A four-goal second half propelled Red Bull New York II to their second straight 5-0 victory Sunday at MSU Soccer Park.
The game was evenly matched through the opening 30 minutes as the two teams fought hard for every loose ball. During this time, three yellow cards were given out: one to RBNY II midfielder Deven Cadigan and two to Union II players, Rafael Uzcategui and Oscar Benitez Cobo.
In the second minute, RBNY II forward Dennis Nelich won a race down the left wing and crossed into the six-yard box for Dennis Gjengaar. Gjengaar tried to poke the ball around Philadelphia Union II goalkeeper Pierce Holbrook, who had come out off his line, but Holbrook saved the shot with a slide tackle.
In the 16th minute, Uzcategui banged into RBNY II left-back Connor Faello while challenging for the ball and injured Faello’s shoulder. Faello had to be subbed out for Sean Baitinger, who took Dennis Gjengaar’s original position at right wing, while Gjengaar took Faello’s position, left fullback, for the remainder of the game.
In the 35th minute, RBNY II right-back Aimar Modelo sent a perfect ball in behind the Union II backline for Baitinger. Baitinger caught up to the ball and crossed it to the backpost where it was kicked into the open net by Nelich.
Right before half-time, RBNY II forward Mijahir Jimenez made a backheel pass to RBNY II captain Nate Worth, who kicked a curling shot just over the bar.
The first half was tame compared to the second half.
The Red Bulls II had the upper hand at half-time, but Philadelphia Union II are never easy to play against. In the 59th minute, RBNY II goalkeeper Aidan Stokes preserved his team’s 1-0 lead by punching away a cross that was ticketed for the head of a Philadelphia forward.
Ten minutes later, RBNY II were on the counterattack, and Nelich dribbled down the left wing. Once Nelich got into the 18, Holbrook rushed out to close off his angle, but he tucked the ball into the bottom right corner to give the Baby Bulls a 2-0 lead.
After Nelich’s second goal, RBNY II put the game out of reach by scoring twice in the span of four minutes: first, Sean Baitinger kicked in a cross from Gjengaar; second, RBNY II captain Nate Worth crossed the ball into the Union II’s 18. The cross was headed out to Nelich, who volleyed the ball past Holbrook and into the upper left corner of the net, completing his first MLS NEXT Pro hat trick.
The hosts piled on a fifth goal in stoppage time, when Nelich passed to Gallagher, who then laid the ball off for Sokoloff, who took a touch and curled the ball into the bottom right corner.
Besides a couple of chances, it was all Red Bulls II: the hosts had 11 shots on goal, and the visitors had one.
RBNY II head coach Dominik Wohlert praised his team’s relentlessness after the game.
That’s the character from our group that we don’t stop, and we stay committed to the game, and we don’t care if it’s 2-0 or 3-0; we want to go again, and we want to express ourselves in the right way, and big, big compliment to the guys, because to do it back-to-back is something special.
The Red Bulls II are on a two-game winning streak, and their next game is against FC Cincinnati 2 on July 5. The hero of tonight’s game described the approach that led to his team’s second straight dominant performance.
It was similar to last week, you know. We were 1-1 at the half, but Dom made us stay on it, because we know these games can turn around quickly in this league, but we know the quality that we have, and we know the guys, even off the bench, you know the impact that they can bring. But yeah, I’m just happy to get three points, and we’re on a roll right now. So just keep going.
For more scenes from the Red Bulls II game against the Philadelphia Union II, view more of Christopher Shannon’s photos in our photo gallery.
