Red Bull New York II (9-4-4) are entering their 19th Matchweek of the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season and they will be in the Windy City of Chicago facing the team they knocked out of the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro playoffs, the Fire FC II (5-5-6) on Sunday.
The Baby Bulls are coming off their third shootout loss of the season, last week vs FC Cincinnati 2, while the Fire II also lost in a penalty shootout for the second straight game, to Huntsville City FC. Both teams are on sizable unbeaten streaks: Red Bulls II a three-game unbeaten streak and Chicago a four-game unbeaten streak.
Last season, the Fire II dealt a big blow to Red Bulls II when they beat them 9-2 in July at Seat Geek Stadium. However, the Baby Bulls would get the last laugh when they knocked Fire II out of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference semifinals at MSU Soccer Park 5-3.
When asked if there’s a little extra on this rivalry, Red Bulls II head coach Dominik Wohlert said: “We approach every game the same. For us, it makes not really a difference if we play home or if we play away or if we play Chicago or Charlotte…The goal is to create a performance where we are proud of, and looking back on the 90, 95 minutes and saying that was our performance, and we owned every moment.”
That is the level of consistency in approach that has guided this season’s Baby Bulls team to the third-best point total (32) in MLS NEXT Pro’s eastern conference and the fifth-best point total overall in MLS NEXT Pro.
The composition of Wohlert’s squad is also unique. He has 46 rostered players to build a lineup out of every week (He would have 48 but two are injured), while Chicago Fire II has 34. While eight Red Bulls II players were on international duty in early June, Wohlert brought up three players from the Red Bull New York academy: Troi Panniel, Ian Paola and Bradley Castro. They played minimally but that experience against professional level opponents and in a professional environment will help them progress.
Over the last few weeks, one Red Bulls II player has really taken advantage of his opportunity to play and that’s 17-year-old midfielder Sean Baitinger. Baitinger made his debut on May 17 against NYCFC and his first start on June 14 vs New England Revolution II. It hasn’t taken him many minutes to get used to the speed of play in MLS NEXT Pro.
In his fifth appearance with Red Bulls II, Baitinger scored his first MLS NEXT Pro goal on June 21. Since then, he has three goals and two assists (5 goal contributions) in the Red Bulls II’s last three games.
Wohlert believes that Baitinger’s progress shows that the Red Bull way of rewarding merit with minutes, is working.
Sean is a really great example for the right progression. We obviously try to challenge him always in the right way, but also we were mindful about his development. And that’s exactly when we talk about how we have to manage like 35 to 45 players in some ways, and we always think about what makes more sense: is it with the under 18s? Is it training with us? Is it playing with us? Is it even being in a training session with the first team? Sean is a nice example where we did a good job the last couple of months, and now he’s finally able to show his quality. He’s getting more mature. He’s able to bring his skill set every game and every training session, and so he earned these opportunities. He earned these minutes, and that’s exactly what we want.
Dom Wohlert’s team have been dominant offensively this season. With 39 goals scored, Red Bulls II have scored the second-most goals in MLS NEXT Pro this season behind only Crown Legacy FC who have 41. The reason the Baby Bulls have been, is their scoring depth. Eleven of their players have notched two goals or more this season and Dennis Nelich has a team-high five. Nelich had the best game of his pro career on June 28 vs Philadelphia Union II where he scored his first pro hat trick.
Christian Gallagher, an 18-year-old forward who is a product of the Red Bull New York academy, is second on the team with four goals. The Arizona native has really picked up the slack for his team while Roald Mitchell, a forward signed to a first team contract who started the year by scoring four times in the first five games of the season, has been away from the team.
Gallagher has scored four goals in nine appearances with the Baby Bulls this season, including three goals and an assist in his last seven appearances. He was rewarded with a contract extension running until 2027 with an option for 2028 on July 3.
Meanwhile, captain Nate Worth finds himself in the middle of a goal contribution drought over his last eight matches (he last scored a goal on May 8). However, the resourceful 19-year-old has made nine key passes in his last five games and leads the team with 33 on the year, which is also good for fifth in the league.
Speaking of good passing ability, Dennis Gjengaar has continued to treat his demotion to Red Bulls II as an opportunity to show what he can do and make his teammates better. The Norwegian’s seven assists are tied with Columbus Crew 2’s Kevin Gbamble for the second-most in MLS NEXT Pro this season.
Amid the backdrop of the first World Cup on American soil since 1994, the Red Bulls II have put together a strong first half of their title defense season. The World Cup impacted Red Bulls II this season in two ways: firstly, the Brazilian men’s national team’s base camp training site was the same facility that the Red Bull New York first and second teams use. This allowed players and staff from all three teams to meet each other and share their passion and knowledge of the beautiful game.
Secondly, Wohlert described what his players and staff have taken away from watching this Summer’s World Cup.
It’s obviously a huge, huge tournament, the biggest tournament, the biggest stage in the world. So, every player from us, even every staff member, everyone is always talking about it. Just from a learning standpoint from our guys, I think that’s for every young player — just enjoying these games, enjoy the quality of these players, and try to see it and try to go on the pitch and trying to repeat it, basically. If you see a new skill, if you see the work rate from these guys, you see the passing quality, the offensive ones, whatever it is — just go outside and now enjoy your own game because you are in that pathway trying to go also the professional road.
My key takeaway from Wohlert’s quote is “enjoy.” It’s important for these players to enjoy the journey they are on, even though they are under pressure to succeed and advance to the next level. While Gallagher and full back Connor Faello recently signed MLS NEXT Pro contracts keeping them with the second team until 2027 and 2028 respectively, their time at this level and with this group of teammates is very finite. So, they might as well enjoy it and the environment that Coach Wohlert and his staff have created seems to foster this feeling among the players while, at the same time, demanding hard work and attention to detail.
The Baby Bulls will look to not just keep the unbeaten streak going but continue their dominance over Chicago Fire II with another win which would stretch their regular season record against the team from the Windy City to 6-2-2.
Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET with coverage available on OneFootball and MLSNEXTPRO.com.
