Following a 4-1 win over Seattle Sounders FC last Saturday, the New York Red Bulls enter another two-game week. New York travels to El Salvador on Wednesday to take on C.D. FAS in CONCACAF Champions League group play at 10:00 PM (TV: Fox Sports 2). New York must win on Wednesday to keep its chances of advancing out of the group stage alive.
CCL Group 3 Standings (group winner advances to knockout stage)
- Montreal Impact 3-0-0, 9 pts.
- New York Red Bulls 1-1-0, 3 pts.
- C.D. FAS 0-3-0, 0 pts.
After Wednesday's match, the Red Bulls remain on the road as they travel to Los Angeles for a showdown with Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane and the Galaxy on Sunday night at StubHub Center. New York is riding a four-game unbeaten (3-0-1) while LA enters Sunday's match on an eight-game unbeaten run (6-0-2). The game will be televised live on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes at 8:30 PM.
With the win over Seattle Sounders FC, New York pulled to within one point of third place in the Eastern Conference.
BWP ATOP GOLDEN BOOT RACE, THREE GOALS FROM MLS RECORD...
Bradley Wright-Phillips made an emphatic return to the pitch last Saturday in New York's 4-1 win over Seattle Sounders FC. The forward recorded this third hat trick of the season and moved to within three goals of the single-season all-time MLS scoring record. Wright-Phillips missed one MLS game due to a hamstring injury.
MLS GOLDEN BOOT RACE
- Bradley Wright-Phillips (New York Red Bulls) 24
- Dom Dwyer (Sporting Kansas City) 19
- T-3. Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy) 15
- T-3. Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy) 15
- Erick Torres (Chivas USA) 14
The Englishman, who currently leads the MLS Golden Boot race, now has five regular-season games remaining to break the MLS single-season record of 27 goals set by Roy Lassiter in 1996 and Chris Wondolowski in 2012.
MLS SINGLE-SEASON SCORING RECORDS
- Roy Lassiter 27 (1996)
- Chris Wondolowski 27 (2012)
- Mamadou Diallo 26 (2000)
- Stern John 26 (1998)
- Carlos Ruiz 24 (2002)
- Bradley Wright-Phillips 24 (2014)
... AND NAMED MLS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Wright-Phillips was unanimously voted MLS Player of the Week Monday. Wright-Phillips recorded his third hat trick of the season in a 4-1 Red Bulls win over Western Conference leader Seattle Sounders FC Saturday night in front of a sold out crowd of 25,000 at Red Bull Arena.
The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season by a panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR). This is only the fourth time a player ever has been unanimously voted MLS Player of the Week.
RED HOT SEPTEMBER CONTINUES FOR RED BULLS
The New York Red Bulls are slated for seven total matches across all competitions over the month of September. The Red Bulls will play five MLS regular-season matches and two CCL group play games. Through four regular-season games, the Red Bulls are unbeaten and have grabbed 10 out of a possible 12 points.
- September 6 against Sporting Kansas City | W, 2-1
- September 10 against D.C. United | W, 1-0
- September 13 at Philadelphia Union | T, 2-2
- September 20 against Seattle Sounders FC | W, 4-1
CAHILL FINDS HIS SECOND GOAL OF THE SEASON
Tim Cahill scored an important goal last Saturday in New York's 4-1 win over Seattle Sounders FC. After Clint Dempsey cut New York's 3-0 lead to 3-1 in the 62nd minute, Cahill scored three minutes later to reclaim his team's three-goal advantage and all but seal the three points. Cahill has scored two goals this season to go along with two assists and made his 20th appearance of the season.
ERIC ALEXANDER MAKES 100TH CAREER START
Eric Alexander has been a staple in the New York Red Bulls lineup over the past two seasons since joining the club from Portland. The midfielder has appeared in every regular-season game for New York since the start of the 2013 season and made his 100th career MLS regular-season start against Seattle Sounders FC last Saturday.
Alexander has made 132 career appearances between time with FC Dallas, the Portland Timbers and the New York Red Bulls. Since joining New York, Alexander has made 63 appearances, including 55 starts. Of his eight career goals, six have come as a Red Bull, along with 10 of his 19 assists.
MLS DEBUTS FOR CHRISTIANSON AND STEVENSON
Ian Christianson and Eric Stevenson both checked in as second-half substitutes last Saturday against Seattle and made their MLS regular-season debuts in the process. Christianson replaced Roy Miller while Stevenson replaced Thierry Henry. Christianson, now in his second season with the Red Bulls, was chosen by New York with the 22nd overall pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft out of Georgetown. Stevenson is in his first year with the club and was the 34th overall pick at the 2014 MLS SuperDraft out of Akron.
Following a 4-1 win over Seattle Sounders FC, Luis Robles remained in second in MLS in saves. Robles turned in a two-save performance, including one save-of-the-week type stop, against the Sounders in his most recent MLS regular-season action.
SAVES LEADERS
- Jon Busch (SJ) 114
- Luis Robles (NY) 98
- Donovan Ricketts (POR) 95
- Bill Hamid (D.C.) 95
- Steve Clark (CLB) 91
