If Saturday’s forecast is any indication, Red Bull New York may have to trade in their umbrellas for their press.
The Red Bulls welcome St. Louis City SC to Sports Illustrated Stadium on Saturday night for the first regular-season meeting between the two clubs, with plenty at stake — and plenty of rain potentially coming along for the ride.
New York (9-11-6, 33 points) enters the matchup on a two-game winning streak after knocking off rival New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 18. The victory capped a productive four-match road stretch in which the Red Bulls went 2-1-1 and recorded three clean sheets, tied for the most in MLS during Matchdays 24 through 27.
And lately, keeping the ball out of their own net has become something of a specialty.
New York has conceded just two goals over its last four matches, the fewest in MLS during that span. Goalkeeper Ethan Horvath has been a major reason why, recording three shutouts in his last four MLS appearances while making 91 saves this season, seventh-most in the league.
Now comes a considerably tougher test.
St. Louis City SC enters Saturday’s match with a 12-6-8 record and riding a 16-match unbeaten streak in MLS play. The Red Bulls will have to find a way through a team that has been particularly difficult to beat.
“We know that there’s still eight games to go, and there’s a lot that still has to get through and get better to be the team that we want to be,” the Red Bulls coach said. “But we continue to move ourselves along in a good way.”
New York will also have to do it without its leading scorer.
Julian Hall, who leads the Red Bulls with 10 goals, is away on international duty with the U.S. national team. That puts more responsibility on 22-year-old Cade Cowell to help lead the attack alongside creative playmaker Emil Forsberg, who has a team-high seven assists.
Then there’s the weather.
A steady dose of rain could turn Sports Illustrated Stadium into a slick, fast-moving chessboard, with the ball zipping across the surface and unpredictable bounces creating problems for defenders and goalkeepers alike.
For the Red Bulls, however, that could be exactly what they want.
New York’s high-pressure system thrives on forcing opponents into uncomfortable situations, and a wet surface could make a poor St. Louis touch even more costly. One misplaced pass or heavy touch could quickly turn into a Red Bulls scoring chance.
But the weather could also test New York’s newfound defensive discipline.
“I think a little bit of it has been a realization that in order to defend properly and in order to achieve clean sheets, we have to defend really well as a group,” the coach said.
That doesn’t always mean charging forward at full speed.
The Red Bulls have had to learn when to press and when to simply take a breath, drop back and put out the fire.
“Sometimes we do have to put our foot on the brake and just drop because sometimes those aggressive moments do lead to a little bit of one domino falling into the next one,” the coach said.
That balance could be crucial Saturday. New York can’t afford to spend 90 minutes chasing the game, especially against an unbeaten St. Louis side. But with the rain potentially speeding everything up, the Red Bulls could have opportunities to make their pressure count.
The matchup also offers New York another chance to show that its recent defensive improvement is more than a temporary hot streak.
“We’re proud and excited for the players that when some big games came and we needed to be there, we needed to be ready to step on the field and compete and play and show our quality and show our football and show our resilience and our mentality,” the coach said.
Saturday’s game could have a little bit of everything: an unbeaten opponent, a Red Bulls team riding a two-game winning streak, a missing leading scorer and, if the forecast holds, enough rain to make every pass, touch and bounce just a little more interesting.
After all, if the Red Bulls want to keep the good times rolling, they might as well do it with a little water pressure.
Following Saturday’s match, New York will enter the FIFA international break through Oct. 6 before returning home Oct. 10 to host San Diego FC for the first time.
