Bradley Wright-Phillips now stands alone at the top of MLS goal scorers over five seasons.
With a brace on Saturday night as part of a 3-0 victory over Minnesota United FC, Wright-Phillips has now scored 88 MLS regular-season goals, the most goals over a five-year span in MLS history. The Red Bulls striker surpassed Chris Wondolowski, who had 86 goals from 2010 to 2014.
"It definitely comes down to teammates, the team you’re in and the system you play," Wright-Phillips said. "But I’ve worked hard. I want to score goals and I want to be important for my team. When I came here I tried to do that and now it seems like it’s paying off like I said. We don’t know what could happen next week or next year. Right now I’m enjoying my football and its good to be a part of Red Bull."
BWP raised his career MLS regular-season goal total to 89 and 106 across all competitions. He also moved into a tie with Carlos Ruiz for 11th all-time in league history, with 89 career MLS regular-season goals.
"We all know how good Brad is," Head Coach Jesse Marsch said.
Wright-Phillips recorded his 19th career multi-goal game, moving him into sole possession of fifth place all-time in league history.
"I think Jesse should go to sleep every night thanking God for Bradley Wright-Phillips," Luis Robles said after the match. "Not only does the guys score goals but sets up defensively our mentality, he pushes, he presses… It’s amazing how many goals this guy scores, no matter how many good performances he has, I think that he is still underrated in the league and he is under appreciative, but not here, not in this organization. We know that everything we do starts with Brad."
BWP now has 15 career MLS regular-season braces.
"He's so sharp and so lethal and now the key for me is trying to always get the balance right so that we're not running him into the ground and make sure that he's fresh week-after-week," Marsch said. "Brad always wants to play, he always wants to train. He's one of the most amazing people to be around. He's just humble and hard-working, but we've got to make sure that we really equip him physically where everything he needs to have a productive, long season.
"Brad is special. He's so special. When you see nights like tonight, you see the kind of goals he can score, we're really lucky to have him. Really lucky to have him."
His teammates heaped accolades upon him, as Alex Muyl, who assisted on Wright-Phillips' second goal on the night, said he's amazed by his talent every match.
"I said it a thousand times and three times tonight, but he makes us all look so good because the kind of player he is and the way he fights for the team, the way he is able to make plays when he gets very little service sometimes, he still makes plays," Muyl said. "To play with him is unbelievable. We are lucky to play with him. I don’t think he is stopping anytime soon."
Marsch said that Wright-Phillips could be "the best player to ever play in this league and the best goal scorer to ever play this this league."
"I don't think he gives a damn. He's just going to go out and do his thing and show every day what he's about," Marsch said. "I mean, he's incredible. He's incredible."
