The New York Red Bulls saw goals from Frankie Amaya and Dante Vanzeir to come away with three points in a 2-1 victory over FC Cincinnati.
"It was a great game," Head Coach Sandro Schwarz said.
RBNY conceded early, with FC Cincy scoring in the third minute of the match. Amaya scored in the 19th minute with a shot from the central position outside the box, assisted by Vanzeir.
Amaya scored his second career goal against FC Cincinnati and two straight goals at TQL Stadium. With his sixth assist on the season, Vanzeir leads MLS.
"Great performance, especially after the start," Schwarz said. "In the first few minutes we conceded the goal, but the first half was very good in our ball possession to get the confidence in the first half. This was good behavior, and then also with the result. We scored and had some chances. The second half was a great fight from the whole team. I think we deserved these three points."
Vanzeir scored midway through the second half, with an assist from Emil Forsberg, the Belgian's first of the season.
"I'm a striker, and what they expect from me is scoring goals," Vanzeir said. "That's my main focus. On the other hand, I just want to help the team as much as possible. If I'm not the guy at the end of the action in front of the goal, then I hope I can set up the action to let somebody else score. I'm happy that I could get another assist and the first goal. It's a great start for me for the season. I hope to continue this."
New York vaults to top of the table in the Eastern Conference and Supporters' Shield standing with the victory, but it means nothing to the team right now.
"It was more important that we had this performance," Schwarz said. "That we have this confidence. That we were dominant in an away game, in Cincinnati. Against a top team. Against a top coach. It's good to get these results, but only seven games now in the regular season."
New York has earned a result in eight of nine road regular season matches and have posted a 4-0-1 mark in their last five regular season matches at Cincinnati.
New York has won 15 road matches since 2022 which is tied for first in MLS.
New York returns home to host Chicago Fire FC in the 10th annual Autism Acceptance Night at Red Bull Arena on Saturday, April 13. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV in English and Spanish and New York Red Bulls Radio in English via TuneIn, the New York Red Bulls app and NewYorkRedBulls.com.
"Our home games are our special for me. I think our last two games were amazing at home," Vanzeir said. "Two victories. So, it's not only because of us, it's also because the fans. We had two amazing crowds in the last two home games. Now that we're at the top of the league for a moment, I think we need them even more to keep pushing us toward the next level and we can only get better with their support. I hope they will come out on Saturday and just cheer us to the win.
"Also, I saw some fans in the stadium tonight. That's always nice to have on away trips, some fans and to give them back a night like this. So yeah, thanks to them. Hopefully we'll see them on Saturday," Vanzeir said.
