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MLS New York Red Bulls

Red Bulls Weekly Update: New York Begins Quest for MLS Cup Wednesday

October 24, 2011 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New York Red Bulls News Release


RED BULLS BEGIN TITLE QUEST AT FC DALLAS IN WILD CARD ROUND

The MLS Cup Playoffs begin on Wednesday night when the New York Red Bulls head to Texas to take on FC Dallas in a single elimination Wild Card Match at Pizza Hut Park (Kickoff: 9:00 PM ET; TV: Fox Soccer Channel; Radio: WADO 1280 AM). The winner of the match advances to the two-legged Conference Semifinals. Should the Red Bulls advance, they will host the Los Angeles Galaxy in the first leg on Sunday, Oct. 30 at Red Bull Arena at a time to be determined.

New York enters the playoffs as the tenth and final seed, thus shifting to the Western Conference bracket just as they did in 2008 when they won the Western Conference and appeared in the MLS Cup Final for the first time. The Red Bulls earned their entry to the postseason on Thursday night in their regular season finale, a 1-0 victory over the rival Philadelphia Union. New York went 4-2-1 over its last seven games to clinch a postseason berth and finished fifth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 10-8-16, 46 points.

FC Dallas ended the regular season fourth in the Western Conference and seventh in the playoffs standings on the strength of a 15-12-7 record with 52 points. However, the Hoops went just 2-3-0 in October and fell in their final two games, 3-0 at home to Toronto FC in CONCACAF Champions League play on Oct. 18, and 4-2 at San Jose Earthquakes on Oct. 22. The Red Bulls went 1-0-1 against the Texas side this season. New York defeated FC Dallas 1-0 at Pizza Hut Park on Sept. 17 after drawing 2-2 with them on July 23 at Red Bull Arena.

New York holds an all-time postseason record of 9-15-5. They have faced Dallas once before in postseason play, back in the first round of the 2000 tournament. New York defeated Dallas (then known as the Dallas Burn) by winning the first two matches of the three-match series by identical 2-1 scores.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR POTENTIAL WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINAL FIRST LEG VERSUS LOS ANGELES GALAXY

Having clinched a spot in the 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs on Oct. 20 with a 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Union, the New York Red Bulls announced that tickets for the potential MLS Cup Conference Semifinal home leg at Red Bull Arena to be played on Sunday, Oct. 30 versus the Los Angeles Galaxy (time TBD) are on sale now.

The Red Bulls begin the playoffs on Wednesday, Oct. 26 in a Wild Card Match against FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, TX at 9:00 PM ET (TV: Fox Soccer Channel; Radio; WADO 1280 AM). Should the Red Bulls win the match, they will host the Galaxy in the first leg of the two-legged Western Conference Semifinal Series on Sunday at a time to be determined.

Ticket prices for the potential MLS Conference Semifinal playoff match at Red Bull Arena remain the same as regular season ticket prices. For more information, or to purchase tickets, please visit www.newyorkredbulls.com or call 1.877.RBSOCCER.

New York Red Bulls 2011 Season Ticket Holders receive this playoff game for free as part of their season ticket packages.

THIS WEEK: Red Bulls at FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at Pizza Hut Park (TV: Fox Soccer Channel; Radio: WADO 1280 AM) MLS Cup Playoffs - Wild Card Match

Red Bulls vs. Los Angeles Galaxy at Red Bull Arena on Sunday, Oct. 30 at Red Bull Arena at Time TBD (TV: ESPN/ESPN2, ESPN Deportes; Radio: WADO 1280 AM) - Western Conference Semifinals Leg 1 - IF RED BULLS ADVANCE

LAST WEEK: Red Bulls 1, Philadelphia Union 0 at Red Bull Arena on Thursday, Oct. 20

NEXT WEEK: Red Bulls at Los Angeles Galaxy on Thursday, Nov. 3 at The Home Depot Center at 11:00 PM ET (TV: ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/ESPN3; Radio: TBD) - Western Conference Semifinals Leg 2 - IF RED BULLS ADVANCE

RED BULLS CLINCH POSTSEASON BERTH WITH 1-0 VICTORY OVER PHILADELPHIA UNION

The New York Red Bulls earned the final spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union on Thursday, Oct. 20 in front of a sold out crowd of 25,044 at Red Bull Arena. Dane Richards' seventh goal of the season in the eighth minute held up for the Red Bulls, who finished the regular season at 10-7-16, 46 points.

New York went on top just eight minutes into the action. Dax McCarty played the ball to Jan Gunnar Solli behind the Philadelphia defense on the right side. Solli crossed it to the center of the box, where Richards headed it off the left post. The ball bounced off the back of an outstretched Faryd Mondragon and into the net.

In the 17th minute, Richards came close to doubling the Red Bulls' lead. Luke Rodgers received a long pass near the midfield line and split the Union defense with a through ball to Richards. The Jamaican dribbled in and tried from the top of the box, but Mondragon was able to keep the ball out and forced a corner kick.

Philadelphia's best goal-scoring chance of the half came off the head of Sheanon Williams in the 34th minute. The Union's Michael Farfan played a long cross from the left side of midfield and New York goalkeeper Frank Rost came off his line to try and punch the ball. Williams was first to it and his header failed to hit the target.

Mondragon kept Philadelphia in the game with a fine save just minutes from halftime. Union defender Danny Califf tried to make a back pass to his 'keeper, however, Joel Lindpere intercepted the ball. Mondragon read it well, coming off his line and deflecting Lindpere's shot, keeping it a one goal game heading into the interval.

New York continued to generate the better scoring opportunities after halftime and had another good chance in the 54th minute. Teemu Tainio gathered the ball at midfield and popped a high pass towards the penalty area. McCarty beat his man to the ball but misfired on his shot, allowing Mondragon to control it. Five minutes later, Rodgers got on the end of a rebound off a shot by Richards and blasted his effort over the top of the six yard box.

It appeared as though Philadelphia had tied the match in the 67th minute when Carlos Valdes headed in a free kick, but the goal was waved off as Valdes was adjudged to have been offside on the play. The Red Bulls defense held steady for the rest of the night and Rost earned his fifth shutout of the season.

FAMILIAR FACES

Red Bulls midfielder Dax McCarty will go up against his former team, FC Dallas, on Wednesday night in an MLS Cup Playoffs Wild Card Match at Pizza Hut Park. McCarty started all four playoff games last year for Dallas, helping lead the team to an appearance in the MLS Cup Final. McCarty's goal in the second leg of the Western Conference Semifinals against Real Salt Lake proved to be the winner, as Dallas upended the then-reigning champs by a 3-2 aggregate score. As a member of FC Dallas, the team that drafted him with the sixth overall pick in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, he appeared in 93 regular season games scoring five goals and adding 17 assists.

FC Dallas midfielder Daniel Hernandez was a member of New York's 2001 playoff squad, which was eliminated in the first round by Los Angeles. In the second game of the three-game series, Hernandez notched two assists as New York rolled over the Galaxy by a 4-1 score. Hernandez started in all three games of the series, and played in 40 regular season games for the club from 2000-02.

Dallas defender Jeremy Hall, who was drafted by the Red Bulls 11th overall in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, appeared in two playoff games last season for the Red Bulls. In two seasons with the club, Hall made 37 appearances and added one assist.

RED BULLS POSTSEASON NOTES:

ALL-TIME RECORD

New York's all-time postseason record is 9-15-5, including a home record of 5-5-2 and a road mark of 4-9-3. The club's one neutral site postseason match was the 2008 MLS Cup Final at The Home Depot Center, which the team lost to the Columbus Crew 3-1.

SCORING LEADER

Forward Adolfo Valencia, who played with the club in the 2000 and 2001 seasons, holds the top spot in the team's all-time postseason scoring mark with five goals in eight games. He scored four goals in the 2000 postseason, which included a tally in the first game of New York's 2000 playoff series against Dallas, this year's opponent. Valencia is also the team's all-time postseason assist leader with four.

ELDER STATESMEN

Red Bulls midfielder Dane Richards has played the most playoff games as a Red Bull among the current roster. Richards has made eight appearances in postseason play for the team, starting all eight games while registering two goals and one assist. Chris Albright has the most playoff experience of anyone on the roster, having played 18 postseason games during his career. Albright was a member of both the 2002 and 2005 Los Angeles Galaxy MLS Cup Championship teams.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

RECORD SETTER

Midfielder Joel Lindpere's 2011 season was a memorable one, as the Estonian set single season franchise records in games played (34), games started (34), and minutes played (3,048). He missed just 12 minutes of game action all year, and his seven goals and seven assists were ranked third and first on the team, respectively. Lindpere has started 55 consecutive games, which is the third best current mark in Major League Soccer behind Seattle Sounders FC goalkeeper Kasey Keller (89) and Philadelphia Union forward Sebastien Le Toux (58).

HENRY FINISHES THIRD IN MLS IN SCORING

In his first full season in Major League Soccer, Red Bulls captain and forward Thierry Henry finished the 2011 regular season third in the league in goals scored with 14. He fell just two goals shy of D.C. United's Dwayne De Rosario, the 2011 Golden Boot winner, and last year's winner Chris Wondolowski of the San Jose Earthquakes. Henry's 14 goals came in 26 games played, and his 0.54 goals-per-game mark was the best in the league among players with 20 or more appearances.

KEEPING IN CLEAN

Red Bulls' goalkeeper Frank Rost kept his fifth clean sheet of the season in the team's 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union on Oct. 20. Rost's five shutouts came in just 11 games as the German shot-stopper joined the team in mid July. This season, Rost went 4-4-3 with a 1.33 goals-against average.

RED BULLS SELL OUT FOUR GAMES IN 2011

The Red Bulls' 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union on Oct. 20 was the team's fourth sell out of the season and third straight to end the year. The other games to sell out were the team's 2-2 draw with the Chicago Fore on Aug. 13, a 2-0 victory over the Portland Timbers on Sept. 24, and a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Oct. 4.

RED BULL ARENA, BIG EAST, ANNOUNCE TICKET PRICING FOR 2011 MEN'S BIG EAST SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIPS

Red Bull Arena and the BIG EAST Conference announced the ticket purchasing information for the 2011 BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship weekend that will be played at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. The semifinal games are on Friday, Nov. 11 at 5:00 PM and 7:30 PM before the championship match takes place at 12:00 PM on Sunday, Nov. 13. This is the second consecutive year that Red Bull Arena will host the BIG EAST championships.

Fans will be able to purchase tickets by calling 1.877.RBSOCCER or logging onto www.redbullarena.us. Ticket prices for the competition are below (please call 1.877.RBSOCCER for special prices for groups of 10 or more):

2-Day Package (Adult):

Sideline: $20

Corner Flag: $16

2-Day Package (Student/Youth):

Sideline: $12

Corner Flag: $10

Single Game (Adult):

Sideline: $15

Corner Flag: $10

Single Game (Student/Youth):

Sideline: $7

Corner Flag: $6

There are 16 teams in the BIG EAST, which are divided into a Red and Blue division. The top 12 teams will earn a berth into the championship. Championship tournament games will be held on the campus of the higher seeded teams prior to the semifinal and championship game at Red Bull Arena. The tournament champion receives the league's automatic berth into the 48-team NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.

RED BULLS ACADEMY UPDATE

Red Bulls U-13 Team Remains Unbeaten After Pair of Wins This Weekend: The Red Bulls Under-13 Academy side remained unbeaten on the young season after winning both of its games this weekend. On Saturday, Matthew Olusunde's hat trick led the side to a 7-0 victory over Westchester and on Sunday it was Markez Zella's turn to notch a triple as the Red Bulls defeated the PA Classics. The team is back in action on Sunday against PDA.

Under-14 Side Rolls to Victory Behind Halvorsen: Jonas Halvorsen was the star of the show as the Red Bulls under-14 Academy side defeated NJSa 5-0 on Saturday. Halvorsen had three assists as five different Red Bulls found the back of the net. Tom Lapinas and Max Lurie split time in goal as both had a hand in the clean sheet victory.

Wade, Lema Star As Red Bulls Academy Players Lead U.S. Under-17 and Under-15 National Teams: Red Bulls Academy players Wes Wade and Chris Lema helped lead the United States Under-17 National team to an undefeated record at the AGS Cup in Spain. Lema scored the team's lone goal in a 1-1 draw with Mexico, while Wade led the way with both goals in a 2-0 win over Russia. The team completed the competition with a 5-0 victory over a regional side from Valencia, and Wade added tow more goals to secure the tournament's Golden Boot.

Three Red Bulls Academy players are taking place at a one week camp in Los Angeles for the United States Under-15 National Team. Academy forwards Stephen Elias and Malcolm Dixon are a part of the camp, as is midfielder Orestis Sousonis.

Check out the New York Red Bulls Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from October 24, 2011


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