New York Red Bulls II will host Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Friday, July 1, at MSU Soccer Park. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET with coverage available on ESPN+.
Match Notes
A Familiar Foe – New York and Pittsburgh will meet for the 19th time in their history on Friday night. Two of the four meetings last season were decided by one goal. The clubs have met seven times since the beginning of the 2020 season.
Finding the Groove at Home – Red Bulls II has earned a point in each of its last two home matches, both coming against teams that were in the playoffs last season. With six home matches between July 1 and August 12, the club will look to build and continue off the momentum at home.
Strong Stretch of Matches – New York is in the midst of a stretch in which it will play four-straight clubs that qualified for the 2021 postseason. The stretch began on June 15 against FC Tulsa and will run through July 9 when the club will travel to face Louisville City FC.
Training Quotes
“We’re expecting them to be direct, aggressive, experienced, and cause us many problems, so we’ve worked on various things to combat this. Hopefully we can get roles and responsibilities correct and make amends for some of the mistakes we made against the very experienced and very well organized El Paso.” – Gary Lewis
“It was heartbreaking the last time out, but we know it’s a new week and another chance to prove who we want to be. We keep a positive mentality and don’t look back; we’re just going to keep looking forward and pushing to get what we want out of Pittsburgh.” – Jeremy Rafanello
Important Numbers
3 – Nathan Worth became the third-youngest player in USL Championship history to start a match in New York’s last match on June 25.
5 – New York will be tested by a powerful Pittsburgh attack that features three players that have scored five or more goals this season (Dane Kelly, Albert Dikwa, and Russell Cicerone).
31 – With his next start, AJ Marcucci will move into sole possession of second in club history in both matches and starts in goal. He is currently tied with Ryan Meara at 30.
