New York Red Bulls II return to Red Bull Arena one week after playing three matches in a span of eight days, all against undefeated teams. Red Bulls II earned a solid road point against Charleston Battery, lost to Richmond Kickers at home and fell to Rochester Rhinos in the Rhinos’ home opener. NYRB II are set to face Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Sunday afternoon.
New York Red Bulls II host Pittsburgh Riverhounds at Red Bull Arena on Sunday, May 3 at 2 p.m. EDT (WATCH: Live stream available on NewYorkRedBulls.com/Live).
Red Bulls II drop II
New York Red Bulls II suffered losses in back-to-back matches last week against Richmond Kickers and Rochester Rhinos. In the first match last Wednesday at Red Bull Arena, Red Bulls II fell to Richmond 1-0 and traveled to Rochester on Sunday where the Rhinos remained undefeated with a 2-0 victory.
On Wednesday, 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. Red Bulls II had a chance in equalize in the 63rd minute when Anatole Abang gained possession just outside of the Richmond penalty area. He dribbled around the Kickers' defense towards the end line on the right side of the penalty box and sent in a low, driven cross which deflected off a Richmond defender. The ball fell to Karl Ouimette in the area, who calmly cut-back to his right to dodge a charging defender. His shot that was taken off the line by a Richmond defender and deflected to Derrick Etienne. Etienne took a shot, but it was blocked and deflected out of the penalty area. NYRB II pushed further up the field and created a few set-piece opportunities, but was unable to find an equalizer.
In Sunday’s match in Rochester, Alex Dixon opened the scoring for Rochester in the 40th minute off a save from Santiago Castano and clinched the victory in the 68th minute when Jonny Mendoza slid in the second goal. The match was a physical one, with one player from each side needing to change jerseys because of cuts they picked up during the game. Juan Sebastian Sanchez nearly put Red Bulls II on the board in the 88th minute when he almost connected with a cross in the six-yard box, but the ball was a sent in too early. With the second consecutive loss, Red Bulls II fell to 1-3-2.
Young squad highlights Rochester trip
Following an MLS-heavy lineup against Richmond Kickers, Red Bulls II played a majority of its USL contracted players and academy products against Rochester Rhinos. Derrick Etienne was the lone academy starter, but Juan Sebastian Sanchez and Kyle Zajec appeared as substitutes in the second half. USL players Dan Metzger, James Thomas, Konrad Plewa, Mike Da Fonte, Chris Tsonis and Dan Bedoya made up the majority of the starters, while Bolu Akinyode and Franklin Castellanos featured as substitutes.
Pittsburgh Riverhounds
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds (2-1-2) enter Sunday’s match undefeated in its last three matches (1-0-2). In Pittsburgh’s previous match, the Riverhounds netted five goals for the second time this season in a victory against Toronto FC II, 5-1. The Riverhounds’ other five-goal-game came in the first match of the season, a victory against Harrisburg City Islanders, 5-2.
In last week’s rout against the 10-man Toronto FC II, midfielder Rob Vincent scored two goals and earned USL Team of the Week honors for week six. In five matches, Vincent has already totaled four goals and three assists. Midfielder Kevin Kerr has been equally as impressive thus far, posting four goals and two assists. Pittsburgh’s lone loss of the season came in week two against the undefeated Rochester Rhinos, 2-1.
Getting to know…Pittsburgh Riverhounds
Pittsburgh Riverhounds was established in 1998 (17th season) and is not currently affiliated with an MLS team.
The name, “Riverhounds,” derives from the expression, “river dog,” which refers to the barge workers that ply the three rivers at their confluence in Pittsburgh. The team’s mascot, AMO, is named after the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers.
In 2013, the Riverhounds opened Highmark Stadium, a 4,000 capacity soccer-specific stadium overlooking the city’s downtown skyline from across the Monongahela River.
Midfielder Danny Earls came up through the Aston Villa youth system and spent the 2010 season with Colorado Rapids. He played in 18 games and helped Colorado capture its first ever MLS Cup.
Pittsburgh Riverhounds’ long term goal is to join MLS by 2023 and expand Highmark Stadium to hold 18,000.
