Red Bull New York II (RBNY II) snapped a seven-game winning streak dating back to the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro season when they drew with NYCFC II 1-1 and lost the penalty shootout 4-5 on March 15. Now, the Baby Bulls are preparing for a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference final on matchday four of the 2026 season.
Speed-bumps and obstacles: they happen to the best of teams throughout the course of a season.
The Baby Bulls are a young team where about half of the team’s 33 players have recently been signed from Red Bull New York’s Academy. They experienced obstacles in the academy but not the high stakes that come with being on a professional team.
Last weekend, the Baby Bulls faced their rivals NYCFC II on the road on a windy, cold day and were able to scrape out a point by earning a draw despite conceding the game’s first goal. It was the first speed-bump of 2026 for RBNY II head coach Dominik Wohlert’s team.
First-year Head Coach, Dominik Wohlert is the first in club history to go unbeaten in his first three matches. Wohlert was pleased with the mental strength his team showed in last weekend’s derby and he described in further detail what he saw from his relatively young group.
It’s an easy decision on that day to say ‘OK, it’s not going in our direction and we just try to survive’ so that makes me even more proud that the guys found a way into the game and then like for really 80 minutes [gave] a strong performance and we definitely deserved more. We controlled the game, NYCFC II didn’t have a lot of chances to score and you mentioned the situation where Toby [Szewczyk] did an excellent job in a one against one situation against a striker but outside of that, we had a bunch of good chances, we were really dominant, we tried to lock them into their own half and I was really, really satisfied, really happy with the performance and that’s what I told the group after the game.
The Baby Bulls will take a 2-0-1-0 record into their next game which is against Philadephia Union II at their home field MSU Soccer Park. The Union II fell to Red Bull New York II 2-1 in last November’s MLS NEXT Pro Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference final at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
Red Bull New York II achieved the ultimate goal of winning their first MLS NEXT Pro Cup championship in 2025 and that has raised the bar at the Red Bulls Training Facility in Whippany. Rather than just expecting the team to work hard every game, the organization expect winning from their second team and Wohlert did not shy away from this fact in a recent press conference.
Preseason is always great, you have time to find your rhythm, to find your style of play and shape it a little bit more in the direction you want, but there’s nothing better than to compete. We want to compete, we’re ready for it and so far, it’s really enjoyable and we feel we are on the right track. But again, we have to do it every matchday, it’s not just the first three weeks. Nobody’s giving us a gift or just points for a decent performance so we have to show up and we have to perform, every time.
One rookie who has earned his way into the starting lineup this season is 17-year-old Deven Cadigan. So far this season, Cadigan has been versatile, playing as both a defensive and central midfielder. Even though he was part of the 2023 Red Bull New York U15 squad that won MLS NEXT Cup, he wasn’t on my radar before this season. But, he’s come out of the academy and logged 253 minutes over the first three games of the 2026 season, including two starts.
Coach Wohlert described Cadigan’s game and the path he’s taken to the second team.
In the end, Deven is a great example. Great example in regards of that performance matters. For me, for us as a staff, it doesn’t matter how old you are, it’s just about quality. He just earned the spot in preseason, in training and also in the games he played. How he was able to adjust quickly to the next level, the level from the academy to MLS NEXT Pro, there’s definitely a difference. It’s quicker, it’s more physical and he did a good job of trying to understand and trying to adjust his own style of play in the right way and I think so far, with the ball and also against the ball, he’s doing a big job for us and I’m really happy with his development.
So far, in 2026, the Union II (2-1-0-0) sit just one point (6) behind RBNY II (7) in the Eastern Conference standings. It’s early in the season, but this first real home match of the season for RBNY II is as much about continuing the development of their players as it is keeping Philadelphia from jumping ahead of them in the standings.
Two of the Union II’s top goal scorers from last year, Malik Jakupovic and Sal Olivas, are still with the club and should suit up to face RBNY II Sunday. They will be the main offensive threats that RBNY II will need to track. Then there is defender Finn Sundstrom, who the Union acquired in January from North Carolina FC. He has one goal so far this season and at 6-feet-tall will be an obstacle for RBNY II to watch out for on set pieces.
For Coach Wohlert, there’s a little something extra surrounding these rivalry matches. It’s not a derby, but the Union and Red Bull have had a big rivalry in Major League Soccer over the last decade and that definitely carries over to their second teams.
Philly is going to be a good matchup. I like these games; there’s always something on the line. It’s always a little, like they’re a neighbor, duel I would say. So that’s awesome and we obviously believe in our strengths but we can also show growth and we also communicate really clear to our guys that Philly is doing a lot of things in the right direction. It’s a good team, with a good style of play and definitely they like to play direct. They like to play a lot of long balls, trying to fight for the second ball or just trying to go directly in behind and that will definitely be something we have to be aware of but outside from that, it’s not the only skill they have. They have good players, they can also play on the ground, they have a clear direction, a clear plan from the coach and we will have to show up in our way and we have to find solutions in our style of play that goes in our direction.
Red Bull New York II and the Union II will kick off each team’s fourth match of the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season in Montclair, New Jersey this Sunday at 5 p.m. ET. Coverage will be available on OneFootball and MLSNEXTPro.com.
