On Friday, July 2nd, the Red Bulls II gutted out a 1-1 draw at MSU Soccer Park, despite two rain delays and surrendering eight shots on goal to Miami FC.
The Red Bulls II were back at MSU Soccer Park on Friday night. On the same day that the Quarterfinals of the UEFA European Championships were played, these two United Soccer League (USL) Championship teams battled it out under adverse weather conditions.
The Red Bulls II came into tonight's seventh home match of the season with a dismal 2-6-2 record and were looking to get the train back on track. Red Bulls II Head coach Wolyniec started JC Cortez at right-back, a 17-year-old who was making his second start in the USL Championship.
Key Events
Right off the bat, the Red Bulls II applied presure to Miami FC's backline. On one of these plays, Baby Bull attacking midfielder Jake Lacava put his team on the board, early. Red Bull left-back Juan Castillo played LaCava in with a through-ball down the left side of the field. LaCava dribble forward and took a hard right-footed shot that deflected off the arm of a diving opposition keeper and into the net.
That ball from Juan Castillo and then the finish from @LacavaJake 😍
1-0 | #NYvMIA | #NYRBII pic.twitter.com/kBbXRZ6ngp
— New York Red Bulls II (@NYRBII) July 2, 2021
The goal was the 20-year-old midfielder's third of the year, which ties him with his teammate Mandela 'Manny' Egbo for the team-lead.
The visitors would tie the game in the 24th minute, when midfielder Christiano Francois's low cross was collected by left-winger Othello Bah. Bah received the ball with one touch, which flicked the ball slightly into the air where he scored on the volley to tie the game 1-1.
Red Bulls II's goalkeeper, A.J. Marcucci played his best game between the sticks to date. The 21-year-old shot-stopper made SEVEN SAVES on July 2nd.
In the first half, on a goal-kick the Miami FC's Goalkeeper, Connor Sparrow, drove a long goal-kick down the middle of the field that went past Red Bull's defense and was received by Miami FC striker Adonijah Reid. Reid beat his defender and was on a breakaway with Marcucci. Reid shot a bouncing ball hard at Marcucci, who reacted quickly, sticking out his left hand and kept Miami's most dangerous attempt out of the home net.
Rain Delays
There was rain and a possible thunderstorm in the forecast, before tonight's game but no one could have predicted TWO RAIN DELAYS. After just 32 minutes of play, the head referee told both teams to exit the field and the game was sent into a 30 minute rain delay.
When play resumed in the 32nd minute, the Red Bulls came out strong. Midfielder Michael Knapp played a strong game overall. He was involved in many 50-50 battles with the opponent in the midfield and although he got a Yellow card in this one, his strong play certainly halted Miami FC's advance into Red Bulls territory and probably kept the game level.
The Red Bulls II controlled a lot of the ball in the latter stages of the first half. In the 35th minute, Rafanello played a long cross to the back-post of Miami's net. Midfielder Daniel Edelman was running to get on the end of the cross, but he taken down by a Miami FC defender and no foul was given.
Teams Return to MSU Soccer Park
RB2 Coach made two subs; he subbed in Ngoma for Roald Mitchell in the 58th and Kyle Zajec for Knapp in the 61st. The game was starting to get feisty and Knapp had a Yellow, so subbing him off was necessary, despite his dominant strength.
Shortly after the 60th minute, play had to be stopped due to rain. It started out at a decent downpour but became torrential soon after. After nearly an hour, play was resumed at 9:30 PM. This must have interrupted the players because they had put on quite the display of athleticism and endurance, up until the second rain delay.
Red Bulls II's Omar Sowe had the chance to put his team ahead in the 75th minute. The New Jersey-native cut to the inside at the edge of Miami's 18 and took a left-footed shot that curled just wide of the upper corner and banged against the Montclair State sign behind Miami's net.
Othello Bah was replaced by Ariel Martinez in the 80th minute, because the visiting coach wanted to give his team fresh legs.
In the 85th minute, the Red Bulls II had their best offensive chance of the wet night. Left-back Juan Castillo who had been very involved all night long, took a left-footed shot deep down the left flank that clanged off the post and came out.
- SUBs | Brummet IN, Sowe OUT
- Nee IN, LaCava OUT
The Baby Red Bulls only goalscorer of the night, Jake LaCava was subbed off after a valiant effort. Nicolas Nee made his first appearance in professional soccer, subbing on for the Baby Bull goal-scorer on the nigh. The rest of the game was in essence what the entire night was, a gritty battle in the midfield on a cool, wet night.
The third official held up the sign for five Minutes of stoppage time. Shortly after, Red Bull left-back, Castillo went up for a header and collided with an opposing player. As Castillo lay limp on the turf, the Red Bull medical staff ran over to him, and thankfully he was able to leave the field on his own power. Sam Williamson subbed on for Castillo and in only four minutes of stoppage-time, Williamson earned a Yellow card.
Baby Red Bull's Head Coach Weighs-in
Head Coach John Wolyniec added his two cents on the Baby Red Bulls' performance which earned them a tie against the visiting Miami FC.
Obviously, it's a difficult night with those two stoppages and all that went on, but they’re a good team," Wolyniec said. "They threw a lot at us, created a lot of chances against us. It's a little disappointing in the sense, but credit to a bunch of the guys that held them together, and were able to get a point. - HC John Wolyniec
However, more importantly Red Bulls II midfielder, Kyle Zajec made his first appearance during a USL Championship game in one year. The veteran midfielder has been unable to play since July 26, 2020 when he suffered a fracture to his left-foot against Pittsburgh Riverhounds at Red Bull Arena.
It felt great, it’s been a long time coming, happy to be out there with the team, helping any way that I can. It was a great night, it felt good and I’m looking forward to progressing from here until the end of the season. - Kyle Zajec
Over the next seven days, (July 3-10) Red Bull will play two games against division foes. One of those games will be on the road against Charlotte, who the Red Bulls II defeated easily the last time they faced each other. On the other hand, Red Bulls II's game on July 10 is versus Hartford Athletic who handed them their worst loss of the season in early June.
We're gonna get some heat, traveling, all that makes things so can be a tough week. Everybody's got to be ready. Everybody's got to contribute. So we got to be smart about that. Just make sure that we're ready to turn around, first and foremost on Wednesday. - John Wolyniec
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