HARRISON, N.J. (April 22, 2015) - New York Red Bulls II fell in its return to Red Bull Arena against Richmond Kickers, 1-0. Richmond's Brian Ownby converted the only goal of the match on a penalty kick in the 50th minute to claim the victory for the undefeated Kickers.
"We looked a little slow today, maybe the short week, we played Saturday and then Wednesday, but Richmond did the same," head coach John Wolyniec said. "They just managed themselves in the game a little better than we did."
"Overall, we're a bit disappointed. You want to win at home, but playing against an undefeated team, an experienced team that consistently has success in the league, they were just less naïve than we were."
The first scoring opportunity of the match came from Richmond. In the 7th minute, a Kickers corner sent into the box was headed down to an open Brian Ownby. Ownby, alone in the six-yard box, struck his shot but Santiago Castano made the point-blank save to keep the game tied. Manolo Sanchez applied pressure on Richmond, forcing a few turnovers which turned into chances. His first takeaway in the 10th minute resulted in a shot that went high and another forced turnover led to a shot that was blocked out of bounds for a corner.
Perhaps the best chance in the first 45 minutes came from Anatole Abang. In the 35th minute, Derrick Etienne spotted Abang charging forward and delivered an accurate through ball. Abang, alone in behind the defense, beat the charging goalkeeper but was dispossessed by a defender from behind. Abang desperately battled for the ball back, but the defender drew a foul and play was blown dead.
In the second half, Richmond needed only five minutes to break the tie. Ownby received a pass in some space behind the Red Bulls II defense. Castano ran off his line to confront Ownby, but Ownby went right, beat Castano and the goalkeeper dragged him down for a penalty kick. No card was shown to Castano. Ownby stepped up to the spot, Castano dove right, and Ownby went left to gain the one goal advantage.
Andrew Jean-Baptiste, on loan from the First Team, found himself in some space in the 55th minute outside the box, but his shot flew a couple yards over the bar. Five minutes afterwards, Richmond responded to the threat and tried to double its advantage. Forward Miguel Aguilar took a shot that beat Castano, but hit the post and bounced out of play.
The best chance of the match for NYRB II arrived in the 63rd minute. Abang received the ball in Richmond's third of the field and dribbled around the Kickers' defense towards the end line, just right of the penalty box. He sent in a low and driven cross which deflected off a Richmond defender and fell to Karl Ouimette in the area. Ouimette calmly cut-back to his right to dodge a charging defender, took a shot that was taken off the line by a Richmond defender and the ball fell to Derrick Etienne. Etienne took a shot, but it was blocked and deflected out of the penalty area.
Red Bulls II pushed further up the field and had a few set-piece opportunities, but could not find the back of the net in time. With the loss, Red Bulls II falls to 1-2-2.
Scoring Summary
RIC: Brian Ownby (PK) 50'
Discipline Summary
RIC: Miguel Aguilar, caution, 70'
RIC: Mike Callahan, caution, 74'
NY: Connor Lade, caution, 84'
Lineups
NY: Santiago Castano, Connor Lade ©, Andrew Jean-Baptiste, Karl Ouimette, Shawn McLaws (Chris Tsonis, 85'), Sean Davis, Leo Stolz, Derrick Etienne, Franklin Castellanos (Bolu Akinyode, 75'), Anatole Abang, Manolo Sanchez (Dan Bedoya, 69')
Subs not used: Rafael Diaz, Mike Da Fonte, Konrad Plewa, James Thomas,
RIC: Travis Worra, Braeden Troyer, William Yamby, Alex Lee, George Davis IV, Mike Callahan, Samuel Asante (Sascha Goerres, 60') , Fred Owusu Sekyere, Brian Ownby (Eli Garner, 84'), Miguel Aguilar
Subs not used: Ryan Taylor, Stephen Bosso, Ricky Burke, Nate Shiffman, Matt Delicate
