franchise history. The French midfielder signed a first team deal on August 11, 2017. He went on to make 20 appearances with the Red Bulls.
Clark signed with the second team on February 5, 2020, from the Barca Residency Academy. The Medina, Minnesota native appeared in 12 matches and a team high five assists in the 2020 USL Championship season. This earned the forward a first team contract that was signed on October 10, 2020. Clark made 47 appearances scoring seven goals and tallying seven assists. He would later sign a three-year deal with Bundesliga side RB Leipzig on June 24, 2021, making him the second player in club history to make a move to the Red Bulls’ sister club.
Last, but certainly not least, Adams became Red Bulls II’s first every signing on March 19, 2015. The midfielder made 29 appearances and was a part of the 2016 USL Championship winning team. Joined the first team in 2017 and made 59 appearances with the club. The midfielder was a part of the 2018 Supporters Shield winning side. The Wappingers Falls, New York native is the first player in club history to graduate the Red Bulls RDS program through the academy to the first team. He is also the first player in club history to sign with Red Bulls’ sister club RB Leipzig of the Bundesliga, doing so on December 2, 2018.
On the International Stage
New York has seen their development on the international stage, with a total 467 Senior National Team appearances with 15 different countries, scoring a total of 36 goals from Red Bull II players. A club high six players have represented the United States through 84 appearances. Most notably, Tyler Adams who has 42 appearances and two goals. Adams captained the United States at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, leading the group to the Round of 16. He started four matches logging a total of 360 minutes played.
Looking Ahead
The first 10 years of Red Bulls II has seen many memorable moments, embracing the development of players and creating a transition for players to MLS and other professional leagues across the globe.
