HARRISON – Red Bull New York (3-3-3, 12 pts) settled for a 4-4 draw against their arch-rivals in D.C. United (2-4-3, 9 pts) on Wednesday.
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a league with many historic rivalries. Since 1996, one can argue that the Atlantic Cup is one of the league’s proudest in its long storied history.
When New York and D.C. last encountered each other, it was last May at Audi Field where New York was victorious over their bitter rivals. Since then, many things have changed for both sides, but the passion and hatred for each other still remains.
Entering off a brutal loss to CF Montréal, New York had to regain their form against a squad who have struggled to score in 2026 in league play. Entering Wednesday, the “Black-and-Red” had only scored four goals in MLS competition this season. D.C. forward Tai Baribo accounted for three of them.
What ended up unfolding for both sides Wednesday was an offensive showcase for the ages and a defensive performance that should never be revisited.
To start, the first half of Wednesday’s match was night and day from what New York displayed on Saturday vs Montréal. The scoring was reignited for New York thanks to a familiar face and a great young Ghanaian midfielder.
At this point, it’s almost a guarantee that Julian Zakrzewski Hall scores in a match. That was the case in the 15th minute when Hall buried his sixth MLS goal of the campaign to give Red Bull a 1-0 advantage.
Ronald Donkor, however, was undoubtedly one of the match’s top performers. Following his assist on Hall’s goal, Donkor blasted a shot against D.C. keeper Sean Johnson to earn his first goal of the regular season. With a scoreline of 2-0 in the 21st minute, it appeared to be smooth sailing ahead for the home side.
The journey to get to full-time was anything but calm.
For D.C.’s Baribo, the former Philadelphia Union man was a headache for the Red Bull backline. Finishing the contest with a hat-trick, it just seemed like Red Bull had no answers for him.
As a whole, it was a winnable contest on paper, but Red Bull couldn’t finish the job. Whether the score was 3-1 or 4-3, New York allowed their rivals to answer.
New York’s miscues on defense essentially ruined the mood of what was otherwise a great performance offensively. Designated player Jorge Ruvalcaba showed everyone in attendance why New York believed he was a crucial piece for them. The second half saw two brilliant goals from the winger and each goal left fans believing a victory was in sight.
Despite everything that occurred in the attack, despite the bounce back effort from the club, the mood overall felt rather sad. The squad knew they had to finish the job when they were up 3-1. Instead of gaining three points, they had to settle with earning one point.
“Yeah, at the moment we’re giving away too much, so that’s for sure,” head coach Michael Bradley said after the match. “To score four goals, to be up 2-0, 3-1, 4-3 at home, we left points on the board tonight, for sure.”
“I mean, I’m a little bit down, I’m not happy,” Donkor said postmatch. “I think we could have just won this game, but it didn’t happen. So I think we just have to keep going. I don’t think we can say anything again, because we couldn’t win.”
Red Bull will now travel to Ohio to complete the season sweep over FC Cincinnati on Saturday night. Kickoff for Saturday’s match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Apple TV.
