New York Red Bulls II will meet Charleston Battery for the second time this season on Sunday, May 23, with kickoff set for 2 p.m. ET and coverage available on ESPN+.
The first meeting between the two clubs took place on Friday, May 7, which ended in a 1-1 draw and both clubs took home a point.
“I thought we started well in the game, which was a good response to the first game where we did not start well, “ NYRB II Head Coach John Wolyniec said.
Jake Lacava scored the early goal in that match for NYRB II, before former NYRB II midfielder Zeiko Lewis recorded the equalizer.
“Charleston is a savvy, winning team that knows how to manage games and stay in games and such, so they are not going to let you get away with stuff like that,” Wolyniec said. “There is going to be a little bit of management with the environment, especially with it being so warm for Sunday.”
With the early matchup against Charleston, Wolyniec was able to get a good sense of what Charleston is capable of on both sides of the ball.
“We got a little look at how the players they have in the attack and what their tendencies are so obviously we will adjust to that a little bit,” Wolyniec said. “I thought we had some success with the press early on in the first match and then we kind of backed off of it a little bit, so hopefully we can dial that back up and be more consistent with it.”
This will be NYRB II’s first trip to Charleston since June 29, 2019, which saw the teams each take a point from that match.
“I am expecting a battle just like the first match against Charleston,” Wolyniec said. “We just have to be prepared for the warm conditions and be ready to go after the match on Sunday.”
