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MLS New York Red Bulls

New York Red Bulls Weekly Update

March 9, 2009 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New York Red Bulls News Release


RED BULLS WRAP UP TRIP TO ARGENTINA: The New York Red Bulls returned to the United States Monday morning after a two and a half week trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In their final week in South America, the Red Bulls picked up a draw and a loss in two matches. On Tuesday, March 3, the Red Bulls extended their preseason unbeaten streak to six with a 1-1 draw against the Argentinos Juniors (UTA) of the Argentinean First Division.

The two teams played to a scoreless first half, though New York had most of the opportunities with Jorge Rojas taking a number of shots on net. At the half, head coach Juan Carlos Osorio substituted out eight players, but kept Rojas, Juan Pablo Angel and Kevin Goldthwaite in the match.

The Red Bulls finally broke through in the 67th minute when Rojas stepped up for a direct kick from 30 yards out and drilled a shot into the upper left corner past goalkeeper Moralie Diedo to give the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead.

But in the 75th minute, Argentinos Juniors leveled the match when Gonzalo Aban was set free with a pass that split the Red Bulls defense and sent him in alone on Red Bulls goalkeeper Danny Cepero. Aban took control of the ball and chipped it over Cepero and into the net.

On Friday, March 6, New York suffered its only loss in four games during its Argentina trip with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Boca Juniors' reserve team.

The game was played at the historic La Bombonera as the field condition at the scheduled site forced the game to be moved to Boca Juniors' game field. Attending the match was United States Ambassador Earl Anthony Wayne. Ambassador Wayne has served as the liaison to Argentina since November 2006.

New York grabbed the early lead in the 17th minute. Rojas and Angel executed a perfect give-and-go and Rojas put the ball past Boca Juniors goalkeeper Maximiliano Scapparoni.

Boca Juniors pulled even minutes before halftime. Goldthwaite fouled a Boca player in the box, resulting in a penalty kick for the home side, knotting the match at 1-1 heading into halftime as Nicolas Blandi slotted the ball past Cepero.

Just before the hour mark, Boca went ahead on a ball that was headed by Rodrigo Kuszko past New York reserve goalkeeper Alec Dufty from the top of the area.

The Red Bulls pressed forward in the closing minutes, and created several chances for an equalizer, but could not find the back of the net.

BULLS TO FACE CRYSTAL PALACE BALTIMORE: The Red Bulls will take on United Soccer League Second Division side, Crystal Palace Baltimore, on March 12 at 7 PM at Annapolis' Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy. It is the final match of New York's 2009 preseason. New York is 3-2-3 in the 2009 preseason.

Last season, Crystal Palace Baltimore knocked off the Red Bulls in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, defeating New York, 2-0. Current Red Bulls midfielder and former Crystal Palace player Matthew Mbuta played a large role in that victory for Crystal Palace. Mbuta played in two matches for the Red Bulls in 2008, scoring one goal. Tickets for the match, priced at $16, are available by logging onto www.crystalpalaceusa.com or by calling 410-933-TEAM.

GALAXY GAME MOVED TO JULY 16: Red Bull New York announced on Sunday, March 8 that the Red Bulls match, scheduled for July 18, 2009, against the Los Angeles Galaxy, has been moved to Thursday, July 16, at Giants Stadium. The start time of the match will be announced in the near future. The match will mark the return of Galaxy midfielder David Beckham after his 2009 loan to AC Milan. Fans that have tickets for the match with the original date will not need to exchange them, as they will be honored on July 16th.

RED BULLS DEAL LEITCH TO SAN JOSE: Red Bull New York announced on March 2 that it acquired allocation money and an international slot from the San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for defender Chris Leitch.

"This move gives us more roster flexibility as we prepare for the start of the MLS season," said Red Bull New York Sporting Director Jeff Agoos. "Chris has been a consummate professional during his time in New York and we wish him the best of luck in San Jose."

Leitch was in the midst of his second term with New York after he signed as a free agent on July 5, 2007. In 2008, Leitch played in 17 games and notched two assists. The 29-year-old also started in all four of the Red Bulls' playoff games in the team's run to the MLS Cup Final. Leitch has played a total of 101 regular season games for New York between his most recent stint and his first go-around with the club from 2003-05. The Baltimore, OH native was originally selected by the Columbus Crew in the fourth round (47th overall) in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft out of the University of North Carolina. He was a member of the Crew in 2002 and 2006.

IN AND OUT: The Red Bulls have several new faces on their team in 2009 as well as others who departed in the off-season. Here is a list:

New Players (6): Jeremy Hall (Selected in the first round (11th overall) of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft on Jan. 15, 2009); Dominic Oduro (Acquired in a trade with FC Dallas on Jan. 13, 2009); Mike Petke (Acquired in 2008 MLS Waiver Draft on Nov. 26, 2008); Khano Smith (Acquired in a trade with Seattle Sounders FC on Feb. 12, 2009); Jack Traynor (Selected in the second round (29th overall) of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft on Jan. 15, 2009); Nick Zimmerman (Selected in the third round (44th overall) of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft on Jan. 15, 2009);

Players who have left (10): Gabriel Cichero (Waived on Nov. 26, 2008); John Gilkerson (Did not return to team after 2008 season); Diego Jimenez (Returned to Tecos after loan expired with New York on Dec. 31, 2008); Gordon Kljestan (Waived on Nov. 26, 2008); Chris Leitch (Traded to the San Jose Earthquakes on March 2, 2009); Mike Magee (Traded to the Los Angeles Galaxy on Jan. 14, 2009); Jeff Parke (Selected by Seattle Sounders FC in 2008 MLS Expansion Draft on Nov. 26, 2008); Caleb Patterson-Sewell (Did not return to team after 2008 season); David Roth (Waived on Feb. 18, 2009); Sainey Touray (Waived on Nov. 26, 2009); Dave van den Bergh (Traded to FC Dallas on Jan. 13, 2009);

INDIVIDUAL TICKET PACKS ON SALE: Individual ticket packages for the first eight New York Red Bulls 2009 regular season games at Giants Stadium are on sale now by calling 1.877.RBSOCCER. The individual ticket packages include four (4) tickets to a Red Bulls match and a choice of either four t-shirts or a $20 concession voucher for use at the Giants Stadium concessions stands. The packages start as low as $89.95.

The Red Bulls also announced that four-game and eight-game ticket plans are also available for the 2009 season. Fans securing Full or Partial Season ticket plans this season will receive priority access to select their seats in Red Bull Arena, the state-of-the-art soccer-specific stadium being constructed in Harrison, New Jersey, scheduled to open in 2010.

For more information, please call the Red Bulls Fan Services department at 1.877.RBSOCCER.

RED BULL ARENA TOURS: In anticipation of the opening of Red Bull Arena in 2010, Red Bulls Members who have renewed their season tickets for the 2009 season are being given tours at the stadium stie. Over the next few weeks, over 600 Red Bulls Members have signed up for the tour.

RED BULL ACADEMY UPDATE: MARCH 9

A Look Back

U20s: Did not play.

U18s: The Red Bull U18s posted a 0-1-1 week. On Saturday, March 7, a depleted U18 team dropped a 5-0 decision to U18 FC Delco US Soccer Developmental Academy League action. After a competitive first half that ended scoreless, FC Delco scored five unanswered goals in the second half.

The U18s rebounded on Sunday, March 8 with a solid performance against a good U18 PA Classics team. Dylan Mencia scored on a free-kick in the dying minutes of the game to grab a point on the road. Kevin Finnegan played very well in defense and Brandon Paul was once again solid in goal to help earn the draw. The U18s now stand at 6-4-1 for the season.

U16s: The U16 Red Bulls extended their unbeaten streak to 11 with two road victories over the weekend. On Saturday, March 7, the Red Bulls took on a very competitive U16 FC Delco team in a US Soccer Developmental Academy League match. Christian Battistesa scored his second goal in as many games off an assist from Paul Ehrenworth to give the Red Bulls a 1-0 on the stroke of halftime. That would be all they would need as Keith Cardona recorded the shutout in goal.

On Sunday, March 8, the U16s completed the weekend sweep with a 2-0 away victory over U16 PA Classics. Oscar Gonzalez scored an unassisted goal in the first half and CJ Lyle added an insurance goal with five minutes to go on an assist from Chris Garcia. Travis Ives was in goal and kept the clean sheet for the U16s, which improve to 8-0-3 on the season.

"It was a very good weekend for us as we picked up two hard fought road victories", said U16 head coach Rob Elliott, "It was also a step forward for us to not allow any goals this weekend, especially on the road against two quality teams."

U15s: The U15s opened the inaugural US Club Soccer Northeast Pre-Academy season with a solid 2-0 away win over U15 PA Classic on Sunday, March 8. Danny Bartok opened the scoring in the 18th minute, calmly putting away a breakaway after a heads up play to intercept an errand pass from the PA defense. The second goal came off a classic counterattack starting in the 27th minute with goalkeeper Thomas Bull. After coming out to intercept a cross, he found Bartok, who played a quick give and go with Tommy Haskel to spring Bartok through the PA defense. Bartok played a beautiful cross to the back post finding a streaking Fumio Himeno for the first touch finish making the score 2-0.

"It was a good start, making the trip to PA Classic and getting a good result," stated U15 head coach Stan Lembryk. "At times we controlled the game, while other times we realize we could learn from our mistakes."

U14s: The U14's started the US Club Soccer Northeast Pre-Academy League season with a 2-2 away tie at PA Classic on Sunday, March 8. The youngest Red Bull team made a bright start to the game, playing some attractive soccer. It was PA Classic who had the first real chance of the game, but Red Bulls goalkeeper Santiago Castano made a superb save to keep the game scoreless. The U14s' pressure finally paid off when Nicholas Innocenzi put the Red Bulls ahead. A defensive lapse at the back allowed PA Classics back into the game, before a Luis Munoz strike from 25 yards put the Red Bulls back in front before halftime. The Red Bulls could not convert any chances in the second half to extend their lead and PA Classics tied the game at 2-2 after scoring on a rebound off the post.

A Look Ahead:

Sunday March 15th

U16 Red Bulls vs. U16 D.C. United 1:00pm @ Rutgers-Newark

U18 Red Bulls vs. U18 D.C. United 3:00pm @ Rutgers-Newark

Check out the New York Red Bulls Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from March 9, 2009


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