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New York Red Bulls

New York Red Bulls Weekly Update

August 31, 2009 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New York Red Bulls News Release


RED BULLS ENTER BYE WEEK ON TWO-GAME RUN: The New York Red Bulls take a break from the pitch this week, as they do not have any games over the Labor Day weekend. New York is one of eight MLS teams out of action.

The Red Bulls have recently found their stride and have won two straight games for the first time this season, with their latest result being a 1-0 victory over the Columbus Crew on Sunday at Giants Stadium. New York's next match is not until Saturday, Sept. 12, when it takes on the Kansas City Wizards at Giants Stadium at 7:30 PM ET (TV: MSG; Radio: WADO 1280 AM). That match is the fourth game of a five-game homestand.

RAMPANT RICHARDS RUNS RED BULLS PAST CREW: A Dane Richards second half goal helped give the New York Red Bulls their second-straight win, as they topped the MLS Cup defending champion, the Columbus Crew, 1-0, at Giants Stadium Sunday night. After a scoreless first half, Richards started and finished a 50-yard counterattack in the 63rd minute to give New York the three points. New York goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul made one save for his first shutout as a Red Bull.

In the 10th minute, Mike Petke had an opportunity to put the Red Bulls in front when his header inside the six-yard box from a Jorge Rojas cross went wide left. Less than nine minutes later, Rojas won the ball deep in Columbus' defensive half and found an open Juan Pablo Angel. The forward's ensuing shot was blocked by a sliding Gino Padula.

The Crew had the best chance of the half in the 25th minute. A Padula corner kick found Chad Marshall, who volleyed it to the right post. However, Danleigh Borman was there to knock it off the line. Columbus forward Jason Garey tried to put the rebound on goal, but his attempt went high.

Both teams looked to get in front after the half. Steven Lenhart flicked over an Emmanuel Ekpo cross four minutes in, before Richards led a counterattack and took a shot that went off the back of Marshall and just over the bar.

Red Bulls interim head coach Richie Williams made his first substitution in the 59th minute, bringing on Macoumba Kandji for Rojas, and it almost paid immediate dividends. Borman found Kandji on the left wing and Kandji slipped it to forward John Wolyniec in the penalty box. Wolyniec one-timed it with his left-foot off the left post before the Crew was able to steer it away.

New York took the lead in the 63rd minute off a remarkable Richards run. Off a short Columbus corner, Frankie Hejduk tried to put it into the box, but ball took a favorable deflection off Red Bulls midfielder Seth Stammler as Richards sped onto it with the Crew's Brian Carroll as the last defender. Richards took it 50 yards, juked around Carroll and hit a low shot past goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum for his third goal of the season.

Columbus almost immediately answered when Eddie Gaven hit a bouncing shot towards goal but defender Andrew Boyens was there to head it away. With less than 13 minutes left, an Ekpo free kick found Eric Brunner at the back post and the defender directed it past the net. In the 82nd minute, an Alejandro Moreno flick on from an Ekpo delivery was caught by Coundoul.

New York is now 8-0-3 in their last 11 against Columbus at Giants Stadium, with the Crew's last victory at the Meadowlands coming on April 12, 2003. The Red Bulls dropped Columbus to just their second League loss in 19 games and broke the Crew's five-game winning streak and eight-game unbeaten run.

Midfielder Albert Celades missed the match due to a left calf strain while defender Kevin Goldthwaite, who was already suspended for Sunday's match, underwent hernia surgery last Friday.

LAST WEEK:

Red Bulls 1, Columbus Crew 0 on Aug. 30 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ

THIS WEEK:

OFF

NEXT WEEK:

Red Bulls vs. Kansas City Wizards on Sept. 12 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ at 7:30 PM ET (TV: MSG; Radio: WADO 1280 AM)

NEW YORK RED BULLS SCHEDULE (Aug. 31-Sept. 7)

Please contact a member of the Red Bulls Communications Staff if you have any requests or questions.

This Week's Schedule (subject to change):

Monday, Aug. 31: Training at Montclair State University facility at 10:00 AM ET.

Tuesday, Sept. 1: OFF

Wednesday, Sept. 2: Training at Montclair State University facility at 10:00 AM ET.

Thursday, Sept. 3: Training at Montclair State University facility at 10:00 AM ET.

Friday, Sept. 4: Training at Montclair State University facility at 10:00 AM ET.

Saturday, Sept. 5: OFF

Sunday, Sept. 6: OFF

Monday, Sept. 7: OFF

GREAT DANE: Red Bulls midfielder Dane Richards made his third goal of the season count on Sunday, running 50 yards before hitting it past goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum in the 63rd minute for the game-winning tally in New York's 1-0 win. Richards now has eight goals over his three seasons with New York and his three goals this year ties a career-high. The Jamaican international's goal was his first game-winner in the MLS regular season.

BOUNA TIME!: After enduring a rough start to his Red Bulls career, conceding six goals in two games, goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul earned the team's first shutout since New York's 2-0 home win over Real Salt Lake on April 18. Coundoul recorded one save officially, but made a number of key punches and plays to preserve the clean sheet against an offense that was tied for the most goals in MLS heading into the weekend.

Coundoul was signed by New York on June 29, 2009, after his rights were acquired from the Colorado Rapids in exchange for allocation money. Coundoul started his career with the Rapids in 2005 and featured in 52 games.

In addition, Mike Petke returned to the starting lineup after being suspended one game due to yellow card accumulation and he helped spearhead the team's defensive effort.

TRIO CALLED INTO NATIONAL TEAMS: New York Red Bulls defenders Andrew Boyens (New Zealand), Carlos Johnson (Costa Rica) and Alfredo Pacheco (El Salvador) were called up by their respective national teams.

Boyens and New Zealand, which won the Oceania Region's 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group and is awaiting the winner of a two-game series between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to determine their next opponent, will take on Jordan in Amman, Jordan in an international friendly on Sept. 9. Boyens, who has made eight appearances for New York this season, has earned 13 caps for the All Whites and competed in the 2010 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa earlier this summer.

Johnson returns to contend for a spot on the Costa Rican National Team after missing three months due to a fractured fifth metatarsal suffered on May 16. Costa Rica is in the midst of its World Cup Qualifying campaign and leads the CONCACAF group with 12 points - two points ahead of the United States and Honduras and three ahead of Mexico. The top three teams in the six-team group automatically qualify for the 2010 World Cup while the fourth-place team faces the fifth-place team from South America for another berth.

Costa Rica hosts Mexico on Sept. 5 in San Jose, Costa Rica before it travels to San Salvador to face Pacheco's El Salvador National Team on Sept. 9. Pacheco and El Salvador first face the United States at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah on Sept. 5 before heading home to tackle the Ticos. Johnson has earned seven caps while Pacheco has recorded 70.

ANGEL ONE FROM PASSING MATHIS: Red Bulls forward Juan Pablo Angel, a finalist for the 2007 Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player Award, scored two goals, including the game-winner, in Sunday's 3-2 win over FC Dallas on Aug. 23. With his brace, Angel has recorded 42 regular season goals all-time, breaking Giovanni Savarese's club record. In addition, Angel tied Clint Mathis for first in club history for goals scored in all competitions with 45. He needs one more goal to break Mathis' record.

"Records are there to be broken. You wish your record is broken by a valuable player. And, Juan Pablo Angel has been such a valuable player. I am very glad it was broken by someone who has so much experience and given so much to the organization. What I've done will always be in the record books. I am content with Juan Pablo breaking my record," Savarese said.

Angel was signed by New York as a Designated Player on April 17, 2007, after a successful stint at English Premier League club, Aston Villa. In his first season, Angel scored 19 goals in 24 games. Last year, Angel racked up a team-high 14 goals, leading the Red Bulls to their first MLS Cup Final appearance.

In the FC Dallas match, Angel earned his eighth multi-goal game. He is in second place in club history in this category, two multi-goal games behind first-place Savarese.

GOALS (Regular Season)

PLAYER GP GOALS

1. Juan Pablo Angel 69 42

2. Giovanni Savarese 85 41

3. Clint Mathis 93 39

4. Amado Guevara 103 32

5. John Wolyniec 136 25

GOALS (All Competitions)

PLAYER GP GOALS

T-1. Juan Pablo Angel 77 45

T-1. Clint Mathis 110 45

3. Giovanni Savarese 97 44

4. Amado Guevara 117 38

5. John Wolyniec 157 31

GOLDTHWAITE GOES UNDER THE KNIFE: Red Bull New York announced that defender Kevin Goldthwaite underwent successful surgery in Munich, Germany, Aug. 28 to repair a sports hernia. The surgery was performed by Dr. Ulrike Muschaweck, who used the Minimal Repair Technique - a procedure Muschaweck developed and exclusively performs. Goldthwaite is expected to miss 2-3 weeks.

Goldthwaite, 26, was acquired from Toronto FC in the middle of the 2007 season and has started in 17 games for the Red Bulls this season. He was New York's 2008 Defender of the Year after playing in a career-high 28 games and tallying two goals and two assists last season.

WILLIAMS CONTINUES RUN: Red Bulls interim head coach Richie Williams' second stint at the helm continues to produce positive results, as New York earned their second-straight victory with a 1-0 win over Columbus on Sunday. Williams took over as head coach after Juan Carlos Osorio resigned from his position on Friday, Aug. 21.

Williams also served as interim head coach for New York from June 27-Aug. 12, 2006, taking over for Mo Johnston. He was 4-3-2 in all competitions (3-3-2 regular season during that stint). Osorio joined the Red Bulls as head coach on Dec. 18, 2007 and recorded a 12-27-13 record in the regular season and the club's first-ever appearance in the MLS Cup Final.

PETKE, WOLYNIEC LEAD: Red Bulls defender Mike Petke and forward John Wolyniec are continuing to move up the games played chart for New York. Wolyniec made his 136th appearance for the Red Bulls on Sunday while Petke is the club's all-time leader in games played (148) and starts (142).

GAMES PLAYED

PLAYER GP

1. Mike Petke 148

2. John Wolyniec 136

3. Jeff Parke 132

4. Mike Magee 130

5. Tony Meola 125

6. Steve Jolley 120

7. Seth Stammler 115

8. Tab Ramos 112

9. Carlos Mendes 107

10. Amado Guevara 103

FDNY DOWNS NYPD IN MAYOR'S CUP: In the first annual FDNY vs. NYPD Mayor's Cup played at Giants Stadium on Sunday, it was the Fire Department that came out with a 3-0 victory prior to the New York Red Bulls-Columbus Crew match.

The FDNY Bravest scored the game-winning goal early in the first half when Tom Hunt (Ladder 4; Manhattan) slammed in a rebound after a corner kick hit the post.

"It's something I'll be able to tell my kids about; it's very special," Hunt said. "It's nice to get the first goal early to settle us down a bit."

The NYPD Finest had a chance for an equalizer early in the second half when Jose Sura scored on a free kick, but it was called back as the referee hadn't blown his whistle to signal the start of play.

The FDNY got some breathing room early in the second half when Chris Smith stole the ball and after his pass split a pair of NYPD defensemen, Rob Fucci (Ladder 108; Brooklyn) was left wide open to blast a shot in for the 2-0 lead. With the NYPD pressing to get a goal, they seemed to have gotten themselves back in the game when Jorge Bedoya headed the ball in off of a corner kick. But once again, the goal was called off as this time the referee signaled a foul on a NYPD player inside the box.

The NYPD had another chance to cut the lead when an FDNY player was called for a handball right outside the 18-yard box. On the ensuing free kick, the ball nipped the top of the crossbar and sailed over the goal. The FDNY had a chance to put the game away for good when Tom Fennel was taken down from behind inside the box on a breakaway while trying to dribble around the goalkeeper. Bedoya received a red card for his tackle, putting NYPD a man down, but Iriarte Wayman missed the penalty kick wide left.

Hoping to create something offensively with its new found life, the NYPD pushed a few extra men up on attack. But trying to rush to get the ball forward, the NYPD turned it over on a goal kick as Mike Kozo (Engine 307; Queens) took advantage, stealing the ball and putting it past the goalie for a 3-0 lead. The NYPD had one last chance to find the back of the net late in the game on a penalty kick, but Dave Pulice sent the ball over the goal.

"I'm a little upset that we lost, but it's the charity event that we were focused on," said NYPD coach Ronald Mejia, whose club will travel next to Canada to defend its title in the North American Police Soccer Tournament. "The Red Bulls were real good to us and the guys were all happy we could play on this field. Again, I would like to thank the Red Bulls."

The FDNY head coach Joe Brosi was also appreciative of New York's professional soccer club.

"We haven't had a game against the NYPD in about two years because we've had trouble getting a host and a facility, but the Red Bulls really came through here," Brosi said. "Hopefully, this will be the start of a yearly game we can get on the calendar."

More than just the bragging rights, the teams played for a good cause. A portion of every ticket sold to the match goes to support the NYC PBA Widow's and Children's Fund and The FF Sergio Villanueva Soccer Foundation.

"The game is for a very good charity and that is the most important thing," Hunt said. "Hopefully, well be able to play here again and spread the word about this game. It's an important thing and it's fun to take part in."

"We have a tremendous relationship with the Police Department and off the field, we both do a very dangerous job, so the important thing is that we keep that in mind and this is really an opportunity to have some fun," Brosi said. "But the most important thing is that we are both playing for charity."

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