MLS Red Bull New York

Weekly Update: Red Bulls Visit MLS Defending Champion Galaxy on Saturday

Published on April 30, 2012 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Red Bull New York News Release


RED BULLS BATTLE MLS DEFENDING CHAMPION GALAXY SATURDAY

Fresh off their first shutout of the 2012 season, the New York Red Bulls head west for their only regular season tilt against the defending MLS Cup Champion Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday at The Home Depot Center (Kickoff: 8:00 PM ET; TV: ESPN/ESPN Deportes/ESPN3; Radio: WLIB 1190 AM).

New York enters the match in third place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 4-3-1, 13 points. In their last match, the Red Bulls kept their first clean sheet of the season, blanking the New England Revolution 1-0 at Red Bull Arena on Saturday. Rookie goalkeeper Ryan Meara made five saves to earn the first shutout of his MLS career and was buoyed by a backline that entered Saturday's match with just 23 combined games of MLS experience (Brandon Barklage, Markus Holgersson, Tyler Ruthven and Connor Lade). The Red Bulls continued their trend of scoring early, as Thierry Henry scored his ninth goal of the season after just seven minutes, with Lade providing his first career assist.

The Galaxy got off to a bit of a slow start in defense of their title, but is unbeaten in their last three matches, coming off a 1-1 home tie with FC Dallas last Saturday. Overall, Los Angeles is 3-3-1 with 10 points, currently in seventh in the Western Conference. However, the Galaxy has a chance to move up in the standings before Saturday's tilt with New York, as they visit Seattle Sounders FC on Wednesday, May 2. Robbie Keane (3 goals, 2 assists) Landon Donovan (2 goals, 2 assists) and David Beckham (1 goal and 2 assists), the Galaxy's three Designated Players, are all off to solid starts this season.

The match is the first between the teams since the Galaxy eliminated the Red Bulls from the 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs in their Western Conference Semifinals series. Los Angeles won the series 3-1 on aggregate, defeating the Red Bulls 1-0 in the first leg at Red Bull Arena and capping off the series with a 2-1 win in the second leg. In the 2011 regular season, the Red Bulls went 1-0-1 against the Galaxy; the teams shared the spoils in Los Angeles on May 5 in a 1-1 draw, while New York defeated the Galaxy 2-0 on Oct. 4 at Red Bull Arena. In 37 regular season matches all-time against the Galaxy since 1996, New York is 16-15-6.

LAST WEEK

Red Bulls 1, New England Revolution 0 on Saturday, April 28 at Red Bull Arena

THIS WEEK

Red Bulls at Los Angeles Galaxy at The Home Depot Center on Saturday, May 5 at 8:00 PM ET (TV: ESPN/ESPN Deportes/ESPN3; Radio: WLIB 1190 AM).

NEXT WEEK

Red Bulls vs. Houston Dynamo at Red Bull Arena on Wednesday, May 9 at 7:00 PM ET (TV: MSG Plus; Radio: WLIB 1190 AM)

Red Bulls at Philadelphia Union at PPL Park on Sunday, May 13 at 12:30 PM ET (TV: ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/ESPN3; Radio: WLIB 1190 AM)

RED BULLS SHUTOUT REVOLUTION, 1-0

The New York Red Bulls got back to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over the New England Revolution on Saturday afternoon at Red Bull Arena in front of 18,152 spectators. Thierry Henry's league-leading ninth goal of the season proved to be the difference, while rookie goalkeeper Ryan Meara made five saves en route to his first career shutout and the team's first clean sheet of the season.

New York was missing defenders Wilman Conde, Roy Miller, Jan Gunnar Solli and Stephen Keel, midfielder Teemu Tainio and forwards Juan Agudelo and Jose Angulo due to injury in addition to midfielder Rafa Marquez, who was serving the second game of a three-match suspension. Still, it took the hosts less than a minute to produce a scoring chance. Dane Richards' pace down the right hand side created separation between him and the Revolution defense, and the Jamaican played a low pass to Henry, whose one-time shot was parried by Matt Reis. The early pressure continued in the fourth minute, as Red Bulls defender Connor Lade tried his luck from about 30 yards out and his shot missed just high.

Lade went from near-scorer to provider in the seventh minute, setting up Henry's ninth goal of the season. The Morristown, NJ native took a pass from Tyler Ruthven, and from inside his own half on the left side, floated a ball into space. Henry out-muscled Stephen McCarthy, getting to the loose ball first and looping it over Reis, who had come off his line. Henry left the match in the 24th minute with a right hamstring strain. Ruthven made his first MLS start Saturday.

Meara was first called upon in the 20th minute and the former Fordham University shotstopper came up with a big save. Saer Sene and Jose Moreno played a quick give-and-go, putting Sene through on goal. Meara reacted well, coming out to cut off the angle, and kept Sene's low shot out. Meara denied Sene once more in the 37th minute, deflecting his shot just enough to ring it off the post.

Meara made two crucial saves down the stretch to preserve the shutout. In the 77th minute, Meara kept out substitute Benny Feilhaber's header from six yards, and in stoppage time, made a diving effort to parry Lee Nguyen's curling low shot.

HENRY INJURED BUT STILL TALLIES GAME-WINNER

Red Bulls forward and captain Thierry Henry suffered a hamstring strain on Saturday against the New England Revolution. Prior to leaving the match, Henry scored his league-leading ninth goal of the season. Henry also ranks second in MLS in assists, with five. His goal on Saturday was his 25th career regular season goal for New York, currently putting him one behind John Wolyniec for fifth on the club's all-time list.

YOUNG BACKLINE

On Saturday against New England, New York's backline of Brandon Barklage, Markus Holgersson, Tyler Ruthven and Connor Lade had a combined 23 games of MLS experience entering the match. Ruthven made his first career MLS start, while Lade pitched in on the only goal of the match, assisting on Henry's seventh minute tally.

The backline helped rookie Ryan Meara earn his first career shutout. Meara, the Yonkers, NY native and Fordham University product, made five saves in the victory.

TOP GUNS

The Red Bulls' 18 goals through eight matches puts them atop Major League Soccer in goal scoring so far this season. The team with the next most goals, Real Salt Lake, has 16 in 10 matches.

SCORING FIRST

The Red Bulls' 1-0 victory on Saturday extended their unbeaten streak under head coach Hans Backe in regular season games where the team scores first. In those games, New York is 27-0-11.

TROPHEE DES CHAMPIONS TO BE PLAYED AT RED BULL ARENA ON JULY 28

The 2012 Trophée des Champions, the French soccer Super Cup, is coming to the United States for the first time ever, pitting the French League 1 winner against the French Cup Champion at Red Bull Arena on Saturday, July 28 at 3 p.m. Tickets are on sale exclusively through TDC-NYC.com.

The match is the annual kickoff to the French soccer season, and the fourth consecutive year that the match will be contested outside of France, but the first time the match will be played in a country that is not French speaking.

New York Red Bulls Season Ticket Holders will get an exclusive pre-sale window to secure their seats which will include a 25% discount on tickets.

The match is organized each year by the French Soccer League, the LFP (Ligue de Football Professionnel), who runs the 2 top divisions in France, Ligue 1 and 2. Ligue 1 has 79 broadcasters in the world, and covers more than 150 countries. Among the clubs of Ligue 1 the most famous are Olympique de Marseille, Paris Saint Germain, Olympique Lyonnais and LOSC (Lille).

"We are very proud to organize the 2012 Trophée des Champions in USA, especially here in New-York", said LFP President Frédéric Thiriez. "Soccer becomes bigger and bigger in North America and we expect to promote our championship in USA. I remember last season's game in the city of Tangiers, Morocco. Olympique Marseille has won Trophée des Champions 5-4 against LOSC after a tremendous game. In 2012, I am sure that both clubs will do their best to offer a magic moment in the beautiful Red Bull Arena because Trophée des Champions is not a friendly game : it's the first official match of the season and one of the 4 trophies a club can win in France. Aside the game, we are very proud and confident to have such a great partner as ComCast-Spectator, that will allow us the best promotion and implementation we could dream of".

Comcast-Spectacor, the Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment firm, today announced through a partnership with its subsidiary Front Row Marketing Services, that the company is bringing the 2012 Trophée des Champions to the United States for the first time ever.

"We are very excited to partner with the LFP to bring one of the world's elite professional club championships to the United States for the first time, in a metropolitan area that is one of the most eclectic and sports savvy anywhere," said Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko. "This event will be a great next step as we continue our worldwide expansion in marketing some of the most unique events in sport."

Comcast-Spectacor is a total entertainment provider, offering facility management through its subsidiary Global Spectrum, specializing in food and beverage and catering services through its subsidiary Ovations Food Services, and selling tickets through Paciolan, a ticketing software company, and New Era Tickets, a full-service ticketing division. Comcast-Spectacor also owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League.

Front Row Marketing Services will manage and market all the logistics of the event, from ticketing and sponsorship sales to digital and television distribution. There will be a number of special events on the east coast in advance of the event, as well as other fan-friendly marketing activation platforms in and around the stadium, all promoting the partnership and celebrating the first-time event on American soil for an international mix of soccer fans. Television and brand partnerships for the event will be announced in the coming weeks.

"This match by any definition is a prestigious signature event in the European Football season and it displays the opportunity that Front Row Marketing Services and Front Row Analytics can have in the global sports community - We have been building tremendous momentum across many fronts and the LFP's trust in our organization is further evidence of the synergy that we can offer when we integrate the entire Comcast-Spectacor family of companies and talented executives. Finally, the game is also very fortunate to have the tremendous staff and venue of Red Bull Arena" said Front Row Marketing Services President Chris Lencheski.

"It was a logical move for me to introduce Ligue 1 to Comcast Spectacor. Front Row Marketing's capabilities will certainly deliver the results the French League is expecting as they introduce their brand in the United States. This partnership will be a great fit moving forward," said match consultant Joe Fraga.

"We are very excited to host the 2012 Trophée des Champions "" a prestigious match with an illustrious history of fantastic soccer," said New York Red Bulls President, Business Operations Chris Heck. "Red Bull Arena is the top soccer stadium in North America and we are proud to welcome two fantastic French teams to the United States for the first time in the competition's history."

RED BULLS-UNION KICKOFF TIME MOVED

The New York Red Bulls announced that the kickoff time for their match on Sunday, May 13 against the Philadelphia Union at PPL Park has been moved to 12:30 PM ET (TV: ESPN 2, ESPN Deportes; Radio: WLIB 1190 AM). The game was originally scheduled for 1:30 PM.

RED BULLS TO HOST TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR ON JULY 31 AT RED BULL ARENA

The New York Red Bulls will face English Premiership club, Tottenham Hotspur, on Tuesday, July 31, at Red Bull Arena as part of the inaugural New York Invitational Cup. Kickoff time and broadcast information will be announced at a later date.

Red Bulls Full Season Ticket Holders will have this match included in their plans as "Event 18" (out of 20). Season Ticket Holders will have access to an exclusive team meet-and-greet, as well as an open practice and autograph session. Fans can purchase tickets for the Tottenham match through an exclusive three-game pack by logging onto www.newyorkredbulls.com or calling 1.877.RBSOCCER.

"Tottenham has been one of the top EPL teams over the past several years and we are thrilled to play host to them at Red Bull Arena," said Chris Heck, New York Red Bulls President, Business Operations. "We are also excited to bring an elite international club as a reward for our season ticket holders and the supporters for both clubs. There will be several exciting events prior to, during and after the match that will have the direct involvement of fans and we are looking forward to revealing more details later this spring."

"We are delighted to have the opportunity to take part in the inaugural New York Invitational Cup. We enjoyed an excellent match against the Red Bulls during our last tour to the US and we expect this game to be equally competitive," said Tottenham Hotspur Chairman Daniel Levy. "In recent years, we have seen a significant rise in the number of Spurs fans across the USA and especially in and around New York and New Jersey. This match presents us with a great opportunity to give something back to those fans and also introduce new supporters to the Spurs way of playing soccer."

Tottenham, also known as Spurs, is currently fourth in the 2011-12 Barclays Premier League standings with 54 points. The London-based club boasts a number of top international players including Welsh midfielder Gareth Bale, Dutch midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart and Croatian midfielder Luka Modric. In addition, former U.S. Men's National Team standout goalkeeper Brad Friedel plays for Spurs.

Tottenham came to Red Bull Arena on July 22, 2010 as part of the New York Football Challenge and won, 2-1, behind goals from Robbie Keane and Bale. New York forward and former Arsenal FC star Thierry Henry made his Red Bulls debut in that match and scored in the first half. The Red Bulls have a 1-1-1 record all-time against English Premier League sides and are 42-26-15 in international play.

RED BULLS ACADEMY UPDATE: Under-13 Red Bulls go 2-0: The Red Bulls Under-13 Academy team went into the weekend with matchups against two of the region's top teams and came away with two impressive wins. On Saturday, the Red Bulls faced off against the New York Cosmos. It was an even matched at the start, with both teams feeling each other out, but the Red Bulls struck first right before halftime on a goal by Matthew Olusundae. The second half proved to be more wide open, but the Red Bulls' defense held firm. Dontae Greer added two more tallies to give the Red Bulls a 3-0 victory. The following day, the Under-13's hosted the Baltimore Bays. The Red Bulls had defeated the Bays 2-1 two weeks ago in Baltimore in a very tightly contested game. However, this time around, the Red Bulls overwhelmed the visitors 6-1 after scoring five goals in the second half. Markez Zella scored three goals and Dontae Greer, Zach Ryan and Christian Martinez each added one for the young Red Bulls.

The Under-14 Red Bulls began their weekend on Saturday against the Cosmos, and the first half ended with the team's deadlocked at zero. Early in the second half, Marcello Borges opened the scoring, but the Cosmos quickly answered to tie the match. However, John Antunes then set up Anthony Sileo to give the Red Bulls the lead again, while Antunes added an insurance goal late. On Sunday, the Red Bulls suffered their first loss of the season, falling 2-1 to the Baltimore Bays. Malik Stewart scored the lone Red Bulls goal in the defeat.

On Saturday, the Under-15 Red Bulls also faced the Cosmos, but were unable to find the back of the net, falling 2-0. The squad bounced back on Sunday against the Baltimore Bays, avenging an early-season 1-0 loss. The Red Bulls got two goals from Harrison Steadman and one each from Dante Perez, Tyler Stowell, and Tyler Pinho as they cruised to a 5-0 win.

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