Inside the 18: Najem, Knapp, to Make First Starts of Season

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New York Red Bulls II will host Birmingham Legion FC on Friday, May 27, at MSU Soccer Park.

AJ Marcucci will get the start in net for New York. The goalkeeper has tallied 24 saves and a clean sheet over seven starts this season.

Curtis Ofori, Juan Castillo, Daniel De Leon, and O’Vonte Mullings will make up the backline. The 16-year-old Ofori will make his fourth consecutive start and seventh of 2022.

In the defensive midfield, Michael Knapp will start his first match of the campaign after appearing five times as a substitute. He will be alongside Steven Sserwadda, who will depart for the Ugandan National Team following the match.

After making his New York debut in the club’s last match, Adam Najem will get the start alongside Jeremy Rafanello as attacking midfielders.

The striker duo consists of Zach Ryan and Jordan Adebayo-Smith.

Derrek Chan will serve as the backup goalkeeper for Red Bulls II. The rest of the bench for Gary Lewis consists of Lamine Conte, Jack Casey, Sam Williams, Jonathan Filipe, and Illia Tyrkus.

Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. ET, with coverage on ESPN+.