MLS New York Red Bulls

New York Red Bulls Weekly Update

November 3, 2008 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New York Red Bulls News Release


RED BULLS HEAD TO HOUSTON FOR GAME 2: After playing to a 1-1 tie at Giants Stadium last Saturday, the Red Bulls look ahead to the second game of their two-leg Western Conference Semifinal Series against the defending champion, the Houston Dynamo, when they travel to Robertson Stadium to play on Sunday, Nov. 9 at 3 PM ET (TV: MSG Plus; TeleFutura; Radio: WADO 1280 AM).

The Red Bulls opened their 2008 MLS Playoff run with a 1-1 tie in the first leg last Saturday. After a scoreless first half, Eastern Conference-leading scorer Juan Pablo Angel put the Red Bulls ahead in the 48th minute. Forward John Wolyniec played a cross to Angel and Angel beat his defender before nodding it past goalkeeper Pat Onstad.

Houston was able to earn the draw five minutes from full time. Defender Wade Barrett played a ball into the box that bounced to Stuart Holden. Holden touched it back to substitute Kei Kamara, who rifled it in from seven yards out.

New York out-shot Houston, 14-8, and goalkeeper Danny Cepero, making his playoff debut, made two saves. Red Bulls Dane Richards and Angel as well as Houston's Brian Mullan all earned yellow cards in the first leg, meaning that if they receive another yellow card in the second game, they will earn an automatic one-match suspension and miss the Western Conference Final. Midfielder Mike Magee missed the first leg due to illness.

With the series tied, the winner of the second leg will advance to the Western Conference Final, where they will either play Real Salt Lake or Chivas USA (RSL leads Chivas USA, 1-0, on aggregate). If the aggregate score between the two legs is even after the second leg, the teams will play a 30-minute extra time period consisting of two 15-minute halves. If the score is still tied after that point, the teams will participate in a penalty shootout to determine a winner.

AFTER THE GAME: Here was some of the post-game reaction after the 1-1 draw in the first leg of the series:

NEW YORK RED BULLS HEAD COACH JUAN CARLOS OSORIO

On the game:

"All right, (I'm) disappointed. I think we did just enough to have won the game against a very, very tough team. (I'm) very proud of the boys today, we competed and we limited them to very few chances and at the end, I think there are more positives than negatives in this game. As I said to the guys, if we keep this team spirit and we bring this competiveness to their place, then I think we have a chance. A big week ahead of us, we'll train very hard and we will prepare for next week's game."

On whether the result felt more like a loss:

"Yes, that is probably why I say I'm disappointed because at that particular time, you almost think this is it, but I thought in the first half, we were defending too deep (and) I addressed that at half time. I asked the guys to push forward especially knowing that it was (Brian) Ching and (Nate) Jaqua playing upfront. But the minute they bring (Kei) Kamara, we dropped off and probably were aware of his pace. We just competed and you know like they always do, is competing for the second ball, for the third ball and there is a rebound here and there. At the end, they just put it in the box."

NEW YORK RED BULLS FORWARD JUAN PABLO ANGEL

On the game:

"Only time will tell. We still have 90 minutes to play for. I think we showed a lot of positives today. We competed very well against the best team in the League. Obviously, (we have) the disappointment of giving up a late goal. We should have won it and we failed. But there's still 90 minutes to go and we have to try and play a little bit more. The game should be more open for us and we'll see. It's game on."

On his goal:

"Great play from John Wolyniec, and I just went to the near post and the ball went right to me and I just headed it in the far post."

NEW YORK RED BULLS GOALKEEPER DANNY CEPERO

On his playoff debut:

"It felt pretty good. To be honest, it felt like the other two games personally for me. A little bit of nerves but most of all today, I was excited to play. It was good to get out there in front of the fans in Giants Stadium. That always lifts your spirits and makes it a little bit easier so all in all, I thought we put in a pretty good effort and unfortunately, we did not get the result."

On Houston's goal:

"It was kind of a mad scramble in front of the goal. The ball was getting batted around a little bit and it was unfortunate for us. But fortunate for them, it fell to Kei Kamara's feet and he was able to slip it in-between Diego (Jimenez's) legs. It's just a big mess in front and all of a sudden, the ball is shooting out. It's just a little bit unlucky I think."

HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR

On Kei Kamara's goal:

"I didn't see the whole thing, but I think Kei just got on his feet and just toe-poked it. In the box, when you hit your target, sometimes good things happen. His pace and his energy gave them problems."

On the outcome of the game being a tie:

"We're going to come out and try to win the next game anyway, so if it's 1-0 or 1-1, you still have to win the game. So our approach will be to come out and try to put them under pressure right from the get-go I think their approach is they have to win the game as well. So I don't think (the thought of) either team sitting back is even going to enter anybody's mind. So I think it's just one of those 'battle of attitudes' and who takes advantage of their chances when they come up."

HOUSTON DYNAMO FORWARD KEI KAMARA

On his goal:

"The ball came in and I saw Stuart (Holden) on the run, shot low so he could finish it, but obviously it didn't get a good bounce so he kicked it back out to me. I just wanted to shoot as fast as I could so I just took a touch and took it."

HOUSTON DYNAMO MIDFIELDER DWAYNE DE ROSARIO

On the draw:

"Definitely, it's a great result for us. I mean it could have been 1-0, but to get that tie is just great, especially when it comes from guys coming off the bench to create that, like Stuart (Holden) and Kei (Kamara). It just shows that everyone is ready; everyone wants to play a big part and it's just nice to see. We're looking forward to another great week of training and getting the result at home."

PLAYOFF PRIMER: This is the tenth season over New York's 13-year history that the club has qualified for the playoffs. Here are a few facts regarding the team's postseason history:

- While the team's only postseason series win came in 2000 (over Dallas), the Red Bulls hold a 3-1-2 record all-time against Western Conference teams in the playoffs. New York has faced Dallas (2000), Los Angeles (2001) and Houston (2008) in the postseason.

- New York's streak of six-straight playoff appearances is second only to the New England Revolution's seven-straight playoff appearances.

- Prior to the start of the 2008 playoffs, players on the Red Bulls roster had a combined 45 playoff appearances. The most for an individual player was eight - forward John Wolyniec.

- New York is tied with Los Angeles, Dallas and Chicago for the most playoff appearances with 10.

- Last season, the Red Bulls lost, 1-0, on aggregate to the New England Revolution in the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series. After the teams drew 0-0 at Giants Stadium in the first leg, a Taylor Twellman goal at Gillette Stadium a week later was enough to put the Revolution through to the Eastern Conference Final. In the second leg, the Red Bulls lost Designated Players Claudio Reyna (right hamstring) and Juan Pablo Angel (concussion) due to injury.

- The Red Bulls have never lost to Houston in the regular season at Giants Stadium, going 2-0-1 over the past three seasons. Conversely, New York has never defeated the Dynamo at Robertson Stadium, going 0-2-1.

LAST WEEK:

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINAL SERIES: GAME 1: Red Bulls 1 vs. Houston Dynamo 1 on Nov. 1 at Giants Stadium

THIS WEEK:

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINAL SERIES: GAME 2: Red Bulls at Houston Dynamo on Nov. 9 at Robertson Stadium at 3 PM ET (TV: MSG Plus, TeleFutura; Radio: WADO 1280 AM)

NEXT WEEK:

TBD

ANGEL LEADS THE WAY: Forward Juan Pablo Angel scored 12 goals in his last 15 regular season and has been one of the hottest players in the League. Angel, who has 14 goals this season, led the Eastern Conference in goals. Angel finished fourth in goals in MLS, behind Los Angeles' Landon Donovan (20), FC Dallas' Kenny Cooper (18) and Los Angeles' Edson Buddle (15).

Last Saturday, Angel continued to add to his tally when he scored in the Red Bulls' 1-1 draw against Houston. The goal was Angel's first in three career playoff games. Last season, in the second game of the Red Bulls' series against New England, Angel was forced to leave the game after sustaining a concussion.

Since joining the Red Bulls last season, Angel has scored at a historic rate, as he has found the back of the net 33 times in 47 regular season games played for New York. That works out to a 0.702 strike rate for the Colombian international, a number that is the best all-time for the New York franchise (minimum of 35 games played). Players with strike rates over .400 are listed.

Rank Name Goals Games Strike Rate

1. Juan Pablo Angel 33 47 0.702

2. Giovanni Savarese 41 85 0.482

3. Clint Mathis 39 93 0.419

4. Adolfo Valencia 21 48 0.438

5. Rodrigo Faria 20 49 0.408

6. Alex Comas 15 37 0.405

Jozy Altidore 15 37 0.405

Juan Pablo Angel is racing up New York's all-time goals scored list. Entering this season (his first full season with the organization), Angel ranked seventh all-time, but has steadily climbed the list this season and surpassed Amado Guevara for sole possession of third place. (Players with 20 or more goals scored in a New York uniform listed).

Rank Name Goals GP

1. Giovanni Savarese 41 85

2. Clint Mathis 39 93

3. Juan Pablo Angel 33 47

4. Amado Guevara 32 103

5. John Wolyniec 24 119

6. Mike Magee 23 130

7. Adolfo Valencia 21 48

8. Rodrigo Faria 20 49

Angel is also second in Red Bulls history in multi-goal games after his two-goal performance against Columbus on Oct. 18, surpassing Clint Mathis.

Rank Name Multi-Goal Games

1. Giovanni Savarese 10

2. Juan Pablo Angel 7

3. Clint Mathis 6

JOHN ON THE SPOT: Red Bulls forward John Wolyniec made his first start since Sept. 13 against Real Salt Lake and he did not disappoint, earning an assist on Juan Pablo Angel's goal in the team's 1-1 tie against Houston last Saturday. For Wolyniec, who leads the team with nine playoff appearances, it was his first-ever postseason assist. In the regular season, Wolyniec made 19 appearances and five starts, notching one assist.

SWITCH-A-ROO: Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio made five lineup changes from the side that lost to the Chicago Fire, 5-2, in New York's season finale on Oct. 23. Defender Diego Jimenez, midfielders Dane Richards, Luke Sassano and Sinisa Ubiparipovic and forward John Wolyniec came into the lineup for Gabriel Cichero, Seth Stammler, Juan Pietravallo, Jorge Rojas and Mike Magee.

DEBUTANTS: Five Red Bulls made their playoff appearances against Houston last Saturday. Goalkeeper Danny Cepero, defenders Diego Jimenez and Andrew Boyens and midfielder Luke Sassano all made their first MLS playoff starts and midfielder Juan Pietravallo came on as a substitute.

HOMECOMING FOR DANE: Now in his second season in the league, Red Bulls midfielder Dane Richards continues to be a main contributor for New York. Playing in 23 games this season, Richards has tallied a career-high in goals with three to go along with a team-high six assists in 2008. He played the full 90 minutes against Houston the first leg of the teams' playoff series.

A 2007 finalist for the MLS Rookie of the Year award, Richards, 24, has ties to Houston, as he attended San Jacinto College in Houston between 2003-04 before he transferred to Clemson University. At San Jacinto, he scored 22 goals and 11 assists and was named the National Junior College Player of the Year in 2004.

STAMMLER OUT FOR SEASON: Red Bull New York announced that midfielder Seth Stammler underwent successful surgery on Oct. 30 to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee. Stammler, who has been playing with the injury since late August, will need 3-4 months to recover. The surgery was performed by Dr. Riley Williams at the Hospital of Special Surgery.

"Since Seth's injury, we have tried to manage it on a day-to-day basis," said Sporting Director Jeff Agoos. "However, the pain became unmanageable and the decision from our medical staff was to immediately perform surgery."

Stammler, 27, has played and started in 26 games, scoring one goal and four assists this season. Playing both in the midfield and defense, the fifth-year player has featured in a total of 95 games for New York after being drafted in the second round (18th overall) of the 2004 MLS SuperDraft from the University of Maryland.

2009 SEASON TICKETS ARE ON SALE: New York Red Bulls 2009 season tickets are on sale now to the general public through the Red Bulls front office and team website (www.newyorkredbulls.com). By becoming a season ticket holder - a Red Bulls Member - in 2009, fans will be assigned a Priority Number for the seat relocation process which will guarantee each Red Bulls Member a seat in the Red Bulls new 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium -- Red Bull Arena, under construction in Harrison, New Jersey. Red Bulls Members with a Priority Number will have the first chance to pick their seat locations at Red Bull Arena based on their number. To purchase 2009 season tickets, please call 1.877.RBSOCCER or log onto www.newyorkredbulls.com.

As a Red Bulls Member, fans receive a ticket to all 2009 Red Bulls Matches, including playoffs, a Priority Number for Red Bull Arena, Members-only access to the Bulls' Corner Pub both pre-game and post-game, a Ticket Exchange Program for unused tickets, invitations to exclusive Meet the Team Day Events, a RBNY hooded sweatshirt made by adidas (one per seat on account), access to the Red Bulls priority purchase windows for select international matches at Giants Stadium and much more. As a Bull's Eye Member, fans receive all the same benefits, plus access to a private lounge for complimentary pre-game hospitality and a season parking pass.

Red Bull New York also announced that there will be no increase in season ticket pricing from 2008. Plus, for 2009, the Red Bulls announced a new price category - Endline Bull's Eye seating -- of which there are only 56 available seats. For just $882 per seat, a fan can sit in the front row in the East End Zone and enjoy all of the benefits of a Bull's Eye Membership.

Pricing for Full Season Tickets for 2009 are as follows:

Seat Location Price Per Seat

Bull's Eye Memberships

Bull's Eye (North and South Touchlines) $1,088

*NEW*Endline Bull's Eye (East End Zone) $882

Red Bulls Memberships

Midfield (Adult) $528

Midfield (Youth) $352

Sideline (Adult) $368

Sideline (Youth) $256

Corner Flag $272

MAGEE MOVING UP: Just 24-years-old, midfielder Mike Magee has made 130 appearances for the Red Bulls. Magee is the longest-tenured Red Bull, having been with the team since 2003.

Games Played (All-Time)

1. Mike Petke (134)

2. Jeff Parke (132)

3. Mike Magee (130)

4. Tony Meola (125)

5. Steve Jolley (120)

6. John Wolyniec (118)

7. Tab Ramos (112)

8. Amado Guevara (103)

9. Chris Leitch (101)

In addition, with his start on Oct. 18 against Columbus, defender Chris Leitch made his 100th appearance for New York.

RBNY HANDS OUT TEAM AWARDS: Red Bull New York announced their 2008 Team Awards winners last week. Forward Juan Pablo Angel won the club's 2008 Most Valuable Player award and the Golden Boot for the second-straight year, scoring a team-high 14 goals.

Along with his 14 goals, which was fourth in MLS and first in the Eastern Conference, the two-time MLS All-Star tallied three assists. The MLS Player of the Week for Week 20, Angel scored 12 goals in the final 15 games of the season. In less than two seasons with the Red Bulls, Angel has scored 33 goals in 47 games, putting him third all-time in club annals in that category. Angel has also recorded seven multi-goal games, which is second in team history.

Defender Kevin Goldthwaite won the team's Defender of the Year award. In his first full season with the Red Bulls, Goldthwaite started a career-high 28 games, logging 2,438 minutes both on the left side and in central defense. Goldthwaite leads all Red Bulls defenders in goals (2) and is tied for first in assists (2).

Midfielder Dave van den Bergh won the club's Unsung Player of the Year award for his consistent play throughout the season. Van den Bergh, who has played in 26 games for New York, ended 2008 second in goals (7) and assists (5). Acquired from the Kansas City Wizards in Jan. 2007, van den Bergh has played both left and centrally in the midfield and has also filled in at left back this season.

Midfielder Jorge Rojas took home the team's Newcomer of the Year award. Joining the team on July 17, 2008 from Caracas FC of the Venezuelan First Division, the Venezuelan National Team captain immediately made an impact in his first game on July 19 - recording a pair of assists in a 2-2 draw against the Los Angeles Galaxy. Rojas has played in 11 games for New York, starting in nine, and has five assists this season - tied for second on the team.

Midfielder Dane Richards won the team's Young Player of the Year award, given to the best player under the age of 25. After his rookie season in which he was a finalist for the MLS Rookie of the Year award, Richards has continued to be a prime contributor for New York, scoring a career-high three goals to go along with a team-high six assists. The former Clemson University product and Jamaican international has started in 18 games this season.

For the second-straight year, midfielder Seth Stammler won the USSF Humanitarian of the Year award. Last season, Stammler started his own charitable organization, the Sporting Chance Foundation after he went on a six-day service trip to Haiti with Grammy Award-winning musician Wyclef Jean and his charitable organization Yele Haiti in Nov. 2006. Inspired by his visit, Stammler created SCF to provide clean water wells and educational programs to Haitians and this year, he has grown SCF by holding several fundraisers around the tri-state area, raising thousands of dollars. For more information about SCF, log onto www.sportingchancefoundation.org. Outside of SCF, Stammer, from Gahanna, OH, has worked with Athletes for Charity, participated in Dick's Sporting Goods' "Shop with a Jock" and has made regular visits to patients at the Hackensack (NJ) Medical Center.

The Red Bulls also recently honored their 2008 Fan of the Year, John Russo of Fanwood, NJ, and the 2008 Youth Soccer Club of the Year, Edison United Soccer Association.

The team's MVP, Defender, Unsung Player, Newcomer and Young Player of the Year were all voted on by the Red Bulls' local media. The USSF Humanitarian of the Year award along with the Fan and Soccer Club of the Year were chosen after careful consideration by members of the Red Bulls' staff.

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