New York Red Bulls II will travel to face Birmingham Legion FC on Sunday, August 28, at Protective Stadium.
The two clubs will meet for the fourth time in their history and the second time this season. Birmingham defeated New York 2-1 on May 27 and holds the slight advantage in the all-time series 2-1-0.
Red Bulls Academy midfielder Erick Ruiz will make his first professional start in the match, starting in the defensive midfield alongside Jesús Castellano.
Ruiz will become the sixth Academy player to start a match for Red Bulls II this season. In all, Red Bulls Academy players have started a combined 19 matches, with the average age of those players being 16 years old.
The attacking options for New York will feature Jordan Adebayo-Smith, John Murphy, Jonathan Filipe, and Michael Knapp.
O’Vonte Mullings will wear the captain’s armband and be joined by Curtis Ofori, Daniel De Leon, and Hassan Ndam along the backline.
For the ninth-consecutive match, Giannis Nikopolidis will get the start in net.
The bench for Interim Head Coach Ibrahim Sekagya will be comprised of Lamine Conte, Davi Alexandre, Arian Recinos, and Bento Estrela. Derrek Chan will serve as the backup goalkeeper.
Kickoff is set for 5:00 p.m. ET, with coverage on ESPN+.
