It’s that time again. Time for the third Hudson River Derby of the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro season.
This time, the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference leading New York Red Bulls II (10-3-3, 36 points) will face New York City Football Club II (6-6-5, 25 points) at MSU Soccer Park on the campus of Montclair State University on Sunday.
The Baby Bulls are 2-2-1 in Hudson River Derbies and they have split their series with their opponents from across the Hudson River so far this season. Across the six matchups, the home team has won four.
NYCFC II are coming off a 1-0 victory over Toronto FC II on July 16 at Belson Stadium in Queens.
Under Michael Bradley, the Baby Bulls are 2-1-1, most recently defeating Toronto FC II in a shootout on July 11. Bradley’s squad won by the skin of their teeth, equalizing on a stoppage time goal by Tanner Rosborough who now leads the team in goals (seven).
Good teams have strong mentalities. Good teams have real spirit. We said after the game the best teams understand how to come back. how to when they go behind just push and push and push and almost make it seem inevitable that they’re going to come back. So I thought that the response in the second half in Toronto was really, really strong. I thought we deserved to be level even earlier and had we done that then maybe we have a chance to win. But the mentality to just keep going and going and push the other team back and now really trying to suffocate them in every way that part was really good. So we were really proud of the group in those ways. – Michael Bradley
Bradley is no stranger to soccer rivalries. He played for AS Roma from 2012-2014 where he participated in the Rome Derby against SS Lazio. So he brings with him the experience of having played in matches where the stands are full and the supporters of either team chant loud and often.
However, Sunday’s derby will be the first one Bradley has coached in and he described what he expects to find.
They’re special games for everybody. The players feel it, obviously they’re always games that get a little bit more attention, a little bit more spotlight and we all feel that. So we’re excited. Obviously, New York City are a good team. When you play these types of games, in so many cases, form goes out the window in terms of, just like, all right, it’s a derby, it’s a big game. It’s on the day who has more guys who are into it. Who has more guys that have really good games. Which team can make important plays in big moments, in so many cases, those are the things that tilt the bar one way or the other.
A Look at NYCFC II
NYCFC II may not be having the season that the Baby Bulls are having, but they’re having a decent year as they come in with as many wins as they have losses. One of the bright spots of NYCFC II’s roster has been Seymour Reid who ranks third among MLS NEXT Pro players with nine goals this season. Their second most dangerous player is forward Julien Lacher who leads the team with four assists and has four goals in addition.
Red Bulls academy product and current Red Bulls II midfielder Nate Worth hasn’t had the most ideal transition to being on this year’s Red Bulls II team. He joined the team on loan from Tampa Bay Rowdies in late June. However, he had played seven games in the USL Championship for Red Bulls II in 2022 and that gives him experience over other players even if he is only 18 years old.
Worth described how he and his teammates plan to handle playing against Reid on Sunday.
There’s a lot of good players in this league and he’s one of them for sure. There’s a lot of good players on NYCFC and it’s gonna be how we as a team can stop their team from attacking us and I don’t think its just one specific player but how we can shift together, cover spaces and ultimately limit opportunities in their final third. If we press well and win the ball higher up the field we shouldn’t have issues with those types of players but obviously we got to be locked in and focused. It’s a lot easier said than done but I think if we’re ready and up for the challenge we should be able to deal with it.
Another wrinkle to the baby blues is their scoring depth, which is similar to that of the Baby Bulls. The Baby Blues have six players who have scored more than once this season and the Baby Bulls have seven. The Baby Bulls lead MLS NEXT Pro in team goals with 41 while NYCFC II are not far behind with 31. It’s clear that a priority for the Baby Bulls will be to play better defense than they have recently against NYCFC II on Sunday, as they have conceded 30 goals this season and NYCFC II have conceded 33 which is tied for the fith-most goals allowed by a team in MLS NEXT Pro this season.
Coach Bradley described how his team matches up with the Baby Blues.
When you watch them, it’s a New York City Football Club team, in terms of you see that they have ideas about how they want to build the game and play with the ball. They have some individuals who can do some special things. Collectively, their idea in terms of how they connect passes, and how they try to, you know, bait you into certain spots where then they can play through and create good situations going forward. It’s a good team. Obviously, they won a good game last night against Toronto, and so it’s a game we’re really excited for.
Two players to watch in this match are NYRB II midfielder Rafael Mosquera and NYCFC II forward Seymour Reid. Reid may have five goals in his last five MLS NEXT Pro games but he nor his team have played that much recently. Since June 6, NYCFC II have played just three matches and their leading scorer, Reid, missed one of them. The previous two games which Reid scored in for NYCFC II were June 6 and May 9. Reid scored a hat trick against his opponent on Sunday, Red Bulls II on May 9.
Mosquera on the other hand will be fresh off a one goal, one assist performance against Toronto FC II and has four goal contributions in his last four matches.
Along with Nehuen Benedetti, who went cold the last two games but leads the team with six assists, they make for a powerful offense and Bradley explained what goes into coaching these two players and what he’s looking forward to seeing from them on Sunday.
Two really, really talented young players, you know, watching from afar I was excited to come in and work with them, and now, after having the opportunity to see them up close and to get to know them as human beings, to really spend time with them every day. They’re too on a long list of guys in this group that have really, really big potential. So, you know, we continue to try to challenge them every day. We continue to try to make sure they feel good about the progress that they’re making, because they, you know, as you said, in this last period, especially, they’ve been really important guys.
Worth gets the last word as he puts a bow on what will be a historic Hudson River Derby on Sunday at MSU Soccer Park.
It’s really exciting, for sure. These are the kind of games that that you’re always up for, and you’re always circling on your calendar. To play all these guys, you know, in the same area that we’re in, it’s special for sure. Even all of these kids on our team and media as well, from when we were in the academy, we’ve been playing against these guys for a while. And naturally that comes with a bit of a rivalry. And you want to win these games. You can tell in the locker room that everybody’s really motivated and, and, yeah, we really want to get the three points.
The third Hudson River Derby will start at 7 p.m. ET with streaming available with MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Don’t Miss it!
