New York Red Bulls vs. Portland Timbers
MLS Regular Season Match 1
Red Bull Arena – Harrison, N.J.
Saturday, March 10, 2018 – 7 p.m. ET
MSG2, New York Red Bulls Radio
#NYvPOR
Game notes vs. Portland
All-time series: Red Bulls lead, 3-2-3
At Red Bull Arena: Red Bulls lead, 2-1-1
HARRISON, N.J. (March 7, 2018) – The New York Red Bulls (0-0-0) will open their 23rd MLS season at Red Bull Arena as they host the Portland Timbers (0-1-0) on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. Saturday’s match will be broadcast on MSG2 and can be heard via Red Bulls Radio in English and Spanish on TuneIN.
Coverage of Saturday’s match on MSG2 begins at 6:30 p.m. with Honda Red Bulls Game Night. Jon Yardley will have the primary play-by-play responsibilities and will be alongside Shep Messing and Michelle Gingras.
New York Red Bulls Radio goes live at 6 p.m. ET with triHonda Countdown to Kickoff, hosted by Matt Harmon alongside Steve Jolley. Ernesto Motta will have the Spanish play-by-play call for the New York Red Bulls Radio and will be live at 7 p.m.
New York will enter Saturday’s MLS season opener on a four-match unbeaten streak across all competitions, including an impressive 2-0 victory at Club Tijuana. The Red Bulls’ 2-0 win over Tijuana was just the third time in CONCACAF Champions League history that an MLS team has won a game in Mexico. MLS teams are 3-38-8 when playing competitive matches in Mexico. The win broke a 21-match winless streak for MLS teams in Mexico.
It is the first time an MLS team has won in a knockout situation, and the first time an MLS team has won by multiple goals. The other MLS wins in Mexico were both 1-0 wins in the group stage of the competition. (FC Dallas def. Pumas, 1-0, 8/17/11; Seattle def. Monterrey, 1-0, 8/23/11)
Red Bulls veterans Bradley Wright-Phillips and Luis Robles both generated very good performances to give New York a huge advantage in their CCL quarterfinal series with Club Tijuana. Wright-Phillips tallied his 17th career brace across all competitions and Robles recorded a career-best 13 saves to hold a 2-0 aggregate over Club Tijuana heading into leg two.
Following Saturday’s match, New York will host Club Tijuana in the second leg of the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals on Tuesday, March 13. Leg Two will kick off at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally on Univision Deportes and streamed on go90 alongside Red Bulls Radio in English on TuneIn.
